Journal Pre-proof

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage in Construction Projects: A

Scientometric Approach

Syed Ammad, Wesam Salah Alaloul, Syed Saad, Abdul Hanan Qureshi

PII: S2352-7102(20)33718-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2020.102086
Reference: JOBE 102086

To appear in: Journal of Building Engineering

Received Date: 10 July 2020

Revised Date: 4 December 2020
Accepted Date: 8 December 2020

Please cite this article as: S. Ammad, W.S. Alaloul, S. Saad, A.H. Qureshi, Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) usage in Construction Projects: A Scientometric Approach, Journal of Building
Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2020.102086.

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1 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage in Construction Projects: A
2 Scientometric Approach
3 Syed Ammad a, Wesam Salah Alaloul a,*, Syed Saad a, Abdul Hanan Qureshi a
a
4 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri
5 Iskandar, 32610 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia.
6 * Corresponding Author: wesam.alaloul@utp.edu.my
7 _____________________________________________________________________________________
8 Abstract
9 Health and safety are essential for construction project success where the negligence
10 leads towards project failure. This study probes into Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) safety

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11 ventures associated with the construction projects. Initially, the literature was acquisition via
12 three databases: Web of Science, Scopus and Science Direct, in addition to Google Scholar as a

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13 search engine. Keyword co-occurrence was performed on the selected articles returning 13
14 clusters, which were thematically analysed via a manual method of articles selection. JIGSAW
15
16
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software was also implemented for a deeper conceptual understanding of articles corresponding
literature. The extracted articles were then classified into four categories: Safety Education,
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17 Safety Management, Accident Prevention, and PPE Quality. Based on these classifications, the
18 study provides a future for a conceptual framework incorporating the critical success factors for
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19 PPE’s usage and its implementation within the construction projects. PPE misuse is often
20 neglected because the current assessment is mainly focused on visible outcomes such as critical
21 injuries and accidents, and it is hard to identify hazardous behaviours in time. A future-directed
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22 framework for PPE, CARWIQS, was also created to mitigate the possible threats through its
23 application in construction projects.
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24 Keywords: Health and Safety, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Science Mapping,
25 Systematic Review.
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26 _____________________________________________________________________________________
27 1. Introduction
28 The construction industry is considered as the economic backbone of a country due to a
29 variety of construction projects along with the interest of multiple end-users [1]. Besides being
30 beneficial, the construction projects prone to multiple uncertain hazards and remains one of the
31 most vulnerable sectors to risky situations at all times [2]. These risky situations sometimes turn
32 into life-threatening situations if the risk assessment is not placed appropriately in the lifecycle of
33 construction project [3], [4].
34 Health and safety is a multi-step process which includes keeping the workplace
35 environment relatively free from actual or potential hazards that could cause injury and provide
36 the suitable protection tool, which concerned with the development, promotion, and maintenance
37 of the workplace environment, policies and program [5]. Whereas the Personal Protective
38 Equipment (PPE) is an equipment used to protect the workers from accidents on the construction
39 site [6]. Various PPEs are being utilized on construction sites such as: safety gears, protective
40 clothing, impact-resistant clothing, full-body protective clothing, personal protective shield, and
41 cleanroom suit etc [7]. Safety management is a process to provide a safe and comfortable
42 environment for all the stakeholders working on the project [8]. It consists of three management
43 phases, i.e. post-safety, operational safety, and pre-safety management. PPE is essential in all
44 these three phases for an accident-free project outcome [6].
45 Table 1 shows the percentage of work-related fatalities rate per 100,000 workers from
46 2012 to 2018 [9]. It can be observed that the issue exists in multiple countries that need to be
47 addressed by the managerial authorities of the construction industry.

48 Table 1: Work-Related Fatality Rate per 100,000 Workers

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Country
Fatalities percentage
Ukraine 22.93 14.51 17.60 20.30 21.90 21.00 15.10
Sri Lanka 0.00 0.00 5.53 4.70 3.55 3.92 7.13

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Singapore 5.90 7.00 5.50 5.40 4.90 2.60 3.10
Russian Federation 23.10 22.00 19.00 19.00 18.00 0.18 0.17

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Panama 10.20 9.10 7.65 1.00 1.70 0.00 13.41
Argentina 25.88 0.00 15.54 12.77 16.43 13.34 11.70
Azerbaijan
Belarus
0.00
13.10
0.00
10.80
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0.00
8.40
0.00
5.20
11.00
9.65
17.00
7.90
14.00
8.67
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Canada 0.00 7.33 8.40 4.52 0.00 6.32 0.00
Chile 8.90 10.34 0.00 0.00 0.00 5.92 4.45
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Colombia 11.60 14.09 0.00 0.87 0.00 0.01 0.00

Israel 24.77 0.00 23.10 24.76 12.71 10.05 9.19
Japan 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 9.00 10.00 9.00
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Malaysia 13.00 11.00 0.00 12.00 0.00 9.10 10.40

Malta 49.28 9.48 9.58 18.81 0.00 0.00 0.00
Moldova, Republic 0.00 26.80 37.80 44.70 17.40 42.40 0.00
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Mongolia 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 9.80 8.50 5.20

Russian Federation 23.10 22.00 19.00 19.00 18.00 0.18 0.17
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49
50 The causes of injuries have been researched and divided into human and physical factors
51 in the US construction industry. According to the findings, safety awareness, lack of training,
52 corporate commitment, absence of technical advice, unauthorized activity, lack of first-aid
53 measures, lack of harsh safety rules, PPE deficiency, lack of safety, non-qualified skills, and
54 insufficient equipment cause accidents. There are multiple cases in occupational accidents that
55 lead to permanent and non-permanent injuries [10]. There are several death causes in the Great
56 Britain construction industry, but in the year of 2016 to 2019 the most common cause with a
57 32% death rate is falling from a high place due to negligence and not following the proper PPE
58 [10], as shown in Figure 1.
59
 Struck by moving, including flying/falling, objects 11%
12%

Falls from a height 11%

[VALUE]%
Accident Cause

Lnjuries while handling, lifting or carrying 27%

7%

Slips, trips or fall on same level 22%

30%

0 10 20 30 40
Accident Percentage
Over 7 days Specified injuries
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61

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Figure 1: Types of fatal accidents to workers 2016-2019

62 The hazard management hierarchy is a method used in the construction industry to limit

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63 or reduce risks and hazards. It is a commonly recognized method supported by various
64 organizations for workers protection in construction site. This concept is taught to management
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65 authorities to tackle different types of incidents and can be presented in a triangle, as shown in
66 Figure 2. The hazard controls in the hierarchy are: Elimination, Substituting, Controls for
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67 Engineering, Administrative controls, and PPE. Elimination is described as removing any
68 hazardous items kept in workers' path that can become a reason for the accident. Substitution's
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69 second-most efficient hazard control method is to replace any hazardous item, which is a much
70 safer item in this way; the intensity of the accident can be controlled. Control of Engineering
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71 does not eliminate the hazards but rather isolate workers from the hazards. Administrative
72 controls are considered as the fourth efficient method in the hierarchy of control. PPE is often
73 deemed as the most repetitive equipment in the daily routine of any worker on a construction
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74 site, yet it is considered as the last line of defence against any circumstances. PPE in developing
75 countries is considered unimportant, but in some developed countries, PPE can often be the only
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76 line of protection against construction site hazards [10], [11].

