Can Technology Change the Destiny of Occupational Health and Safety on Construction Sites? A Review on Literature and Industrial Applications

Abstract

In the construction sector, as in all other sectors, the efforts to benefit from electronic and computer technologies, which enter in every field of our lives, to ensure Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) have been increasing in recent years, especially in developed countries, all over the world. The construction sector is one of the leading sectors also in our country in terms of injuries and deaths as a result of work accidents. In this respect, besides other facilities, it is important to use technological innovations in order to ensure OHS in the sector. In this study, carried out from this point of view, a comprehensive review was made using the keywords "technology", "construction sector" and "occupational health and safety" through various databases and OHS technologies for the construction sector were determined. These technologies are grouped according to their areas of use, and the studies in the literature, as well as their industrial applications in the field have been examined. The study revealed that there are many technological applications in a wide range for ensuring OHS in the construction sector. It is considered that the study will contribute to the introduction of OHS technologies that make the difference between death and survival, sometimes with very small costs, to the stakeholders of the Turkish construction sector and thus to the widespread use of such technologies.