Research Rationale:

Research question:

How can the implementation of digital twin technologies improve construction worker safety, and what are the key considerations for its successful implementation?

Assumption:

First, I believe the construction industry is a very dangerous field and our industry can improve safety reporting as many often go unreported. My assumption is that near misses go unreported due to fear of reprisal or lack of understanding of when one occurs. According to the Health and Safety institute a “Near misses provide [a] company with an opportunity to identify hazards or weaknesses in their risk management programs and correct them to prevent future incidents. Near misses are symptoms of undiscovered safety concerns.” (HIS Inc., 2025). I suspect that Digital Twins can aid in tracking near misses by incorporating monitoring technology such as cameras, GPS sensors and 3D visualization.

Next, I believe our traditional way of performing an activity hazard analysis (AHA) is limited in its ability to fully document all safety considerations within a jobsite and effectively communicate with the workforce. Improvements can be made in the way hazards are identified and then communicated. My assumption is that 3D visualization can lead to this change. A 2020 field survey report from the American Institute indicates that, “Firms using BIM software in some capacity continued to increase in 2019, rising to 58% of firms with 51% using it for billable work and 7% using it for non-billable work.” (Baker, 2020). I predict that as 3D visualization continues to grow our industry will see more opportunities to think differently towards managing construction safety.

Lastly, I believe one way to verify the effectiveness of safety management is through a company’s Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate. Care should be taken to verify if a lower DART rate is achieved when using 3D visualization. This will take time and proper engagement by industry leaders, but I believe that if we see a lower DART rate over time in 3D visualized projects then one could argue that the 3D tool can improve construction worker safety.

Motivation for the problem:

My motivation to explore this subject comes from my personal ethos, work experience with the Navy and a curiosity about how to improve the future of our industry. I have been working in a variety of leadership roles from construction manager, company commander and program manager. Over the past decade I have observed a reluctance to report safety incidents for a variety of reasons; from unawareness or at times negligence. My personal ethos is that leadership in construction management requires a mindset of creating quality work, performed safely within a reasonable amount of time. I am curious if emergent technology of digital twins can be a new tool in a leader’s safety toolbox, proactively addressing safety issues before they become a safety violation.

Purpose:

The purpose of this inquiry is to provide a professional opinion backed by academic research, with a recommendation on digital twins’ implementation in the Federal Government.

Facts related to the case:

Terminology:

From my research of construction technology companies such as Autodesk and Trimble I discovered the following definition of digital twins. Autodesk defines a digital twin as, “A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical object, system, or environment that evolves with the flow of information from sensors, building information models, and IoT objects.” (Autodesk Inc., 2025). Trimble defines a digital twin as, “In construction, digital twins are exact replicas of construction projects or assets, such as buildings, bridges, highways, city blocks, or entire cities. They are created using technologies like 3D laser scanners, drones, sensors, cameras, and other IoT-related devices. When supported by IoT and AI, a digital twin can learn from multiple sources and automatically update to reflect changes made to its real-world counterpart.” (Trimble Inc., 2025).

Literature Review:

To better enhance understanding of this subject I performed an academic literature review of the following:

#1. The first article reviewed is a December 2020 publication from Hou et all titled: “Literature Review of Digital Twins Application in Construction Workforce Safety”. The authors conducted a review of 89 academic articles that explored the use of digital twins, sensor and visualization technology. Their research focuses on identifying a variety of topics from: unsafe environments, tracking workers’ positions relative to hazards, worker behavior, safety planning through BIM, visualizing construction activities, and training for safety. Their study concluded by highlighting several challenges with implementing digital twins’ technology including: the high cost and relocation difficulties of sensors, the inability to detect all hazards, the complexity of mapping hazards in changing environments, the limited time for processing safety relationships, and unclear safety notification systems for workers on site.

An element that stood out to me:
“The application of the DT [Digital Twins] concept has the potential to improve workforce safety. However, further development is required before the concept can be fully applied in construction practice. Many gaps and challenges remain to be solved in the field of construction workforce safety.” (Hou, 2021).