Least Effective

Remove the hazard physically

PPE

Administrative Control Remove the hazard

Engineering Control Safe people from hazards

Substitution
Make the way of work more safer

Elimination To avoid the hazard

77 Most Effective

78 Figure 2: Hierarchy of Control

 79 To alter the course of these hazards, the implementation of PPE for the construction
80 workers becomes highly essential [12]. The necessary PPE include Safety Goggles, High
81 Visibility Vests, Safety Boots, Gloves, Hard Hats/Construction Helmets, Safety Harnesses,
82 Communication Radios, Knee/Elbow Pads, Hearing and Sound barricading aids, Chemical Face
83 Shields, along with Electronic Gadgets which assist during the routine choirs on site [3], [7],
84 [13]–[20]. In addition to the PPE, the Safety Devices, which include Signboards [3], Warning
85 Lights, and Information Chalking, also play a vital role in directing the individuals towards safe
86 zones on construction site [21]. Although the PPE and Safety Devices are readily available
87 within the market and are also being provided by Governmental and Private Institutions but still
88 the PPE and Safety devices, on many occasions, do not perform well [22]. This stance can be
89 observed from the past five years' datasets, where the accidents in the construction industry have
90 jumped higher than any other economically contributing industry [7]. The statistics illustrate

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91 within past years, the injuries have risen to 2.3 million, combined with deaths due to accidents
92 rose to 6000 deaths daily [23], whereas around 340 million occupational accidents are recorded

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93 annually all around the world. Most astonishing of the facts is that 50 percent of the construction
94 site workers were wearing the PPE when these incidents occurred [24]. Focusing on the
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96
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incidents, one of the many rightful topics that need spotlight is how the psychological risk
assessment for hazards, safety cultures in an organization, equipment designs or product quality,
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97 and accident associated emergency procedures could have helped nullification of these incidents
98 [25].
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99 The systematic review, an emerging reviewing method, has been broadly conducted by
100 various researchers in the field of construction safety [3], [26], [27]. However, there is still a
101 need to perform a systematic review from the PPE perspective. Therefore, this systematic review
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102 highlights PPE's importance in construction projects and explores the study area's gap. Critical
103 success factors for PPE implementation were also stated with a framework for its enhancement.
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104 For this purpose, the PRISMA statement was adopted to extract the relevant research articles
105 focusing on PPE's role in implementing the safety attributes in construction projects.
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106 2. Research Questions and Objectives

107 This study focuses on reviewing the conducted research in the field of construction safety
108 with PPE implementation and providing a future direction that would be beneficial for the
109 stakeholders in terms of safety implementation in construction projects. Based on the study
110 necessity, the following research questions were established:
111 i. Which critical factors have the utmost importance in implementing the PPE in
112 construction projects?
113 ii. How safety can be ensured by implementing Smart PPEs and technologies in
114 construction projects?

115 In parallel with the established research questions, the following research objectives were
116 achieved in this study:
117 i. Identifying the critical factors which directly impacts the PPE implementation in
118 construction projects.
119 ii. Evaluating Smart PPE and technologies as an advanced tool for safety implementation.
120 iii. Development of a conceptual framework that can bring betterment in construction
121 projects safety through PPE implementation.

122 The developed framework is significant for the construction industry stakeholders in term
123 of safety management enhancement through the PPE implementation and the introducing of
124 Smart PPE into the construction industry.

125 3. Methodology

126 For this study, the review technique followed is the systematic literature review based on
127 the PRISMA statement. The systematic literature review technique varies from the other review
128 methods to include the identification of all the published or unpublished studies directed to a

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129 specific topic. This study incorporates six steps, including the Data Acquisition (De-duplication
130 and Deep Scanning), Data Visualization (Keyword Co-occurrence using VOS Viewer), Data

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131 Analysis, Data Interpretation (Manually and JIGSAW software), Study Findings (based on
132 classifications from interpreted data), and Future Directed discussion. For a useful literature
133
134
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review, the strategy to start data collection is considered critical and fundamental. Figure 3
shows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and data flow. A total of 461 research
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135 articles were extracted from the well-reputed database consisting of Scopus, WOS, and Science
136 Direct in addition to Google Scholar as a search engine. After performing different techniques
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137 and the deduplication process, the definitive studies included in this systematic review are 62
138 research articles, consisting of the safety and PPE related topics as a core subject, as presented in
139 Appendix 1. For the initial search the academic databases i.e. Scopus, WOS, and SD along with
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140 an academic search engine i.e. Google Scholar was explored for the study. These academic
141 databases and search engine were explored via the predefined primary keywords. The primary
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142 keywords for the initial record exploration included i.e. Construction Safety, Building
143 Equipment, Accident Protection Measures, Risk Assessment, Accident Prevention, Safety
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144 Performance, Safety Devices, Safety Climate, Training and Equipment Design.
 Web Of Science Scopus Science Direct Google Scholar
n= 83 n= 61 n= 204 N= 113
IDENTIFICATION

Records identified through

databases searching
Article added from (n = 461)
2009 till July 2020
SKIMMING AND
SCANNING

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Article De-duplication

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(n=370)

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Web of Science Scopus Science direct Google Scholar
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(n = 64) (n = 24) (n = 156) (n = 69)
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DEEP SCANNING

Abstract Based Deep

Scanning
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(n=313)
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Central Topic Scanning

(n=70)
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SELECTION

Full Access Articles

FINAL

Availability Center topic PPE and

(n=62) Safety

145
146 Figure 3: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and data flow

147 After collecting an initial record from the keyword search, the number of articles came as
148 461 with the year limitation from 2009 to July 2020. After skimming and scanning and
149 deduplication process, the number of articles reduced to 370. Again, the articles were scanned
150 deeply into the three databases and one search engine for repetition after abstract based deep
151 scanning was performed, the number of articles left was 313, where 70 articles left out as a
152 centre topic. Leaving the articles number as 62 the most important articles with the central topic
153 of PPE and safety were considered and the final articles for further assessment.
154 3.1 Scope Assessment and Keyword Selection

155 PPE is a term applied to the equipment concerned with humanoid protection during the
156 different stages of a project life cycle. In the current study, the scope is set to PPE use within the
157 construction projects' execution phase. The targeted PPE were searched using the databases and
158 search engine to find the relevant keywords for a suitable match. Afterwards, keyword selection
159 was made, based on the highlighted PPE, as shown in Table 2.

160 Table 2: Targeted PPE’s and Keyword selection

No Targeted PPE Keyword selection

1 Gloves Construction Safety
2 Respiratory Protection Equipment Building Equipment

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3 Ear Protection Equipment Accident Protection Measures
4 Eye Protection Equipment Risk Assessment

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5 Head Protection Equipment Accident Prevention
6 Fall Protection Equipment Safety Performance
7
8
Welding Protection Equipment
Protective Clothing
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Safety Climate
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9 Foot Wears Training and Equipment Design

161 3.2 Data Acquisition and Database Exploration

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162 Data acquisition is the process to collect the data from the targeted and scope related
163 construction safety suited databases. In all the included databases and search engine, the data was
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164 collected by adjusting the filters to 2009 till July 2020, the distribution of the collected research
165 articles over the years is shown in Figure 4. Moreover, the conference papers, patents, and thesis
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166 from any repository were excluded in the initial phase.

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Number of Publication

10
8 8
8 7
6
6
6 5
4
4 3 3

2 1 1

0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
167 Year
168 Figure 4: Study Selection by Year from 2009 till 2020

169 It can be observed from Figure 4 that the maximum publications were occurred in 2020
170 where an overall increasing trend can be seen. The criteria of papers selection were made based
171 on the reputed journals under the well-known database's umbrella. The maximum publications
172 were from Safety Science with 29 papers. The second journal targeted was Automation in
173 Construction with 7 research papers. The details of the journal is provided in Figure 5.

Journal of Molecular Liquids

Journal of Cleaner Production

Journal of Cleaner Production journal

Materials and Design

Journal

Disease-a-Month

International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics

Science of the Total Environment

Building and Environment

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Journal of Safety Research

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Safety Science
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

174
175
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Figure 5: Research articles selection by Journal

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176 Literature was then priority scanned for optimum selection aligned to the scope of this
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177 study. Exploring the database of Science Direct resulted in the selection of 156 articles.
178 Searching the Scopus database resulted in the extraction of 29 articles. Refining this selection
179 lead to the selection of a total of 24 entries. Exploring the literature within the Web of Science
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180 database resulted in the initial selection of 116 articles and finally 64 articles were selected. The
181 Google Scholar search engine resulted in the initial selection of 146 articles. This selection was
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182 further refined and to 69 articles. All these files were saved in (Research Information Systems)
183 .ris and .txt format for further analysis processes in the following sections. A summary of these
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184 results is shown in Table 3.

