Safety challenges of UAV integration in construction: Conceptual analysis and future research roadmap

Abstract

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in construction is growing at an unprecedented level, making the construction industry one of the fastest commercial adopters of UAVs. UAVs are widely used through different phases of construction, from aerial mapping, safety and quality monitoring and site logistics to structural inspection and maintenance assessment. While there is significant research about the benefits of UAVs for specific construction-related tasks, there is a dearth of research examining the impact of working with or near UAVs on the health and safety of workers. In this theory-driven paper, we examined UAV integration in construction workplaces from a health and safety perspective, categorized the potential ways UAVs might affect the construction workers’ health and safety, and provided a roadmap for future research in this area. The study used inferential and VR visualization techniques to identify the risks posed by UAVs, which were categorized into three groups of (1) physical risks, (2) attentional costs, and (3) psychological impacts. We then proposed a concurrent and cross-functional two-branch research road map to advance our knowledge about human-UAV interactions and develop regulatory and technological measures to ensure safe integration of UAVs in construction. The first branch shall empirically evaluate different ways UAVs can adversely impact workers’ health and safety. The second branch shall use these findings to develop regulatory and administrative interventions to guide the UAVs’ safe operation on construction sites and develop innovative hardware and software components for future UAVs to ensure their safe co-operation with human workers.