Effectiveness of Image Augmentation Techniques on Non-Protective Personal Equipment Detection Using YOLOv8

Non-Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) detection is crucial on construction sites. Although deep learning models are adept at identifying such information from on-site cameras, their success relies on large, diverse, and high-quality datasets. Image augmentation offers an alternative for artificially broadening dataset diversity. However, its impact on non-PPE detection in construction environments has not been adequately examined. This study introduces a methodology applying eight distinct augmentation techniques—brightness, contrast, perspective, rotation, scale, shearing, translation, and a combined strategy incorporating all methods. Model performance was assessed by comparing accuracy across different classes and architectures, both with and without augmentation. While most of these augmentations improved accuracy, their effectiveness was found to be task-dependent. Moreover, the most beneficial augmentation varied by non-PPE class and architecture, suggesting that augmentation strategies should be tailored to the unique features of each class and model. Although the primary focus here is on non-PPE, the evaluated techniques could also extend to related tasks on construction sites, such as detecting heavy equipment or identifying hazardous worker behavior.