A Research Framework for Optimizing Staggered Work-Rest Schedule for Construction Workers During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic represents the most significant global health emergency of the last several decades, resulting in the deaths of millions of people worldwide. The spread of COVID-19 among construction workers has been extremely high, with frequent clusters of COVID-19 cases related to construction sites. Workplace contact is considered the primary cause of these outbreaks. Many governments have suggested implementing staggered scheduling to maintain social distancing among construction workers, but specific staggered work-rest schedules for construction workers, in terms of start time, rest time, and rest duration, are still not available. Therefore, it is necessary to establish optimal staggered work-rest schedules to reduce the infection risk at construction sites. This study proposed a research framework to develop optimal work-rest schedules that can maximize the labor productivity of construction workers while minimizing contact between them. Two research tasks are proposed, including utilizing machine learning methods to estimate workers’ maximum working duration and rate of recovery, and generating optimal staggered work-rest schedules by establishing mathematical programming models. The preliminary results have proved the feasibility of this research framework and laid a foundation for further research. The staggered work-rest schedule model proposed by this research framework could reduce infection risks for construction workers during pandemics as well as enhance the labor productivity of construction projects.