Operationalizing Smartwatch Technology to Measure and Mitigate Heat Stress Among Maritime Transportation Workers

Workers in the maritime transportation industry are being exposed to high-heat and high-humidity conditions, exacerbating their risk of developing heat-related illnesses. They include port and harbor operations, marine cargo handling, navigational services to shipping, and other support activities for water transportation. Heat-related illnesses range in severity from muscle cramps and spasms; to heat exhaustion, which if left untreated, can progress to a more serious condition; to heat stroke, a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate medical attention. Smartwatches have the potential to function as a means for detecting when a heat-related illness is imminent and/or progressing, leading to an opportunity for the risk to be mitigated through intervention. In a current MarTREC project that is nearing completion, the potential for smartwatch heat stress management has been explored by addressing the following research questions: (1) What are key indicators that can be used to quantify heat stress? (2) Can a smartwatch be used to measure heat stress in outdoor working environments? (3) Is it possible to communicate the onset of heat-related illnesses by incorporating a complete closed feedback loop? This project has made considerable progress in examining these questions, which began with conduct of a comprehensive literature review to identify the state-of-the-practice and where research gaps currently exist. These results then informed the development of a conceptual design with the goal of field-testing the application in a small-scale pilot study. The pilot study demonstrated promising results for the developed technology and its application to be feasibly utilized in an operational environment. The project aims to take this next step, namely to operationalize the technology and application in a maritime setting and to evaluate its effectiveness. More specifically, the goal of the research project is to implement the application for maritime use such that the technology can alert workers and their supervisors in real time about the onset of heat stress, provide immediate intervention, and contribute to the development of company-wide heat mitigation policy. Ultimately, the proposed project will determine the practicality of deploying smartwatch-based heat stress monitoring systems in this challenging environment.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $150,000.00
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center (MarTREC)

  University of Arkansas
  4190 Bell Engineering Center
  Fayetteville, AR  United States  72701
• Performing Organizations:

  Vanderbilt University

  Box 96-B
  Nashville, TN  United States  37235
• Principal Investigators:

  Abkowitz, Mark

• Start Date: 20251001
• Expected Completion Date: 20260930
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Heat; Measuring instruments; Monitoring; Occupational safety; Shipyard personnel; Stress (Physiology)
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01970702
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center (MarTREC)
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 10 2025 9:36AM