Adaptation Behavior of Construction Workers Using Wearable Sensing Devices for Safety and Health Monitoring

Abstract

The adoption and acceptance of new cutting-edge technologies such as wearable sensing devices (WSDs) have been investigated for personal use in a few industries, but concerns remain about worker postadoption behavior, especially in industries known to be resistant to innovation adoption, such as construction. Information on WSD postadoption behavior is scarce, and, to our best knowledge, no study has investigated this phenomenon for construction applications. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the adaptation and infusion of WSDs for construction safety and health monitoring. Using a multiphase mixed-method approach, this study develops and validates a conceptual model to examine the factors that influence the adaptation and infusion of WSDs for construction safety and health monitoring. The findings of the study reveal that construction workers’ behaviors and acceptance antecedents are important factors that significantly influence their adaptation and coping behavior, which in turn predict the extended use of WSDs. The main contribution of this study is in the understanding of the impact of coping behavior on workers’ continuous use of safety and health technology. Theoretically, this study extends the coping theory by incorporating implementation characteristics, providing a novel approach for understanding, explaining, and possibly enhancing the adoption and use of emerging technologies in construction.