Effects of Heat Stress on Workers’ Physical Fatigue and Attentiveness: Multimodal Roofing XR Simulation

Construction workers are at a high risk of experiencing heat-related illnesses as they mostly work outdoors, undertaking physically demanding activities. While several previous studies elaborated on the high likelihood of experiencing heat stroke on construction jobsites, the effects of heat stress that might translate into an increased risk of injury due to exacerbating physical fatigue and reducing vigilance were not well studied. To tackle this gap, this study monitored subjects' objective and subjective fatigue metrics under various heat (no, low, high) conditions within a simulated XR roofing task. Findings showed the negative effects of heat stress on increasing physical fatigue levels and reducing the efficiency of attentional distribution to identify hazards, increasing the likelihood of incident involvement. These findings call for designing practical interventions to minimize the risk of heat-related illnesses and fatalities.