Fatigue analysis of construction workers based on electrocardiogram signals

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Biomedical Engineering
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Manual handling tasks in construction pose risks of physiological fatigue.
• Accurate fatigue assessment is crucial for preventing injuries and optimizing worker performance.
• Existing methods for fatigue monitoring have limitations in real-time, objective measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate physiological fatigue in construction workers during manual handling.
• To identify key electrocardiogram (ECG) biomarkers indicative of fatigue levels.
• To provide a foundation for developing wearable fatigue monitoring systems.

Main Methods:

• Twelve male construction workers performed repetitive lifting tasks until exhaustion.
• Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals and Borg CR10 subjective fatigue scores were collected.
• Analysis focused on heart rate variability indicators (SDNN, RMSSD) and heart rate across fatigue levels.

Main Results:

• Physiological fatigue significantly altered ECG parameters.
• Heart rate variability indicators (SDNN, RMSSD) decreased with increasing fatigue.
• Low-frequency power (LF) and heart rate increased significantly as fatigue progressed.

Conclusions:

• ECG-derived biomarkers, including SDNN, RMSSD, LF, and heart rate, can effectively discriminate between fatigue levels.
• Dynamic ECG patterns reflect physiological fatigue during manual handling.
• Findings support the development of intelligent occupational health management systems for construction workers.