Internet of Things and occupational well-being in industry 4.0: A systematic mapping study and taxonomy

A high estimate of not only workplace fatal injuries but also nonfatal injuries and illnesses via overexertion, and contact with objects, equipment, and machinery workplace has been reported over the years. To address this issue, the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) program has put an emphasis on policy and regulation for prevention, protection, and improvement of the individuals' health related to the working conditions and industrial environment. In the last 10 years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has matured to seamlessly enable real-time communications and cooperation among machines, environments, and humans using data analytics. Thus, IoT offers potential technical solutions for the prevention and protection of workplace injuries and illnesses. Moreover, IoT invites opportunities for collaboration with OHS in various industries. This article presents a systematic mapping study of the literature to address the impact of IoT on occupational well-being, analyzing the progress of Industry 4.0 during the last decade. This study systematizes the literature providing a taxonomy of the area through the results of four general, four focused, and two statistical research questions. These questions outline industrial environments and aspects of health concerning workers' well-being, concentrating on a human-centered approach leveraged by physiological measurements and psychological health. In addition, this paper explores questions regarding IoT's technical components, such as sensors, devices, and communication technologies, investigating methods of data processing supported by the employment of classification algorithms and data fusion strategies. As a result, the systematic mapping process initially found 7515 articles from six academic databases in the period from 2009 to 2019. After the execution of filtering methods, a complete read of 67 articles allowed to answer quantitatively and qualitatively the research questions. The classification of the answers contributed to systematize the literature through the taxonomy and the relationships among the topics covered by the articles. Accordingly, this research produced theoretical benefits, mainly, a broad view of the state-of-the-art, a taxonomy to guide related researches, and guidelines for future works. Furthermore, this research would benefit management and corporations by shedding light on technologies explored in the literature and elucidating their feasibility in support of the workforce's safety, psychological, and physical health.