I2SAFE Lab

Impact of Task Stress on Worker Safety

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Project Overview

Rationale

Construction workers frequently perform complex electrical tasks under demanding conditions where productivity expectations and cognitive workload can create substantial task stressors. This project investigates how time pressure and mental demand influence workers’ stress, situational awareness, risk perception, and decision-making during high-risk electrical operations. Using immersive mixed-reality simulations and physiological sensing, the project aims to uncover the cognitive mechanisms through which task stressors contribute to unsafe behaviors. The findings support the development of human-centered interventions, training strategies, and work designs that improve both safety and operational performance.

Impact

  • Reveal how time pressure and mental demand alter workers’ risk perception and safety-related decision-making.
  • Identify cognitive mechanisms such as cognitive tunneling, impaired selective attention, and reduced situational awareness under stress.
  • Provide objective physiological evidence of occupational stress using wearable sensors and neurophysiological measurements.
  • Support the design of stress-aware training programs and human-centered safety interventions for electrical construction workers.
  • Contribute to reducing accidents and improving safety performance in high-risk, time-sensitive work environments.

Publication List

Journal Papers

  1. Pooladvand, S., Chang, W. C., & Hasanzadeh, S. (2024). Identifying at-risk workers using fNIRS-based mental load classification: A mixed reality study. Automation in Construction, 164, 105453. DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2024.105453
  2. Pooladvand, S., & Hasanzadeh, S. (2023). Impacts of stress on workers’ risk-taking behaviors: Cognitive tunneling and impaired selective attention. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 149(8), 04023060. DOI: 10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-1333
  3. Pooladvand, S., & Hasanzadeh, S. (2022). Neurophysiological evaluation of workers’ decision dynamics under time pressure and increased mental demand. Automation in Construction, 141, 104437. DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2022.104437

Conference Proceedings

  1. Pooladvand, S., Ay, D., & Hasanzadeh, S. (2022). “The neural basis of risk attitude in decision-making under risk: fNIRS investigation of the simulated electrical construction task”. International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC). Bogota, Colombia.
  2. Pooladvand, S., Ay, D., & Hasanzadeh, S. (2022). “The neural basis of risk attitude in decision-making under risk: fNIRS investigation of the simulated electrical construction task”. Construction Research Congress 2022. Arlington, Virginia.

Researcher

Shiva Pooladvand

Collaborators

  • Scott Geller, PhD, Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech University
  • Thomas Redick, PhD, Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University
  • Behzad Esmaeili, PhD, Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Purdue University

Funding Source