Robotics and automation safety risks in construction

REVIEW articleFront. Built Environ., 09 February 2026 Sec. Construction ManagementVolume 11 - 2025 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2025.1653188Robotics and automation safety risks in constructionGSG. Scott Earnest 1*DBDouglas B. Trout 1CLCi-Jyun Liang 2ACAsa Castleberry 31. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington, DC, United States2. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States3. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United StatesSee more Article metrics View detailsAbstractEvolving technologies such as robotics and automation have the potential to transform the American construction industry. While these technologies improve productivity and safety, they also introduce new safety risks to construction workplaces. This study conducts a scoping review to identify and analyze safety risks associated with robotics and automation in construction. Literature data was collected from the Scopus database using keywords and snowballing approaches. Following PRISMA-ScR, A total of 104 peer-reviewed articles and 33 industry and government reports between 2015 and 2025 were selected based on criteria related to construction robots and safety implications. From the literature data, robotic applications were categorized into eight groups and safety risks were categorized into four categories. A cross-cutting analysis found that mechanical and p...