The influence of spatial cognition and variability of mental workload among construction hazard prevention through design tasks

Research suggests safety reviews are important for Construction Hazard Prevention through Design implementation. Various visual stimuli exist when performing safety reviews and may affect the mental workload of Construction Hazard Prevention through Design tasks. However, no research addresses how spatial cognitive capability, or the format of visual stimuli may affect the mental workload of hazard recognition tasks. To address this gap, safety reviews were conducted across the United States to explore the association of spatial cognitive capability and hazard recognition performance and the variability of the mental workload of hazard recognition tasks across various formats of engineering design. In total, 117 participants were provided a mixture of design information including: computer aided design, computerized visualizations, and a combination of the two and asked to identify hazards for three construction activities. Participants spatial cognitive capability and mental workload were assessed. Multiple linear regression was used to measure the association among these variables. The results indicate no association between spatial cognitive capability and hazard recognition performance. Additionally, the format of design had no effect on mental workload. The results conflict with the prevailing belief that computerized visualizations are superior to computer aided design for reducing the mental workload of Construction Hazard Prevention through Design tasks. However, a demographic analysis revealed that construction experience and time spent in hazard recognition trials predicts hazard recognition performance. Simply, skill in a hazard recognition task depends more on the experience and diligence of the practitioner rather than the format of the design information, task demand, or spatial cognitive capability.

Automated summary

Research suggests safety reviews are important for Construction Hazard Prevention through Design implementation. Various visual stimuli exist when performing safety reviews and may affect the mental workload of Construction Hazard Prevention through Design tasks. However, no research addresses how spatial cognitive capability, or the format of visual stimuli may affect the mental workload of hazard recognition tasks. To address this gap, safety reviews were conducted across the United States to explore the association of spatial cognitive capability and hazard recognition performance and the variability of the mental workload of hazard recognition tasks across various formats of engineering design. The results indicate no association between spatial cognitive capability and hazard recognition performance, and the format of design had no effect on mental workload.