Prediction of Construction Workers’ Thermo-Physiological Responses under Extreme Heat Stress

Monitoring construction workers’ thermo-physiological responses, such as heart rate (HR), core temperature (Tcore), and skin temperature (Tskin), is critical for managing heat stress (HS) under extreme environmental conditions. Continuous physiological monitoring is often impractical on construction sites due to workforce size, task variability, and differences in metabolic rate (MR) and individual characteristics. To address this gap, this study applies a modeling-based approach to simulate and predict hourly Tcore, Tskin, and HR using modified Multi-Node Fiala Thermophysiological (MN-FTM) and Two-Node Thermo-Physiological (TN-TPM) models driven by meteorological and worker-specific inputs. Six simulation scenarios were developed to represent variations in worker attributes and heat exposure conditions. Results show pronounced physiological responses to HS, with peak strain occurring between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. HR and Tcore exhibited strong nonlinear relationships across scenarios, while older and heavier workers demonstrated slower recovery during late-afternoon periods, and higher MR was associated with elevated Tcore. The findings highlight the importance of identifying construction workers’ thermophysiological risk factors to support targeted heat mitigation strategies. The presented computational framework can complement continuous field monitoring and be integrated into decision-support, safety-analytics, and training platforms, enhancing practitioners’ capacity to apply simulation-based and data-informed heat-risk management.