Do construction workers accept automated monitoring? : a study on the acceptance level and its antecedents

Abstract

The use of Automatic Data Collection (ADC) technologies in the construction industry has become uncommon in recent years. One of them is automated construction monitoring, which could collect and visualize site activities effectively, including the behaviors of workers. Although there is an increasing trend to adopt automated monitoring systems in the industry, no or very little research was done to investigate whether construction workers accept automated monitoring. This thesis endeavored to bridge the literature gap between automated construction monitoring and the perceptions of the workers being monitored. A research model was proposed to examine the potential antecedents and moderators that could influence construction workers' intention of the acceptance where the constructs of the model were adopted from previous research about workplace monitoring with appropriate refinements in order to suit construction environments and practices. A face-to-face, one-to-one survey was conducted to collect the data from construction workers. After data analysis, it was found that both antecedents "organizational identification" and "organizational commitment" positively influenced construction workers' intention to accept automated monitoring. Interestingly, a proposed antecedent "attitudes towards the appropriateness of automated monitoring" was found negatively affecting the acceptance intention, which is not coherent with previous studies about workplace monitoring that suggesting the relationship as positive. Moreover, the proposed moderator "belief of monitoring systems for caring purposes" was found insignificant to affect any relationship. Finally explanations for both supported and unsupported antecedents, research limitations, implications for the practice of automated construction monitoring, and future research are discussed.