Construction operations are hazardous, leading to thousands of accidents, injuries, and fatalities annually. Safety risk assessment (SRA) is a key component necessary to respond to hazards effectively. Individuals have different perceptions of the riskiness of construction hazards, and studies have shown that different sociodemographic factors among employees can alter their SRA skills. However, their role in the US construction industry has been understudied, and this analysis investigates this topic further. Following a detailed systematic review of the relevant literature, quantitative data were collected from 181 construction fieldworkers in the United States using images integrated into an interactive questionnaire survey. Responses on the severity and frequency of seven potential accident causes were captured and analyzed. Findings from the literature review revealed six key sociodemographic factors—age, education, training, gender, ethnicity, and work type—that could impact fieldworkers’ SRA. However, a quantitative analysis suggests that only education is a significant influence, and sociodemographic factors had a statistically significant impact on less than five percent of the assessments. Therefore, the present study proposes that future investigation within the SRA domain should complement sociodemographic factors with critical behavioral factors that are rarely discussed, such as cognitive biases, personality traits, and safety behavior. As a foundational study for safety researchers and practitioners, the results provide information on SRA that can help enhance the safety and workforce sustainability of construction companies with a diverse workforce.

Heat-related illness is a growing concern for workers in temperate climates as rising temperatures and heatwaves put them at risk of exertional heat stroke. Monitoring biometrics that predict heat stroke, such as core temperature, is increasingly important. To monitor biometrics, wearable sensing technologies have been proposed as an alternative to the ingestible telemetric pill. However, limited studies have validated the accuracy of these sensors in different temperature conditions. Therefore, this study aims to assess the validity of wearable devices placed on different areas of the body for measuring core body temperature (CT) during repetitive physical activity in high temperature conditions. Ten male participants performed dumbbell curling exercises at 33 °C and roughly 50% relative humidity, and data from the pill (the criterion standard) were compared to data from two wearable sensors–Slate Safety and Zephyr. Results showed that Slate Safety [Bias (Precision) = 0.20 (0.35) °C) and Zephyr [Bias (Precision) = −0.03 (0.35) °C] recorded bias and precision within acceptable limits. The correlation analysis showed that wearable sensors are suitable for real-time monitoring of an individual’s level of heat stress in high temperatures. However, there was a proportional bias with these CT measuring devices, meaning that the reported temperature values are consistently deviated from the true values. The results of this study contribute to the ongoing discussion of the most appropriate methods for monitoring heat stress and provide valuable information for practitioners working in this field.