My takeaways from this reading is that the challenges that digital twins must be overcome before it is more widely used in the construction industry. Advances in mapping jobsite conditions from videos or GPS coordinates is tedious and prone to error, reducing duplicate information from multiple points of data generation is time consuming requiring a dedicated trained staff and as construction progresses the digital twin will need to be updated otherwise it is a useless tool.

#2. The second article is an April 2022 publication from Wu et all titled: “Real-time mixed reality-based visual warning for construction workforce safety”, The authors proposed a Digital Twin (DT) system that delivers real-time hazard information to onsite workers through a wearable device that notifies workers of a hazard. Their system utilized Building Information Modeling (BIM), Computer Vision (CV), and Digital Liaison (DL) technologies to simulate construction activities and generate hazard information. They conducted three outdoor tests that confirmed the system’s feasibility and determined that they could monitor/ improve worker safety of over 96% compared to baseline. The researchers conducted their study in Melbourne, Australia at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

A quote that stood out to me was:
“The VCS [Virtual Construction Site] simulates construction activities, identifies hazards and generates hazard information based on BIM models and real-time information obtained from on-site cameras. The proposed system [can] present the hazard information to workers through wearable MR [Mixed Reality] devices, letting them take proactive actions to avoid injury.” (Wu, 2022)

My takeaway from this reading is that this is a fantastic case of technology improving construction workers’ safety. This article is rich with lessons that these researchers learned. I would argue that the next step is to implement the strategies they learned on a job site and test their theories in the real world. This article demonstrates strategies to overcome some of the challenges identified in article #1.

#3. The last article is a march 2025 publication from Han et all titled: “Enhancing worker monitoring and management on large-scale construction sites with UAVs and digital twin modeling”, This article presents a UAV-enabled digital twins’ strategy for real-time worker monitoring in large-scale construction sites. They used UAV-based visual detection and GPS tracking to verify worker location and enhance safety, site security and operational efficiency. They found that UAVs offer versatility in covering large and evolving construction environments, enabling real-time aerial monitoring of site progress, worker activities, and environmental conditions. The challenges they discovered with using UAV’s are the limited battery life of the UAV and the processing or large quantities of imaging data. The researchers conducted this study at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

A quote that stood out to me was:
“By integrating real-time UAV surveillance with intelligent worker management, this approach not only ensures continuous situational awareness but also facilitates proactive interventions. Through on-site validation, this method proves to be a scalable and efficient solution for modern site management, supporting enhanced safety enforcement and automated workforce surveillance.” (Han, 2025)

My takeaway from this reading is that UAV’s are a very powerful tool to monitor jobsite safety and more companies should utilize them. They are a great asset to any construction manager to not only track safety but worker performance and overall site security. I am curious as to how drone technology is used on USA based projects. This article demonstrates strategies to overcome some of the challenges identified in article #1.

Interview:

Attempts were made to coordinate a safety interview with staff from Mortenson and BNBUilders; However, these teams were not familiar with digital twins implementation for safety. More time will be required to further explore local Seattle examples. Additionally, this paper can be improved by interviewing government staff to validate a way forward on implementing this technology on a Federal project. As a supplement I have included two international case studies found from a web search.

Case Studies:

The following is a list of successful examples of digital twins projects, sources were found through an article from Autodesk.com.

• Hong Kong Advanced Manufacturing Center. This project is a 1.1 million square foot production facility constructed by Gammon Construction. This case had the following successes: The prime contractor (Gammon) implemented a mobile application that incorporated augmented reality technology for their subcontractors use. They believe this has made their work safer, faster and more efficient. They use DT to uncover site safety issues such as buildability and clash detection to verify if work can be achieved in a safe manner.

• Leighton Asia Hong Kong Airport. This project is a 280,000 square meter expansion of the Hong Kong International Airport terminal 2 constructed by Leighton Asia. This case had the following successes: The team used a construction method simulation (CMS) to check construction feasibility before starting work. The CMS animation improved teamwork between engineering and operations, helping to spot safety risks by visualizing the site in 3D and allowing quick adjustments for safety.

