IIoT trends in Occupational Safety and Health: A perspective from text-mining data analysis

Abstract

Limited research explores the specific challenges and opportunities of IIoT-based safety technologies in developing countries like Ecuador. This study addresses this gap by analysing IIoT trends in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) from a local context perspective. The analysis of the workers’ attitude toward use of technologies in large companies in Ecuador using a non-probabilistic sample, revealed a predominant focus on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems applications. This analysis led the query for a systematic review using text-mining data analysis of open-source publications from Scopus, WoS, and Scielo to determine potential gaps between existing local practices and the full potential of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies enhancing worker safety on a global scale. This research proposes two priority pathways for future research: wearable technology for smart health monitoring and advanced safety monitoring for industrial workers. These findings can guide the development and adoption of IIoT solutions tailored to address the specific needs and challenges of local companies, ultimately improving worker safety and well-being in the I4.0 era.