Publications / 2024 Proceedings of the 41st ISARC, Lille, France

Evaluation of effect of different safety training styles on mental workloads using electroencephalography

Peng Liu, Chengyi Zhang
Pages 420-427 (2024 Proceedings of the 41st ISARC, Lille, France, ISBN 978-0-6458322-1-1, ISSN 2413-5844)
Abstract:

In the construction industry, diverse safety training styles, such as verbal instructions, pictorial representations, radio-based, video, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR) training, have been employed to improve workers' hazard recognition. However, the impact of these varied training styles on mental workload has been understudied. This research aims to investigate two primary aspects: the influence of different safety training styles on participants' mental workloads, and the variation in mental workload across different training phases. For this purpose, an experimental study was conducted with 20 participants (10 males and 10 females), who were randomly assigned to receive safety instructions either through reading or listening. The training was divided into four phases, each focusing on a specific hazard. Participants' brain activity was monitored using electroencephalography (EEG), and their mental workloads were assessed based on engagement and arousal indices. The results indicated no significant differences in engagement and arousal indexes between the reading and listening groups. However, variations in mental states were observed across different training phases, with increasing arousal levels noted as the training progressed. This study offers insights into the efficiency of different safety training styles and provides valuable recommendations for designing more effective safety training programs to enhance hazard recognition in the construction industry.

Keywords: Safety training styles, EEG, Engagement index, Arousal index