Comparative Study of Body Stability in Construction Workers based on Fatigue and Environment

Physical fatigue, often encountered during various tasks in construction sites, presents a significant hazard when combined with the external environment. This study investigates the interplay between fatigue, body stability, and hazards within the construction industry. An experimental approach was employed to explore the relationship between worker fatigue and body stability while examining how body stability changes with varying levels of fatigue in a hazardous environment. The Harvard step test was utilized to induce quantifiable and varied levels of fatigue among participants, who then performed the experiment in four distinct construction environments across six fatigue levels. Findings indicate that an escalation in fatigue corresponds to a reduction in physical stability, particularly beyond a certain fatigue threshold, leading to a significant decrease in overall stability. Moreover, the results demonstrate that heightened fatigue levels can induce greater decreases in worker physical stability, not only by diminishing physical stability but also by impacting hazard responses. The outcomes of this study substantiate the connection between worker fatigue and physical stability at construction sites and serve as foundational data for the implementation of an effective safety management system that takes into account worker fatigue levels.