185 Table 3: Results summary from Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar

Keywords Science Direct Scopus Web of Science Google Scholar

Risk Assessment 9 2 16 11
Accident Prevention 22 3 18 13
Safety Performance 36 1 7 5
Safety Devices 26 12 15 26
Training 62 2 6 8
Equipment Design 1 4 2 6
Total 156 24 64 69
All databases total 313

186 3.3 De-Duplication and Deep Scanning

187 Once all the data was extracted, it was most probable that the selected data included
188 duplicated results. For de-duplication, the Mendeley references management software was used.
189 Mendeley provides an in-built function to check for duplicates, which can be accessed by the
190 following path, i.e., Tools > Check for Duplicates. All the .ris files from Science Direct, Scopus,
191 WOS, and Google Scholar were first imported into Mendeley’s GUI (Graphical User Interface).
192 This resulted in the total import of 370 articles. The 370 articles were reduced to 313 because
193 while downloading the files from different databases, some literature was also available in more
194 than one database. Alongside the Mendeley “Check for Duplicates” option, the resulting data for
195 a cross-check was then verified by a manual check, which validated the Mendeley algorithms for
196 duplicate removal. The resulting de-duplicated file was converted and re-saved in .ris and .txt
197 formats for the deep scanning process.
198 Once all the data was de-duplicated; the deep screening of literature was conducted. For
199 the deep screening process, the primary focus was laid on the following points. i.e., a) the
200 literature contributes to safety in construction, b) the study shares data related to health and
201 safety connected to the PPE on construction sites, c) the study compares/shares any recent or

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202 previous works in regards to the accident, risks assessment, safety procedures, site training, or
203 the equipment design or handling methods. To follow this criterion EndNote was used for the

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204 selection of appropriate literature selection. The de-duplicated .ris file was opened in EndNote,
205 and various operator operations, i.e., AND, OR, were applied in the search fields. The search
206
207
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fields included searches related to titles, keywords, abstract for a rapid literature identification.
The deep screening resulted in the selection of 70 studies as centre topic. The alluvial chart
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208 illustrates the relationship between the years, database, and the journals of the deep screened
209 literatures in Figure 6.
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210
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211
212 Figure 6: A Relationship Between Journals, Years, And Selected Database

213 The Alluvial chart shows a graphical representation of the three databases and one search
214 engine. The entire graphical network is broken down into three columns representing a different
215 aspect of the data. The first column demonstrates the databases targeted for data extraction. The
216 middle column shows the years from 2009 till July 2020 where all the data selection was
217 performed in between these years. The last section with a combination of lines shows the
218 intensity of the papers selected from the different journals. This comprehensive data package
219 with steam lines shows the connectivity of the respected database with the years in which the
220 article was published and, more specifically, in which journal they were published.
221
222 4. Data Analysis
223 4.1 VOS Viewer
224 VOS viewer is a distance-based network map generator; the VOS viewer's assistance was
225 taken for the current study’s enhanced visualization and analyzation. Around 62 articles were
226 selected for the analysis in the VOS viewer. During literature acquisition and studying, it was
227 observed in multiple acquired papers that network visualization could have rendered a smooth
228 result. For this reason, networked visualization via the VOS viewer was included.

229 4.1.1 Terminologies in VOS Viewer

230 Within the VOS viewer, “Items” act like atoms in network diagrams. They are the basic
231 parts extracted from the resource files input/downloaded via the VOS graphical user interface

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232 (GUI). It is quite evident that a study which contains more than one item, and thus whenever this
233 is the case, these items are connected with the help of “Link”. For the VOS viewer to display two

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234 sets of items, the link's minimum value should be at least equal to 1. Moreover, the value of a
235 link is always positive. This positive value attribute is also the same for the “Strength of Link”,
236
237
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which refers to the joint publication authorship in which two items may be identical. “Total Link
Strength” is the strength of the links associated with varied items in place. A “Network” is
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238 formed when multiple items are linked together, and furthermore, when a network is divided into
239 individual groups, it is called “Cluster” which consists of items that do not repeat in another
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240 cluster during the aftermath of clustering. These clusters can be analysed based on multiple
241 methods provided within the VOS viewer. One method proposed in this study for data analysis is
242 “Keyword Co-occurrence,” in which the keywords are extracted from the input resources (for
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243 this study’s case, input resources mean the .ris files). Then they are compared, and if two
244 keywords are found the same within certain publications, it is referred to as the keywords have
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245 co-occurred, and this phenomenon is known as the keyword co-occurrence.

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246 4.1.2 VOS Viewer Keyword Co-occurrence

247 The .ris resource file was first imported within the VOS viewer. A network map was
248 created based on the .ris format and thus, the reference manager data were fed within the VOS
249 viewer interface. The “Co-occurrence” was selected, and the unit of analysis was kept to
250 “Keywords”. Whereas for the counting was marked to “Fractional Counting” in which links of
251 items are subjected to fractionalized weights based on co-occurring publications. The minimum
252 number of keyword co-occurrence threshold was set to 2, which resulted in limiting the number
253 of keywords to 394 among a total identified 1687 keywords. In the next stage, the total number
254 of keywords to be displayed were limited to 394. Any irrelevant to study keywords extracted by
255 VOS viewer were excluded from the study in the next step. This resulted in 78 number of
256 keywords.
257 Table 4: Selected keywords

Label/Item Cluster Links Total Link Occurrences

Strength Frequency
Construction 8 38 40 58
Construction Safety 4 15 24 38
Safety 6 33 30 35
Construction Industry 5 40 25 31
Risk Assessment 4 19 14 17
Accident Prevention 9 14 16 16
Noise 1 26 13 15
Construction Workers 10 29 12 14
Occupational Health 11 24 10 13
Occupational Exposure 1 30 11 11
Occupational Safety 5 19 10 11
Hearing Loss 1 23 9 10
Noise Exposure 1 30 9 10
Safety Performance 3 7 8 10

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Construction Site 3 6 8 9
Safety Devices 7 13 7 9

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Safety Management 9 8 7 9
Helmet 2 18 8 8
Noise Pollution
Personal Protective Equipment
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1
10
30
8
7
8
8
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Safety Climate 2 23 7 8
Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced 1 28 7 7
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Noise, Occupational 1 27 7 7
Occupational Accident 2 14 6 7
Occupational Health and Safety 12 5 7 7
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Risk Perception 7 9 6 7
Behaviour-Based Safety 3 4 6 6
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Head Protective Devices 2 18 6 6

Hearing Protection 1 18 4 6
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Injuries 6 5 5 6
Occupational Diseases 1 31 6 6
Construction Accidents 4 2 1 5
Hazard Identification 4 2 5 5
Hearing Protection Devices 1 20 5 5
Industrial Noise 1 16 5 5
Occupational Injuries 2 7 3 5
Safety Behaviour 3 3 5 5
Training 12 3 3 5
Accidents 7 6 3 4
Construction Injury 9 2 3 4
Dust Pollution 5 1 3 4
Equipment Design 2 10 4 4
Falls from Height 13 1 2 4
Hearing 1 26 4 4
Injury Prevention 5 4 3 4
 Noise Induced Hearing Loss 1 20 3 4
Prevention Through Design 8 3 3 4
Protective Equipment 7 22 4 4
Safety Helmet 4 1 4 4
Work-Related Injury 10 3 4 4
Design for Safety 8 2 3 3
Ear Protective Devices 1 23 3 3
Eye Injuries 2 6 3 3
Eye Protection 2 5 2 3
Eye Protective Devices 2 9 3 3
Factor Analysis 3 7 3 3
Fall Prevention 5 4 3 3

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First Aid 12 3 3 3
Health and Safety 10 2 3 3

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Health Risk 8 1 3 3
Hearing Conservation 1 23 3 3
Heavy Construction Equipment
Human Factors
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6
6
2
2
2
2
3
3
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Ill-Health, H&S Management 11 3 3 3
Noise Injury 1 22 3 3
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Noise-Induced Hearing Loss 1 16 3 3

Occupational Accidents 6 1 1 3
Occupational Disease 1 23 3 3
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Occupational Noise 1 15 3 3
Project Management 4 5 2 3
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Risk Factors 2 12 3 3
Safety Culture 9 6 2 3
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Safety Training 7 2 1 3
Structural Equation Modelling 3 3 3 3
U.S OSHA 1 17 3 3
Unsafe Behaviour 13 3 3 3
Work-Related 11 3 3 3
Workplace Safety 3 6 3 3

258 4.2 Data Visualization and Cluster Classification

259 A yearly overlay visualization was generated, which can be observed in Figure 7a, in which it is
260 evident that PPE is a rising research concern in the field of construction. This is supported by the
261 item helmet, accident, prevention through design, work-related injury, fall prevention, which also
262 follows the latest trends in support of PPE growing importance in construction projects. In the
263 same manner, VOS viewer visualization was generated, as shown in Figure 7b. The nodes within
264 the rendered output were connected to each other, and no such unconnected node was found in
265 the generated output. There are four clustering methods used in VOS viewer: no normalization,
266 association strength, fractionalization, and linlog/modularity. The method used for VOS cluster
267 visualization was association strength. If this option is selected, the association strength method
268 uses normalization strength between the items' links. This method is also known as the proximity
269 index [28].

