Blockchain and digital twin integration for construction safety:A bibliometric and systematic review

Abstract

The construction industry is progressively utilizing digital technologies to mitigate on-site risks, enhance incident reporting, and increase worker efficiency through real-time monitoring and automated controls. Specifically, blockchain and digital twin (DT) technologies have significant potential to enhance construction safety monitoring and data security, but their applications in existing research are limited. This review aims to conduct a comprehensive review of blockchain and DT technologies for construction safety, focusing on their key challenges, key research areas, key research techniques, gaps, and future research directions. This study conducted a bibliometric and systematic review of 114 articles from the Scopus database to achieve its objectives. Bibliometric analysis was employed to identify publication trends, influential contributors, and thematic clusters, while the systematic review provided an in-depth synthesis of the literature. The findings revealed five key challenges: (i) data integration and interoperability, (ii) data quality and trustworthiness, (iii) cost and resource constraints, (iv) privacy and security concerns, and (v) change management and cultural shift. Furthermore, three key research areas in the integration of blockchain and DT technologies for construction safety were identified: (i) accident prevention and management, (ii) data-driven decision-making, and (iii) wearable technologies for proactive safety monitoring. Finally, four critical knowledge gaps were highlighted, including:(i) establishment of standards and protocols, (ii) creation of new consensus methods, (iii) cyberattacks and security, and (iv) decentralized DT. This review effectively bridges the distinct domains of blockchain and DT research in construction safety, providing an integrated perspective that has been largely overlooked in current literature. It provides pragmatic guidelines for execution and a progressive research agenda to facilitate safer, digitally enhanced construction environments.