Research

The Origin Story

Like so many projects, this one has been several years in the making.  While working on her Ph.D., Stacy Kolegraff, Assistant Professor in the Construction Management Department, enrolled in a summer class at Bowling Green State University from Dr. Radhika Gajjala entitled MC7290: Critical Ethnographies and Data Feminisms: Methodologies for Cultural Studies, Communication and Media Researchers/Practitioners.  Although Stacy’s pursuit was a degree in Technology Management, with a concentration in Construction Management, she was intrigued by data and wanted to examine different strategies to review data – and learned about emerging themes, constructionist grounded theory, data feminist strategies, critical ethnographic methods, and data visualization.

 

The class was mind-blowing and presented data and methods in diverse and interesting ways and the text, Data Feminism by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren Klein, introduced topics such as comparing the sizes of pockets in men’s and women’s clothing and the breast pump hackathon to make the breast pump not suck.  Stacy started to think about ways these methods could be used to critically evaluate PPE in the construction industry – and that was where this event was first conceived.

Discovering Inequitable Safety

Selected Survey Responses
from Liz's Study
We need safety vests that fit women's bodies. That zip up over our breasts and fit appropriately. Not having an appropriate sized safety vest is a hazard while onsite. Mine is too big in some spots and too tight in others. I end up not zipping it up and it is flapping and is dangerous when on scaffolding.
You can purchase women's PPE in SM-XL, but once you go above that it's very difficult to items at all. Ill fitting PPE is not only unsafe, it signals that I'm not supposed to be there, that I'm an "other" on our job sites.
My company found a women's safety vest that is made to fit a women's body. It has two side/seam zipper pockets like a coat that I use more than the pockets on a regular "unisex" safety vest and two inside pockets. I wear a larger shirt size due to my chest size and these vests run small. I wear a XL safety vest with t-shirts and XXL safety vest with bulky winter wear. A large individual would not be able to wear the women's safety vest style I prefer.
There is an overall lack of women's sizes and branded women's safety vests. I have worked for 4 different construction companies, and none carried a small mens or any women's vests as a standard. It was a special order typically in order to get a vest that fits me. As a petite woman, it is very challenging to fit a vest that fits appropriately and safely.
For me, I am able to order a different size if I like but I am happy with the size and loose fit of my vest. I don't actually want my vest to be tight fitted. I know some women have a problem with their vest slipping off their shoulders, and have gotten alterations, but have gotten scolded because of the reflective strips and the size requirements of them.
I have never given this much thought to how my safety vest fits. My main concerns with vests had to do pocket quantity and size, and having a large pocket in the back for an iPad (surveyor's vest). I realize that the vests are probably designed with men in mind; I never thought about how the vest fit because it always fit me well. It is very important that your vest fits, so if the standard vest does not fit women well then new designs should be developed that fit women or differently sized people. Safety equipment should fit so that you don't have to think about it.
"Unisex" vests are not unisex. They are for men. We are given company attire for women that are different then men, why not vests? I know when I see other companies offer female vests, it feels like women are more valued and inclusive within the company culture. I would be proud to work for a company like that.
Length is important, so is material. Re-image the safety vest in its entirety. Think about pockets for cell phones, tampons, and/or pads. Consider what a woman would want to be wearing for comfort and ease.
My preferences are more around the features. A poor-fitting vest with pockets, pen pockets, and a holder for glasses is better than a good-fitting vest with no pockets. Another item to look at is the material. A lot of vests are thin mesh that is breathable and light, but some vests are thick and heavy and are almost too hot to wear on a warm day. The stiff material is also annoying to work in.

Enter Liz Galvez

Although the thought of the hackathon had been brewing in Stacy’s head since that summer 2020 course, it really took a student to start collecting the data needed to see if there was a problem.  Although we thought there was a problem, the problem was more or less hidden since we didn’t have the data to back it up.  This is where Liz comes in and completes her senior project, which shows that, by and large, safety vests don’t fit all body types and, mostly, women are disproportionately impacted.  Not only does this affect safety, but it also affects self-confidence, a sense of belonging, and the way they feel they are perceived on the jobsite.

 

To read the complete senior project report, please click the link below:

Fitting In: Analyzing the Fit of Safety Vests in the Construction Industry

Hackathon 1: The Safety Vest

With this information now visible, how could we not do something?  Complacency would not cut it any longer.  But what was a hackathon?  What did we need to host the event?  Where would we host it?  How much would it cost?  What materials were needed? What would be discussed? What would we come up with?

The Team

Cole Bernabei

Cole developed a full logistics plan for the event, including equipment, staging, audio visual, and more so we could determine the overall budget and head count for the event.  His report laid the groundwork so we knew what needed to be done to host the event – without this, it would still be stuck as a concept.

 

To read the complete senior project report, please click the link below:

Reimagining the Construction Vest Through the Facilitation of a Hackathon

woman wearing a safety vest
Sophie Stewart

Sophie managed the two-day event – working with industry, listening to stories, sharing her experiences, and keeping everything running smoothly. After talking with industry, manufacturers, and representatives from the ANSI/ISEA high visibility working group, her senior project focused on ways to create equitable safety.

To read the complete senior project report, please click the link below:

Safely Covered or Dangerously Exposed: Analyzing the Safety Vest Code of Compliance

Amanda Schrader

Amanda developed a few prototypes to highlight at the event – sharing the struggles and considerations she experienced when developing possible solutions.  The intent: we may not end with a perfect product, but we will make improvements that we can continue to build on. 

 

To read the complete senior project report, please click the link below:

Preliminary Design of Vests for the VEST Hackathon

Oliver Leograndis

Oliver helped manage the event throughout the day, and looked at the safety manager’s perspective and ways to implement new vests into company orders.

To read the complete senior project report, please click the link below:

Inclusive Safety Understanding the Safety Managers’ Views on the Fit and Function of Construction Safety Vests for all Body Types

 

Hackathon 2: Porta-Potties

Building on the success of the first hackathon, Hackathon 2 looked at porta-potties – analyzing sanitation, health, and safety. Several student researchers collaborated to develop the content for the Hackathon – including VR simulations and 3D modeling to build a better potty.

 

Student researchers included Reagan Tonda, Anna Knutson, and Jacqueline Badal. Reagan Tonda developed a comprehensive social media campaign on Instagram and LinkedIn. #safetyfits highlighted student research and advertised Hackathon 2.  Anna developed and managed event milestones, including a description of the event and visuals created, a logistics plan, as well as a detailed summary of the day of operations.  Jacqueline created virtual reality simulations of unsanitary porta-potties found on construction sites and a template to build 3-D Sketchup models to show ideas developed during the event.

Cardboard boxes to make small porta-potties

Three prototypes were developed at the event, and we are working on ways to integrate minor changes to existing toilet facilities to increase sanitation, health, and safety.

To read the complete senior project reports, click the links below:

Hackathon 3: Head Protection

Enter Isabella Peterson

After attending the hackathon event for two years, Isabella and Olivia were inspired to tackle another issue on the job site that all graduating construction management students could benefit from. Isabella constantly heard from her peers that they were unsatisfied with their hard hats, so she decided to look further into this issue and conduct research on the problem.

Introducing Olivia Pisani

After surveying a wide variety of industry members and seeing that there is a unanimous agreement that hard hats need to be improved, Olivia and Isabella decided to facilitate a place where these dreams can be turned into actions. Olivia helped to plan an event where these actions can build a new and better design. Through scheduling, staging, estimating, and more, Olivia has brought to life an event that will revolutionize one of the most important accessories in construction. She brought this idea to fruition and ensured that new ideas had a place to be heard.