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About

Ifeanyi Okpala is a prominent researcher specializing in construction safety, emerging technologies, and human-robot interaction (HRI), with a particular focus on how robotics and automation are reshaping workforce safety in the construction industry. His work addresses one of the field's most pressing paradoxes: while technologies such as exoskeletons, wearable robots, and autonomous systems offer transformative potential for combating declining productivity, labor shortages, and high injury rates, they simultaneously introduce novel and often underexplored safety risks. Okpala's most cited contributions include a 51-citation study examining safety challenges in exoskeleton use and a 49-citation framework for assessing human-robot interaction safety risks during construction operations. His influential scoping review on the insidious risks of wearable robots further demonstrates his commitment to critically interrogating emerging technologies rather than simply championing their adoption. His 2019 work on standards and regulation gaps for construction technologies laid important groundwork for policy discussions that followed. Collectively accumulating over 170 citations, Okpala's research bridges theoretical risk assessment and practical implementation guidance, making it invaluable for safety professionals, policymakers, and engineers navigating the integration of advanced technologies on construction sites.