Barriers to the Integration of IoT Safety Devices in Construction Environments

The construction industry is one of the most dangerous sectors. Improving safety conditions on the construction site is very important to reduce accidents and mitigate their effects. The use of IoT devices for safety is an effective preventive strategy but its adoption by construction companies is limited. The objective of this research is to identify the main barriers to the adoption and learning of IoT technologies, for the improvement of safety conditions in the construction sector. The methodology used was the adaptation and distribution of a previous questionnaire. The results showed that the peculiarities of such a traditional sector act as a barrier in terms of adoption and learning of the use of IoT. The large investment required, concerns about the availability of technical support, and lack of information on the effectiveness of health and safety technology obtained the highest scores, based on the opinion of the workers. In contrast doubts about the reliability of these technologies, and limited attributes and features obtained the lowest values. Greater knowledge about the advantages of its adoption and an adaptation of training programs can help a greater integration of IoT safety systems.