The role of IoT in enhancing Occupational Health and Safety: a systematic literature review

Ensuring Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) has become increasingly critical as industrial environments grow more complex and risk-prone. OHS refers to practices aimed at preventing workplace accidents, injuries, and occupational illnesses through systematic risk identification. The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies offers new opportunities for real-time monitoring of environmental conditions and worker activity, enabling organizations to enhance risk management and preventive interventions. However, existing studies remain fragmented, often addressing isolated risks or focusing on sector-specific applications without providing an integrated overview of the full spectrum of OHS concerns. In addition, prior work rarely combines IoT and machine learning approaches into a unified framework applicable to real-world workplace interventions, leaving important gaps in understanding how these technologies jointly contribute to comprehensive safety strategies. To address these gaps, this study conducts a systematic literature review to understand current knowledge on the role of IoT in detecting and preventing OHS risks. The review applies a structured comparative framework that examines workplace risks, IoT devices, data types, enabling technologies, and analytical techniques used across the studies. The findings provide a synthesized overview of IoT-based approaches for OHS improvement and highlight their technological, analytical, and operational characteristics. This work offers valuable insights for practitioners aiming to enhance workplace safety and for researchers exploring future challenges in the field.