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270
271 (a): Overlay Visualization
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272
273 (b): VOS viewer Visualization
274 Figure 7: Overlay Visualization and VOS viewer Visualization
275 As a result of clustering, it was observed that 13 clusters were formed. For ease of visualization,
276 the VOS viewer assigned the default colour set to the generated clusters. As the colour schemes
277 seem to be confusing in darker and lighter shades, the colour schemes were identified based on
278 RGB colour coding, as illustrated in Table 5.
279 Table 5: Cluster Classification

Cluster Number Colour Name Colour Code Total Items

1 Red RGB [222, 80, 76] 20
2 Green RGB [67, 181, 67] 10
3 Blue RGB [82, 153, 199] 7
4 Gold RGB [200, 200, 50] 6
5 Lavender RGB [230,230,250] 5
6 Turquoise RGB [76, 206, 220] 5
7 Orange RGB [255, 165, 50] 5

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8 Coral RGB [255,127,80] 4
9 Pink RGB [255,192,203] 4

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10 Rose RGB [255,0,127] 4
11 Green RGB [67, 181, 67] 3
12 Light blue RGB [215, 255, 254] 3

280
13 Tan -pRGB [210,180,140] 2
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281 5. Interpretation and Findings
282 Data interpretation is one of the methods which includes the pre-treated data to make
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283 sense and to be in the understandable form. After this phase, the manual approach was followed
284 with the help of the analysed data extracted from the clusters and the keyword produced by the
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285 Network Visualization diagram. It was further supported by JIGSAW for a robust literature
286 analysis related to the topic.
287 5.1. Cluster Interpretation
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288 Data interpretation is one of the important parts of the literature review. As explained
289 previously, the 62 record items were targeted mainly after the deep scanning stage. All these
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290 records, after being analysed by the co-occurrence analysis the results were generated, which
291 were further needed to be interpreted, and it is important that the clusters produced by the VOS
292 viewer should be analysed manually as well before proceeding to the (Systematic Literature
293 Review) SLR phase. The items selected by the VOS viewer for the network visualization
294 exceeded the author's capacity for manual data interpretative analysis. Thus, the latest items from
295 the 13 clusters were selected, which seem to act towards the future aspects of critical success
296 factors of PPE. Twenty-five (25) most suitable words for PPE critical success factors in the
297 construction industry was sorted out as: Risk Assessment, Accident Prevention, Safety
298 Performance, Safety Devices, Safety Management, Personal Protective Equipment, Safety
299 Climate, Risk Perception, Construction Accidents, Training, Accidents, Equipment Design,
300 Injury Prevention, Prevention Through Design, Fall Prevention, Ill-Health, H&S Management,
301 Occupational Accidents, Project Management, Risk Factors, Safety Culture, Safety Training, U.S
302 Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Work-Related, Workplace Safety. All these
303 keywords were extracted from the VOS viewer platform generated collectively after keyword
304 selection.
305 After collecting the most suitable words for PPE critical success factors, the next phase
306 was to find out the most important keywords that reflect the research and give a better
307 understanding. The top seven most relevant words that will be used for JIGSAW are: Risk
308 Assessment, Accident Prevention, Safety Performance, Safety Devices, Safety Climate,
309 Training, Equipment Design, Fall Prevention, Fatigue, Safety Culture. JIGSAW is a systematic
310 program that understands the extracted data, where all collected data is put inside the JIGSAW,
311 and the data is sequentialized in the form of a list, which is much better in understanding the data
312 rather than the traditional tables and charts. There are mainly three listed columns that show
313 different contrasts of the data, the first column is the concept item collected after the scanning
314 process previously. The second column in which we can see the numbers. Those are the
315 documents with the data of the concept items. The last column named as (Person) is the authors
316 that are affiliate with the data. The lines show relation in-between all the columns, and the

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317 networking is much easier to understand.
318 5.2 Data Findings

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319 The summary of the selected critical factors has been presented in Table 6. Eight
320 different factors are describing the safety attributes that can help minimize the accidents that
321
322 mitigating construction accidents.
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occur on-site. All these factors are categorized into different sub-factors that keep a key role in
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323 Table 6: Critical Success Factors Related to Work Accidents and Safety On-Site
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No Factors Description/Discussion References

1 Safety Education Education and training are significant instruments for [29], [30],[31],
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informing employees and executives [32], [33], [2],

[34]

Providing safety training and First aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), [4]
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1.1
workshop automated external defibrillator (AED) and workshops,
etc.
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1.2 Campaigns and awareness Bulletin boards, signs, directions, seminars, and [35]
seminars presentations

1.3 Technical guidance from the Dept. of safety and health (DOSH), Labour Dept., [35]
organization National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health
(NIOSH), National Council for Occupational Safety &
Health (NCOSH), Social Security Organization
(SOCSO)

1.4 Having safety mentors, PPE advisors. [30]

teamwork

1.5 Basic guidance for safety how to approach in case of an accident [36]

1.6 Skills development program To enhance the potential skills, they have [37]

2 Management Role in Safety Support from Management on construction site [35], [38], [39],
[40], [15], [41],
[42], [3]
2.1 Limited management time To prolong the time and focus on safety approach [43]

2.2 limited management focus on What is the role of management on safety and how to [36]
safety implement the safety procedures

2.3 Partial safety control To superimpose PPE on site [44]

mechanisms

2.4 Less safety management How to implement the safety procedures [45]
practices

2.5 Risk assessment operation Any plans to prevent the accidents [46]

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3 PPE Tools Quality The quality of the product should be as per standards [47], [35],
[13] ,[48], [19]

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3.1 The efficiency of the PPE tools Either useful to use or not [13]

3.2 Durability -p
Resist any accident safely [15]

Safeguard against impact Withstand the accident impact [49]

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3.3

3.4 Proper outfit On-site dressing standards from DOSH, OSHA, etc. [24]
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3.5 Strength and weakness The limitation of the PPE specified from the General [30]
identified for each PPE tool Society of Surveillance (SGS) in Malaysia
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4 Rules and regulation for on- The most significant cause for complying with company [50], [45], [51],
site work rules and guidelines is the persona safety for the [52], [53] [37]
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employees. [54], [55], [56]

4.1 Safety rules Rules regarding standards followed by DOSH, OSHA, [57]
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etc.

4.2 Rules compliance from DOSH Command for rules implementation [46]

4.3 Competent departments To apply standards [58]

4.4 Premedical assessment Allergic to chemicals, physically examine, the general [59]
test examines and proper check-up that can fulfill the
requirements according to DOSH

4.5 Licensing for a specific Job Welding, steel fixer, etc. to be qualified for that work [49]

5 Accident Investigation and After an accident took place on the worksite to eliminate [60], [61], [62],
Procedures the risk and frequency, the accident investigated, and all [63], [64], [65],
preservative measures are taken for the next time [66]

5.1 Number of accident rate Frequency and severity data set from DOSH, OSHA [65]
annually
5.2 Safety investigation/inspection Why the accidents occurred [67]

5.3 Lesson learned from incidents To take the experience from the accidents and improve [63]
the safety standards

5.4 Investigation/techniques for Inspect for better safety features in PPE introduced [61]
accident prevention:

6 Accidents Due to Workload
The research found that many employees face higher [63],[68], [53],
rates of stress owing to overwork. This may include [69], [70], [54],
working long shifts, overtime, and not taking a vacation [37], [71], [72],
or paying off time, even when available. Many workers [2]
also work when they feel sick, even when sick days are
available. In these cases, 28 % of workers said that they

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worked when they were ill because there was not
enough staff to cover them

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6.1 Production pressure The pressure to show progress [71]

6.2 Fatigue and burnout -p

Mental pressure due to work [73]
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6.3 Working time Working hours to specify [46]
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6.4 Working atmosphere Conditions for on-site workers [46]

6.5 6S workplace methodology This procedure defines how to organize a workspace for [32]
proficiency and effectiveness by categorizing and
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storing the items used, keeping the area and items, and
supporting the new order related to housekeeping
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7 Operators Safety Issues To avoid incidents at the job and other health issues [74], [27], [49],
among staff, it is essential that both employers and [3], [75]
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workers commit to maintaining the safety of their

operating surroundings. The company holds general
liability for the operating setting, but the staff share
accountability; obey the employer's instructions, for
instance, and use the personal equipment of the
employee

7.1 Operator employment source Merit base or not [41]

7.2 Length of an operational work Shift duration [76]

shift

7.3 Operator character Behaviour with an official [77]

8 PPE Activity Monitoring Every employee's health is a major issue. Injuries in [78], [79], [7]
Mechanism building infrastructure are serious issues

8.1 Site visit and safety check On-site checking from the responsible authorities such [36]
as DOSH
 8.2 Enforced legislation Superimposing legislation [80]

8.3 Proper monitoring The observational protocol should be followed [81]

324 Safety threats, poor safety practices, and strategies to improve site protection are
325 discussed in this section, as described in previous studies [73], [82], [83], [84], [85] . Those are
326 the reasons for the accidents and possible methods for enhanced safety practices [47]. The first
327 factor, which is safety education, which describes training and education, is a significant
328 component for informing employees and executives about risks and checks at the workforce to
329 operate more securely and be more efficient. However, another function of educating and
330 coaching is to provide employees and executives with a better knowledge of the safety program
331 itself so that they can add to its growth and execution [31]. The second factor discusses the

