Key Elements and Requirements of Industrial Revolution 4.0 Technology Adoption in Smart Emergency Detection for the Malaysian Construction Industry

Property loss and operation downtime in a small event can be mitigated by necessitating early detection systems. These systems function as emergency responders, equipped with the capacity to notify of the current situation at the construction site. Therefore, this study analysed the key elements required to successfully adopt Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 technology in smart emergency detection for safety management. The analysis also established various smart emergency detection requirements for safety management based on IR 4.0 technology. A total of 215 G7 Malaysian contractors were initially sought as respondents for this study. The data was obtained using a survey method employing descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage and mean score). This process identified the ranking contribution of key elements and requirements for smart emergency detection in safety management, based on IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 25. A total of 10 key elements were then ranked in this study: (1) components, (2) cost, (3) related work, (4) strength, (5) challenges, (6) data collection, (7) place, (8) equipment, (9) economy and (10) training. Six requirements were also ranked: (1) increased agility, (2) smart, self-monitoring and control, (3) better connectivity, (4) sustainability, (5) consistent self-registration and (6) ease of use. Consequently, a significant contribution was observed from the key elements and requirements involving the successful adoption of IR 4.0 technology in smart emergency detection for safety management. This outcome provided a holistic and integrated perspective, enhancing safety management performance and informing better decision-making choices for construction industry practitioners. Construction industry stakeholders could also present novel practices and policies for improved safety management performance, incorporating IR 4.0 technology, in developing countries, using these findings.