POAM:

To start the “reconfigure practice” process and implement lasting change into our industry I propose the following: This Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM) outlines corrective actions to address DT implementation in a typical Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Public Works Department (PWD). This chart details specific steps needed to address issues, coordinating factors, implementation and responsible individuals. Assuming that resources are limited I would target: #1: Software systems investment, #2: Using 3D software and #3: Mobile Application as the top three strategies to improve safety within our PWD. All three of these strategies are within the PWD’s capacity for change and should be easily achieved; whereas the other strategies require much contractor involvement and can be risky to achieve.

Executive Summary:

Based off the above analysis, implementing digital twins to monitor construction worker safety can be achieved but it will require commitment from all stakeholders within the Planning Design and Construction (PD&C) Division. There are quite a few unique challenges when implementing safety monitoring with digital twins. Contractually the government, may need to adjust procurement language regarding intellectual property rights and use of the 3D technology. Many military installations have a no drone use policy as they cause a security concern. As well there must be sufficient funding, training and staff willingness to achieve this integration. In conclusion, the integration of digital twin technologies in the construction industry holds significant promise for enhancing worker safety. Successful implementation in the federal government will require strong commitment from leaders to adapt to innovative safety management practices, ultimately aiming for a measurable reduction in incident rates.

References:

Hou, Lei, Shaoze Wu, Guomin (Kevin) Zhang, Yongtao Tan, and Xiangyu Wang. 2021. “Literature Review of Digital Twins Applications in Construction Workforce Safety” Applied Sciences 11, no. 1: 339. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11010339April 2022 publication from Wu et all titled: “Real-time mixed reality-based visual warning for construction workforce safety”

Shaoze Wu, Lei Hou, Guomin (Kevin) Zhang, Haosen Chen, “Real-time mixed reality-based visual warning for construction workforce safety”, Automation in Construction, Volume 139, 2022, 104252, ISSN 0926-5805, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2022.104252.

Mingqiao Han, Jihan Zhang, Yijun Huang, Jiwen Xu, Xi Chen, Ben M. Chen, “Enhancing worker monitoring and management on large-scale construction sites with UAVs and digital twin modeling”, Automation in Construction, Volume 174, 2025, 106108, ISSN 0926-5805, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2025.106108.

Internet Data:

Autodesk Inc., 2025. ‘Digital Twin Technology’, Retrieved, 05/03/2025, From, https://www.autodesk.com/design-make/emerging-tech/digital-twin#:~:text=A%20digital%20twin%20is%20a,%2C%20IoT%20objects%2C%20and%20more.

Trimble Inc., 2025. ‘What are Digital Twins’, March 18, 2025. Retrieved, 05/03/2025, From, https://constructible.trimble.com/construction-industry/what-are-digital-twins

HIS Inc., 2025. ‘OSHA Sets Rules on Reporting, but What About Reporting Near Misses?’. Retrieved, 05/03/2025, From, https://hsi.com/blog/osha-sets-rules-on-reporting-but-what-about-reporting-near-misses

Baker, 2020. ‘The Business of Architecture 2020’ Firm Survey Report. © 2020 The American Institute of Architects all rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-57165-016-0. https://content.aia.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/2020_Firm_Survey_Report.pdf

Caballar, April 5, 2022. AUTODESK. ‘How the Hong Kong Advanced Manufacturing Center models reindustrialization’. https://www.autodesk.com/design-make/articles/hong-kong-advanced-manufacturing-centre

Caballar, October 13, 2021. AUODESK. ‘How a digital twin will solve the Leighton Asia Hong Kong Airport puzzle’. https://www.autodesk.com/design-make/articles/hong-kong-advanced-mohttps://www.autodesk.com/design-make/articles/leighton-asia-hong-kong-airport?us_oa=dotcom-us&us_si=72fbbcdc-a865-4535-be88-193278a322af&us_st=digital%20twins%20and%20safetyanufacturing-centre

What is a digital twin: https://www.autodesk.com/design-make/articles/what-is-a-digital-twin?us_oa=dotcom-us&us_si=72fbbcdc-a865-4535-be88-193278a322af&us_st=digital%20twins%20and%20safety

Machine Learning Helps builders improve construction quality and avert risks. https://www.autodesk.com/customer-stories/bam-ireland-ai-in-construction-story?us_oa=dotcom-us&us_si=72fbbcdc-a865-4535-be88-193278a322af&us_st=digital%20twins%20and%20safety