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332 management role in safety and support from management on construction sites, which is
333 considered essential for project success. Without the support of management, the construction

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334 phase ends up in delay in the projects. Fortunately, the management team is the one which
335 provides basic safety and keeps an eye on the ups and downs of the project. The third factor is
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336 considered necessary because of this factor; its quality is decided [42]. If the equipment is not
337 equipped with the standards already specified, it will not give the protection up to the mark,
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338 which indirectly affects the whole project lifecycle of the construction process. The fourth factor
339 is about the rules and regulations for on-site work [78]. The most significant cause for complying
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340 with company rules and guidelines is the employees' safety, as it is particularly crucial when
341 working with hazardous machinery, manoeuvring heavy equipment, or working in hazardous
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342 circumstances [86]. The fifth factor discussed in the cluster is accident investigation and
343 procedures [53]. The last factor PPE activity monitoring mechanism states that every employee's
344 health is a significant issue; injury in buildings is particularly severe due to the inadequate and
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345 insufficient PPE use. The PPE use keeps workers protected from occupational safety hazards and
346 decreases workers' exposure to injuries [87]. To observe workers' behaviour, on-site PPE activity
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347 monitoring mechanism is followed, which is indeed a potent tool to keep a live eye on the
348 workers at the same moment.

349 5.2.1 Role of PPE in Construction Safety

350 Workers are shielded from potential injuries and incidents by wearing PPE every day.
351 Usually, PPE offers protection against various hazards such as physical, radiological, chemical,
352 electrical, biological, and mechanical hazards on the construction site [11]. PPE is compulsory
353 for construction projects, and specifically, in construction works, safety equipment contains
354 products that support a user from any uncertainty [88]. It is needed to reduce the risk of being
355 affected by different workplaces [53]. Safety management system in a project is a part in which
356 an organization includes workers' safety according to company rules and regulations in case of
357 an accident [4], [89]. PPE can change according to the working conditions [66]. Although the
358 leading causes of hazards in the workplace may include physical, mechanical, electrical and
359 chemical, etc., instructions and policies must be followed, and staff must be adequately trained
360 and supervised [59]. But some hazards remain even after these safe work systems have been
361 introduced. Table 7 describes the primary and secondary causes of accidents. Primary causes are
362 divided into unsafe acts and insecure conditions, whereas secondary causes are divided into
363 management system pressure and joint pressures.
364
365 Table 7: Primary and Secondary Causes of Accidents

Primary Key Causes Secondary Key Causes

1. Unsafe act 1. Management System pressures
Not working with the appropriate consultant Financial limitations
Fail to alert from potential hazard Absence of obligation
Leaving the apparatus in a risky condition Deficiency of rule and policies
Using equipment at the wrong pace Absence of standards
Using malfunctioning equipment Absence of data and
Failure to wear PPE Procedures

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improper stacking of vehicles Partial training
No proper load lifting low-quality control systems

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2. Insecure Conditions 2. Common pressures
Inadequate workers to moving machine parts Group attitude
Missing platform guardrails
Faulty equipment
Insufficient warning systems
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Industry institution
Society attitudes to risk-taking
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Fire threats Acceptable operation in the workplace
Unproductive housekeeping Commercial pressure
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366
367 5.2.2 Aspects leading to accidents due to inadequate safety factors
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368 PPE importance plays an essential role in the mitigation of accidents and, if not followed
369 properly, can cause more accidents to happen in construction projects. Figure 8 shows the
370 important factors and its subdivision as divided into two phases. The first phase elaborates on the
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371 construction projects, PPE, and the accidents involved on-site. In the second phase, the main
372 factors are presented that could help eliminate the possible causes of accidents.
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373
 Personal
Protective
Equipment

Safety Education and

Training

PPE Safety

SAFETY
Management
Construction
Projects Safety Accident
Prevention

PPE Quality and

Usage

of
PPE and
Accidents

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Involved in
Construction
Projects
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374 Phase 1 Phase 2
375 Figure 8: Important factors related to safety and subfactors breakdown
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376 Safety education regarding health and safety is vital for informing employees and
377 executives about risks and checks in the workforce so that they can operate more securely and be
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378 more efficient [14]. Another function of education and training is to provide employees and
379 executives with a better knowledge of the safety program [45], which can add to its growth and
380 execution. Safety education includes one of the most critical roles for the safety of workers on
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381 site. Campaigns and awareness seminars are among the fastest methods to improve sites' safety,
382 and people working on existing projects [42], [49].
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383 Every organization consists of management staff and the technical staff, known as the
384 backbone of any company. Without the organization's technical guidance, it is impossible to act
385 safely in any condition in day-to-day work. At this time, the organization's technical guidance is
386 crucial to make the site safer [90]. Skill development program consists of essential programs that
387 can help the workers acknowledge their skills and improve the skills required to work efficiently
388 on-site. That is why many organizations focus on the workability of the labours who are
389 providing their services on-site [89]. By applying to the skill development program, labours can
390 learn new things and do work faster than required and more efficiently than the old methods that
391 could require more time and effort.
392 Every organization keeps essential rules and regulations for the workers' safety, and those
393 rules are mandatory for every worker to follow [91]. By implementing those rules, it is essential
394 that the organization needs to give basic guidelines to the worker to do their job. While working
395 on the project, it is evident that the workers should follow the working group technique. When
396 working in team productivity of work increase and if some mishap occurs on the site, the other
397 person can help in any case of emergency [57].
398 The initial thing that taught on-site to the workers is the usage of the first aid [72]. The
399 next training factor that comes essential to the category is campaigns and awareness seminars
400 [4], including bulletin boards, signs, directions, seminars, and presentations that could help
401 people understand much faster and in a convenient way. The third important factor is the skill
402 development program. This program uses to enhance the skills the workers have on-site and the
403 methods introduced to polish their skills with better output on-site [45].

404 5.2.3. Management role in Safety Regarding PPE

405 The second factor discusses the Management Role in Safety regarding PPE and support
406 from management on construction sites [92], which is considered a primary factor for the
407 project's achievement. Without the support of management in the construction phase, it will end
408 up delaying the project. Fortunately, the management team provides basic safety and keeps an

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409 eye on the ups and downs during the project [93].
410 Safety is purely related to the management and control system, where the check and

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411 balance system for PPE usage on any construction site is part of it. If the management focuses on
412 strict policies regarding safety and health, there could be less accident uncertainty [94]. To
413
414
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ensure the construction site's safety, it is evident that the management is always available on the
construction site during on-duty hours. If the management is not enough to handle all the staff
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415 surveillance cameras, it should be installed to keep an eye on the construction workers, where
416 any unexpected situation could be tackled easily [42].
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417 The safety management should ensure that the site is made as safe as possible to avoid
418 any mishaps that could delay work [95]. To avoid less safety management, bulletin sighs, and
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419 warning boards can be used to ensure any potential hazards that can occur [95], [96]. Safety can
420 always be practised in those places where there are proper checks and balances of safety rules
421 and regulations. In partial control mechanisms, all situations are kept in a controlled environment
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422 so that just in case of emergency, there is a plan to follow up [97].

423 Many organizations worldwide use a strategy known as a risk assessment to avoid any
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424 unwanted accidents. This action plan is made to minimize the incident causing accidents [69],
425 [98]–[100]. After this pre planned approach is followed, a new mechanism is made to avoid
426 accidents caused by the ignorance of PPE [18].

427 5.2.4 Safety Accident Prevention

428 An accident can be distinct as an unintentional, unwanted, unpredicted, and
429 uncontrollable incident [46]. An accident does not always cause injury. It may be due to the
430 damage of equipment and materials [6]. It is tough to dialogue about construction safety
431 management when there is no understanding of accidents' causes. First, there is a need to
432 understand an accident before starting a significant and efficient improvement in project safety
433 procedures [95]. Some of the leading causes of the delay in the project are the accidents that
434 occur on-site. Either they are counted as major or minor accidents in intensity but somehow
435 affect the project time frame.

436 5.2.5 PPE quality and usage

437 PPE quality and usage are considered as an essential factor [14]. The equipment is
438 equipped with the standards already specified, or it will give the protection up to the mark [101].
439 These standards are set by authorized bodies such as OSHA, NIOSH, DOSH, where the
440 negligence can affect the whole project [59]. The equipment's quality and efficiency should be
441 up to the standards as specified by the legislative authorities [102]. It should be superimposed to
442 all the organizations to follow up with the government rules and regulations [103]. Every
443 equipment has its life span and limitation where a proper check and balance can minimize the
444 accident rates. Wear and tear are one of the negative phenomena of PPE and changing a PPE on
445 time can avoid unnecessary accident [104]. One of the benefits of using PPE is that it can be
446 used as the last defence against the impact if there is no other option left [9],[100]. It is evident
447 that labour can rely on PPE if he knows how to use it properly [12]. There are different
448 perspectives on PPE wearability; some feel a bit more protective while wearing the PPE, but on

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449 the other hand, some believe that the workability conditions can be limited by wearing PPE
450 [106].

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451 5.2.6 Smart PPEs and Technologies
452
453
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Over the years, construction accidents have gained a terrible reputation, even with PPE
distributed on-site. In order to avoid occupational accidents, wearable technology has become
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454 more popular nowadays, guaranteeing safety standards in the workplace. Smart PPE gives access
455 to the network and other devices to provide real-time safety information. Smart PPE is better
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456 than traditional PPE in minimizing accidents, and stakeholders are eager to introduce smart PPE
457 in their business if it is available in the market at a reasonable cost [102]. Smart PPE could be
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458 used for OSH practitioners and employers with real-time information to defend against many
459 workplace hazards.
460 The introduction of smart PPE and the implementation of safety technologies is still
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461 novel for investors where it has not been integrated into their legislation by any existing
462 standards. The current PPE is very inefficient because when a threat is around, the warning
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463 signals are not self-activated. It is evident to improve PPE's current productivity; the introduction
464 of intelligent systems is envisaged [11], [107].
465 A handheld Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) passive portal verifies compliance
466 with PPE. It enhances the monitoring and management of PPE and provides workers with rapid
467 feedback. A user interface allows for employee pro-active safety education and learning.
468 Applicability of fields and use in other fields are explained. The wearing of PPE is mandated by
469 workers entering a construction site. In very rare conditions, PPE is assessed for quality
470 assurance., which is very dangerous for a worker on the job [108].
471 A number of market associated information technology and automated identification
472 systems have been implemented for mobile radio frequency identification (RFID) portal to verify
473 staff compliance with the PPE. Completeness monitoring time tracking an automatic site entry
474 can help perform the gates operation on construction sites if the cost passive RFID or embedded
475 to the PPE. These strengthen the logistics of the current process of timely feedback and checking
476 the compliance for the users. Results for "personnel entering a construction site" show the
477 proactive management of the safety process [108].
478 In the modern construction sector, the latest technologies and concepts are being
479 implemented to enhance safety operations in various workplaces, including underground mining
480 and surface power plant construction sites and factories[109].
481 This smartphone and smartwatch-based technology will improve employee awareness by
482 gathering data on the workplace itself, recognizing conditions of environmental and health
483 hazards. A provision of real-time awareness in regards to the safety situation to protect the safety
484 and health before the accidents can occur can be enhanced by the use of a prototype device that
485 can predict the underground mining linked to the sensors attached to the standard personal
486 protective equipment clothing connected to the Bluetooth sensors. When incorporated in
487 everyday objects, miniaturized and wearable devices have the ability to augment human senses
488 and capabilities. A secure helmet that integrates gas and noise sensors, head-mounted displays,
489 and communication devices are the Deep Vision Shield [110]. PPE has been planned to decrease

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490 injury rates in such away. The current PPE is very inefficient because it cannot provide warning
491 signals when a threat is around. In order to improve the performance of the current PPE the

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492 introduction of intelligent systems is envisaged [105].

493
494
6. Conceptual framework -p
Keeping in mind the authors' data findings and mutually concentrating on the same point
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495 by all the researchers, the construction projects lack the safety protocols that are not
496 appropriately followed. It is observed that the new roles should be submerged with the existing
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497 rules and regulations. The old roles for safety should be incorporated with the modified new
498 roles to get the most out of it. This research projected a framework supported by the literature in
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499 this study summarized in Figure 9.

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 PPE’s Limiting/Workability Conditions
Organizational Risk Assessment
PPE’s Efficiency
Enforcing Safety Management
Impact Resistance and Endurance
Self-Risk Assessment
Gear and Outfit Code of Conducts followed Organizational Safety Mechanism
PPE’s Durability
Top Management Priority

Accident Proportionality
Accident frequency
Corporate Role in On-Site Safety Management
Mitigation Approach Compliance (CRM)
Independent Variable
Preventive Accident Measures (IV)
Quality of Personal Protective Equipment
Reactive Monitoring System (QPE)

On-Site Corporate Accident Policy

Worker Rotational Shifts (OCP)

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Extra working shift Allowed
Employee Awareness and Support
Working Environment (EAS) Critical Success Factors

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6S Workplace Methodology (CSF)
Rules and Regulation from Governmental
Permit to Work” system Policies
Consecutive working shits Allowed
(RGP)
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Accidents Due to Workload
(ADW)
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Worker Employment Credibility
Worker Psychology and Vulnerability Operators Safety Issues
(OSI) Personal Protective Equipment
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Organization stress relief camps available

(PPE)

Extra working shift Allowed

Worker Psychology and Vulnerability Dependent Variable
Working Environment
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(DV)
Worker Rotational Shifts Worker Employment Credibility

Consecutive working shits Allowed Organization stress relief camps available

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6S Workplace Methodology
Permit to Work” system
500
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501 Figure 9: Conceptual Framework

502 These proposed roles are classified into seven categories, i.e., Corporate Role in On-Site
503 Safety Management (CRM), Quality of Personal Protective Equipment (QPE), On-Site
504 Corporate Accident Policy (OCP), Employee Awareness and Support (EAS), Rules and
505 Regulation from Governmental Policies (RGP), Accidents Due to Workload (ADW), Operators
506 Safety Issues (OSI). As critical success factors revolve around these factors, it is considered an
507 independent variable, and PPE is considered the dependent variable. Which relies on the factors
508 of PPE; with some betterment in the factors, the PPE results can change, causing a positive sign
509 in minimizing the accidents on site. Management or corporate role in safety is considered an
510 essential key point for depleting an accident in construction projects. Proper management and
511 functional connectivity with the workers can create a work-friendly environment that can reduce
512 the site's incident.
513 The quality of PPE mostly depends on the standards, and the frequency of equipment is
514 used. The management must keep an eye on the expiry for the dangerous equipment to use
515 frequently and poses more life support than any other PPE. One of the most important and
516 fundamental policies followed at the time of accidents is the management's policies. To fulfil all
517 required standards, the management needs to follow the guidelines already provided by the
518 government without any amendment. Training schemes of first aid for employees are critical.
519 The organization should ensure mandatory first aid, *CPR, *AED training, and workshop
520 attendance for on-site workers. The organization should follow any standard safety rules or laws
521 assigned by a reputed health and safety executive organization or board (e.g.*DOSH, *NIOSH,
522 *NCOSH, *SOCSO). In every organization, a reputed standard is implemented on-site and many
523 tailored safety procedures undertaken by the organization to tackle unfortunate accidental issues.
524 Up to which level the current internal corporate measures deviate from the government's
525 standards regarding the PPE implementation. Interchangeable work shifts increase workforce
526 efficiency, but due to the extended work shift, there is much uncertainty of an organization's
527 accident. To alter those situations, the organization needs to schedule/matrix, which distributes

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528 equal workload among your current on-site workers. The company needs to ensure the maximum
529 consecutive work shifting an individual can perform according to your organization policy. OSI

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530 serves to track the record of workers recruited on-site to show transparency, credible, and easily
531 share the information related to workers in an organization. Some people on a worksite may be
532
533 a part of your team the same.
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more vulnerable than others. The organization treats the young, untrained, and disabled who are
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534 6.1 CARWIQS Application Framework
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535 Each critical success factor was given an alphabetic name, i.e. Corporate’s role in on-site
536 Safety Management (C), On-site corporate accident policy (A), Rules and regulation from
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537 governmental policies (R), Accidents due to workload (W), Operators Safety issues (I), Quality
538 of personal protective equipment (Q), Employee awareness and support (S). As future direction,
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539 these critical success factors will be referred as the CARWIQS strategy. This application
540 framework has been set for two classes of stakeholders, i.e., Working for staff as a class and
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541 Management staff as a class available on the construction site. For the successful implementation
542 of the CARWIQS strategy, a safety questionnaire form would be filled twice a day (i.e. at the
543 start of site shift and the end of site shift) by worker class the management class deals with the
544 assessment of the produced content.
545 Once the selected stake holders fill these questionnaires over a defined period as a routine
546 task (for instance, a month) the organization could be classified into a division of five stating that
547 either the organization is Negligent, Initiator, Convincer, Regulator, or an Enforcer in terms of
548 PPE implementation. Table 8 provides typical questions that should be addressed as routine tasks
549 based on the CARWIQS strategy when entering the shift and exiting the shift. At the start of the
550 shift three questions are needed to be marked, whereas at the end of the shift, four questions are
551 needed to be marked for answers.
552 Table 8: CARWIQS assessment questions and corresponding marking routine

Critical Success Shift

Notation Question
Factor Entry/Exit
 Corporate’s role in on- How is the management attitude towards the
C site Safety PPE Exit
Management implementation on site?
Are you fully aware about the organization's
On-site corporate
A accident policy regarding PPE Entry
accident policy
implementation?
Rules and regulation
R from governmental Are the organizational PPE's adoption rules Exit
policies and regulations being followed on site?
Accidents due to
W Did you have any minor/major accidents Exit
workload
today due to workload?

I Operators Safety issues Do you have any issues with respect to the Entry
PPE for the site assigned?

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Quality of personal
Q Were the quality checks performed for the Entry
protective equipment
PPE before the work started?

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Employee awareness
S Were you properly briefed about the PPE on Entry
and support
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site assigned?
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554 6.1.1 Scoring System and Classification

555 The organization classification of the discussed application framework will be based on a
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556 CARWIQS scoring system that will include 5 units for each marked answer (A = 1 unit, B= 2
557 units, C=3 units, D=4 units, E=5 units). The total CARWIQS score will determine the
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558 organizational category. The maximum CARWIQS score under the current framework will be 35
559 units, whereas the minimum score will be equal to one provided by each respondent, as
560 illustrated within the CARWIQS score matrix system in Table 9.
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561 Table 9: CARWIQS score matrix for PPE implementation in an organization

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Question Numbers
Grade Grade Units
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
C 3 3 6 9 12 15 18 21
D 4 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
E 5 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

562 Based on the CARWIQS strategy, five organizational classes are produced, referring to
563 the proper/improper implementation of PPE on the construction sites. These categories are
564 Negligent, Initiator, Convincer, Regulator, and Enforcer. Table 10 illustrates the PPE’s
565 implementation titles and classes based on the CARWIQS strategy. It is also noteworthy here
566 that each classification is divided into seven grade units i.e. for instance, if a construction firm
567 has total grade units equal to six, it will be assigned the “A” category titled as “Negligent”.
568 Table 10: Organization class and corresponding titles with respect to PPE's implementation

Range of
Class Title PPE Implementation Remarks
Grade Units
A Negligent Improper and unacceptable 1 to 7
B Initiator Proper but Improvement needed 8 to 14
C Convincer Proper and Acceptable 15 to 21
D Regulator Optimum working condition 22 to 27
E Enforcer Highly acceptable condition 28 to 35
569
570 6.1.2 CARWIQS Application Framework Example

571 Table 11 illustrates the CARWIQS application framework for a construction firm with

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572 ten employees. Each of the respondents is among the targeted working-class and is thus denoted
573 by “T” and each adding respondent is denoted by a numerical number that becomes i.e. T1, T2,

ro
574 T3, T4, T5, till T10 following the similar pattern. For an infinite number of employees, the last
575 digit is hypothesized as “n” in the CARWIQS application framework, i.e. “Tn”.

576
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Table 11: A hypothetical sample of weekly CARWIQS application framework worker markup
re
Workers
Days
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T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 T10
Day 1 16 26 8 5 21 33 30 31 18 23
Day 2 3 6 34 14 31 10 6 24 1 5
na

Day 3 21 7 31 30 29 20 18 24 33 8
Day 4 9 33 33 14 5 34 23 26 23 16
ur

Day 5 15 18 11 22 17 9 8 14 4 10
Day 6 32 26 35 31 10 34 16 11 9 1
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Day 7 3 35 31 18 35 32 16 28 7 12
Total Grade
99 151 183 134 148 172 117 158 95 75
Units
577
578 To calculate the CARWIQS score for the organizational classification the sum of the total
579 grade units “TGu” is to be divided by the number of days “Nt” over which the application
580 framework process spanned. The result of this is further divided by the total number of
581 employees “NEm” who took part in the CARWIQS application framework assessment. Equation
582 2 is the CARWIQS equation in which the maximum value is always 35, whereas the minimum
583 value is equal to 1.

= + + …+
(1)

∑
(2)

584
585 After the corresponding Table 9 values were processed via Equation 2, the CARWIQS
586 value came out as 19.03, which falls in the Class C category, i.e., Convincer, which is proper and
587 acceptable shown previously in Table 10.
588 Figure 10 explains the CARWIQS strategy in which stakeholders are divided into
589 primary entities workers and management. And the five selected classes are further classified
590 into Negligent (A), Initiator (B), Convincer (C), Enforcer (D), and Regulator (E). The
591 classification is further connected with the CARWIQS scoring mechanism which is divided into
592 two phases 1) traditional PPE which consist of but not limited to (Hard hats, Safety glasses,
593 Safety harnesses, Safety vest, Gloves and Safety boots furthermore 2) Smart PPE consist of
594 Temperature sensing hard hats, VR/AR safety protocoled glasses, Exoskeletons, Digital tagging
595 vest, Tiredness alarming gloves and GPS tagged boots. As we know, traditional PPE is in use in
596 many construction projects, but with the help of IoT higher safety scores, smart PPE can be

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597 introduced into the construction projects.
598

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CARWIQS STRATEGY

STAKEHOLDERS -p
ADDITIONAL CARWIQS SCORE MECHANISM

WORKER MANAGEMENT TRADITIONAL PPE SMART PPE

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HARD HATS TEMPERATURE SENSING HARD HATS
5 SELECTION CLASSES SAFETY GLASSES VR/AR SAFETY PROTOCOLED GLASSES
A B C D E SAFETY HARNESSES EXOSKELETONS
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SAFETY VESTS DIGITALLY TAGGED VESTS

B GLOVES TIREDNESS ALARMING GLOVES
SAFETY BOOTS GPS TAGGED BOOTS
CLASSIFICATION

INITIATOR
na

A C
HIGHER H&S SCORES
NEGLIGIENT CONVINCER
ur

IOT
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E D
ENFORCER REGULATOR

599
600
601 Figure 10: Future-oriented framework

602 6.1.3 Additional Scores

603 Additional scores can also be integrated within the CARWIQS application framework
604 based on Smart PPE usage, i.e., IoT-based PPE’s supporting the stance of Industrial Revolution
605 4.0. These PPE’s may include temperature sensing hard hats, Virtual reality/Augmented Reality
606 glasses, Sensor induced exoskeletons, digitally tagged vests, tiredness alarming gloves, and GPS
607 tagged safety boots.

608 7. Study Limitations

609 In this systematic review, the PRISMA statement was adopted and only the English
610 language research articles were considered that were published in the last 10 years i.e., from
611 2009 to July 2020, where only three databases and one search engine were considered. The focus
612 of data extraction from the selected articles was towards the critical factors, Smart PPE and
613 technologies utilization as a safety measure in construction projects. The research can further be
614 extended by removing the year, language and database restrictions to give more in-depth
615 knowledge in the area of research as there are chances that various relevant articles were not
616 captured due to these limitations. Moreover, still, there are many articles that are not available
617 online or in the pipeline for publication that would implement significantly in construction
618 safety.

619 8. Conclusion

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620 Construction project success depends highly on the methods of safety provisions. These
621 safety provisions are further linked to the PPE engagement in construction research and

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622 technology. The on-site workers are less productive if they do not feel safe on site. In this study,
623 the implementation of PPE in construction projects has been reviewed. Due to the modern
624
625
-p
requirements in the construction industry attributed to the rapid completion of projects: the risks
have considerably increased in the last decade. One major category of such risks is contributing
re
626 towards the site safety in construction projects, thus positioning the use and adoption of the right
627 PPE for the right job to prevent injurious and fatal accidents on-site.
lP

628 The current safety approaches for modern building methods that contribute to the four
629 leading causes of construction injuries are often improperly interpreted, i.e. overhead injuries,
na

630 fall injuries, onsite electrocution, and trip injuries. To satisfy modern construction requirements,
631 it is clear that the conventional solutions alone are not adequate to meet and anticipate the
632 specific needs of the construction safety domain, and there is a gap to be filled regarding PPE
ur

633 adoption within the built environment. This study has identified these gaps regarding onsite
634 safety via a scientometric analysis of literature. It was observed that the Risk Assessment,
Jo

635 Accident Prevention, Safety Performance, Safety Devices, Safety Climate, Training, Equipment
636 Design, Fall Prevention, Fatigue, Safety Culture are the most discussed topics in academic
637 circles. This study focused more on accident prevention and identified four subtopics that
638 contribute to accidents scientometrically, i.e., Education/Training, Quality, Management, and
639 Hazard identification concerning the PPE’s implementation. Deeply investigating these four
640 factors resulted in identifying further groups that critically contribute to enhancing current PPE
641 procedures and future safety needs in the construction industry. Education/Training regarding
642 PPE produced six groups, i.e., Providing Safety Workshops, Role of Safety Mentors, Safety
643 Guidance, Safety Skills Enhancement, Organization Standards Modification, and Increasing
644 Awareness Programs. PPE Management produced five groups, i.e., Enhancing Time
645 Management, Better Risk Assessment Operations, Enhancing Safety Control Mechanisms, More
646 Safety Management Practices, More Focus on Safety. PPE Quality produced four groups,
647 including, i.e., Proper Outfit Usage, PPE’s Durability Testing, Impact Safeguard Testing,
648 Efficiency Check-up, whereas the accident prevention-focused more on the accident ratios in
649 construction. Based on the identified critical success factors, a novel framework has been
650 developed, which can help the construction stakeholders identify PPE's role in construction
651 projects efficiently. There is no smart PPE implemented at the moment in the construction
652 projects. A specific amount of budget should be introduced for smart PPE usage. Authorised
653 bodies need to implement smart PPE or IoT in construction projects such as OSHA, DOSH, and
654 IOSH.

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lP
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ur
Jo
 Appendix 1: Description of the selected papers along with the years of publication.
Journal Studies Selected Year
Falls from height during the floor slab formwork of buildings: Current
Safety Science 2009
situation in Spain
Work fatigue and physiological symptoms in different occupations of
Building and Environment 2009
high-elevation construction workers
International Journal of Occupational Safety and
Noise exposure of workers of the construction sector 2009
Ergonomics
The association between low levels of lead in blood and occupational
Accident Analysis and Prevention 2009
noise-induced hearing loss in steel workers
A Bayesian network analysis of workplace accidents caused by falls
Safety Science 2009
from a height
Safety is everyone's job: The key to safety on a large university
Safety Science 2009
construction site

of
National culture and safe work behaviour of construction workers in
Applied Ergonomics 2009
Pakistan
Safety in construction - a comprehensive description of the

ro
characteristics of high safety standards in construction work,
Safety Science 2009
from the combined perspective of supervisors and experienced

Safety Science
workers -p
Non-fatal contact injuries among workers in the construction industry
treated in U.S. emergency departments, 1998-2005
2010
re
Autonomous pro-active real-time construction worker and equipment
Safety Science 2010
operator proximity safety alert system
lP

Accident precursors and near misses on construction sites: An

Building and Environment 2010
investigative tool to derive information from accident databases
Safety Science Visibility-related fatalities related to construction equipment 2011
na

Journal of Safety Research The incidence of eye injuries in Canada 2012

Assessing the use of hearing protection in industrial settings: A
Automation in Construction 2013
comparison between methods
Analyses of systems theory for construction accident prevention with
ur

Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology 2013

specific reference to OSHA accident reports
Effect of safety investments on the safety performance of building
Journal of Cleaner Production journal 2013
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projects
Safety Science Understanding and preventing noise-induced hearing loss 2013
Identifying fall-protection training needs for residential roofing
Applied Ergonomics 2013
subcontractors
Electrostatic Properties of Selected Personal Protective Equipment
Safety Science 2013
Regarding Explosion Hazard
Science of the Total Environment Graphical fault tree analysis for fatal falls in the construction industry 2014
International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics Behaviour-based safety on construction sites: A case study 2014
From construction site to design: The different accident prevention
Computers and Education 2014
levels in the building industry
A feasibility study of introducing chin straps of safety helmets as a
Journal of Molecular Liquids 2014
statutory requirement in Hong Kong construction industry
Safety Science Hazard recognition and risk perception in construction 2014
Activity based risk assessment and safety cost estimation for
Journal of Safety Research 2015
residential building construction projects
Active behaviour change safety interventions in the construction
Journal of Safety Research 2015
industry: A systematic review
Factors that affect safety of tower crane installation/dismantling in
Safety Science 2015
construction industry
Safety Science BIM-based fall hazard identification and prevention in construction 2015
 safety planning
Wearable technology for personalized construction safety monitoring
Journal of Safety Research 2016
and trending: Review of applicable devices
Using eye-tracker to compare search patterns between experienced
Disease-a-Month 2016
and novice workers for site hazard identification
Results of a fall prevention educational intervention for residential
Journal of Sustainable Mining 2016
construction
Investigating the effectiveness of fall prevention plan and success
Safety Science 2016
factors for program-based safety interventions
Safety Science Occupational noise exposure and hearing: a systematic review 2016
Active numerical model of human body for reconstruction of falls
Safety Science 2016
from height
Semi-supervised near miss fall detection for ironworkers with a
Safety Science 2016
wearable inertial measurement unit
International Archives of Occupational and Understanding the causes of fall and struck-by incidents: What

of
2017
Environmental Health differentiates construction safety in the Arabian Gulf region?
Journal of Cleaner Production Promotion of alternative-sized personal protective equipment 2017

ro
Dust pollution control on construction sites: Awareness and self-
Safety Science 2017
responsibility of managers
Applied Ergonomics

Accident Analysis and Prevention

-p
Effects of falling weight impact on industrial safety helmets used in
conjunction with eye and face protection devices
A resilience safety climate model predicting construction safety
2018

2018
re
performance
Falls from heights: A computer vision-based approach for safety
Materials and Design 2018
harness detection
lP

Safety risk factors of metro tunnel construction in China: An

Safety Science 2018
integrated study with EFA and SEM
Safety leading indicators for construction sites: A machine learning
Automation in Construction 2018
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approach
Adaptive head impact protection via a rate-activated helmet
Automation in Construction 2018
suspension
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Development of a tool to monitor static balance of construction

Safety Science 2018
workers for proactive fall safety management
Automation in Construction Accident types and barrier failures in the construction industry 2018
Jo

Potential risks posed by the use of nano-enabled construction

International Journal of Project Management products: A perspective from coordinators for safety and health 2019
matters
The effectiveness of traditional tools and computer-aided technologies
Applied Acoustics for health and safety training in the construction sector: A systematic 2019
review
Construction hazard prevention through design: Review of
Safety Science 2019
perspectives, evidence, and future objective research agenda
Health risk assessment for occupants as a decision-making tool to
Safety Science quantify the environmental effects of particulate matter in construction 2019
projects
Predicting types of occupational accidents at construction sites in
Automation in Construction 2019
Korea using random forest model
Exploring eye-tracking searching strategies for construction hazard
Safety Science 2019
recognition in a laboratory scene
Critical review of the role of PPE in the prevention of risks related to
Journal of Safety Research 2020
agricultural pesticide use
Crane safety standards: Problem analysis and safety assurance
Safety Science 2020
planning
Quantitative health impact assessment of construction noise exposure
Automation in Construction 2020
on the nearby region for noise barrier optimization
 Deep learning for site safety: Real-time detection of personal
Automation in Construction 2020
protective equipment
A risk assessment approach for enhancing construction safety
Safety Science 2020
performance
Occupational safety and visual communication: User-centered design
Safety Science 2020
of safety training material for migrant farmworkers in Italy
Critical factors for the use or non-use of personal protective equipment
Safety Science 2020
amongst construction workers
A naked-eye visible colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensory for
Safety Science rapid detection of fluoride anions: Implication for toxic fluorine- 2020
containing pesticides detection
A critical review of vision-based occupational health and safety
Safety Science 2020
monitoring of construction site workers
Identification of critical causes of construction accidents in China
Safety Science 2020
using a model based on system thinking and case analysis

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Jo
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Highlights
• Health and safety are essential for construction project success where the negligence
leads towards project failure.
• This study probes into Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) safety ventures associated
with the construction projects.
• The extracted articles were then classified into four categories: Safety Education, Safety
Management, Accident Prevention, and PPE Quality.
• A future-directed framework for PPE, CARWIQS, was also created to mitigate the
possible threats through its application in construction projects.

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 Author Biblography.
Syed Ammad, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University
Technology Petronas, Persiaran UTP, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
syed_18003311@utp.edu.my.

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Declaration of interests

☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships
that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

☒The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered
as potential competing interests:

None of the authors have any conflicts of interests and no financial disclosure.

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Author,
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Syed Ammad
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Univesiti Teknologi Petronas
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Perak, Malaysia
Phone: (+60) 1116748511
E.mail: syed_18003311@utp.edu.my
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