Tommy TafazzoliRESEARCHER · EDUCATOR · ENGINEER

RESEARCH PROGRAM

From monitoring risk to designing practical intervention.

Engineering evidence, human factors, sensing, and analytics come together in research designed to inform construction practice. Construction safety and human performance provide the central focus.

RESEARCH IN VIDEO

The ideas behind the papers.

Watch an explanation, explore the findings, and read the full study.

Video explanation · 9 min 13 secOpen video ↗

2026 · Journal article

Smart garment reality check: from prototype to practice

How close are sensor-equipped garments to everyday construction use? This video explains a PRISMA-guided systematic review of 76 records, including 63 empirical records used for benchmarking. The study separates construction-direct evidence from findings transferred from other fields and examines what sustainable deployment requires.

Key findings from the paper

  • Only 7 of 63 empirical records (about 11%) were field or field-simulated; 6 reached technology readiness level 5. Most evidence still came from laboratory evaluations.
  • The corpus distinguishes 18 construction-direct records, 45 transferable records, and 13 contextual sources. Results from healthcare, sports, and rehabilitation therefore require careful interpretation before application to construction.
  • A five-dimensional framework examines technical performance, validation maturity, operational durability, human and organizational acceptance, and system integration. Across seven field or field-simulated records, durability, validation, and integration emerged as recurring gaps—a preliminary signal rather than a generalizable conclusion.

Written overview based on the published paper.

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Tafazzoli, M., Haq, I., Naeijian, F., Goodarzi, M., & Kamari, M. (2026). From laboratory prototype to sustainable deployment: Smart garment technologies for construction safety monitoring and a multidimensional readiness framework. Sustainability, 18(16), 8359. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18168359

Publisher & DOI ↗
Video explanation · 8 min 40 secOpen video ↗

2026 · Journal article

The invisible threat: gaps in indoor air quality

What is missing from the evidence and governance of indoor air quality? This video introduces a PRISMA 2020-aligned hybrid synthesis of 105 records spanning 15 national contexts. The study combines bibliometric mapping and structured thematic synthesis to organize research gaps and priorities for future action.

Key findings from the paper

  • The Multi-Dimensional Gap Identification Framework identifies 20 gaps across five dimensions: knowledge, methods, technology, policy and implementation, and equity and urban context.
  • Recurring priorities include multi-pollutant assessment, comparable measurement protocols, verification of real-world intervention performance, and stronger representation of Global South populations.
  • The proposed Urban Indoor Air Quality Nexus connects pollutant dynamics, building systems, personal exposure, and governance. Both frameworks organize evidence and future work; neither is an externally validated predictive model.

Written overview based on the published paper.

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Tafazzoli, M., Haq, I., Naeijian, F., Mousavi, E., & Goodarzi, M. (2026). Indoor air quality: A comprehensive evidence-gap synthesis, policy failures, and a framework for future action. Buildings, 16(17), 3347. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16173347

Publisher & DOI ↗
Video explanation · 8 min 11 secOpen video ↗

2026 · Journal article

How construction professionals want fatigue monitored

What makes a fatigue-monitoring approach acceptable on a construction site? This video explains an exploratory survey of 103 workers, supervisors, safety personnel, and project managers across nine southeastern U.S. construction projects, examining familiarity, trust, and preferences for subjective, objective, and hybrid approaches.

Key findings from the paper

  • About 38% preferred hybrid approaches combining subjective and objective information; a similar share regarded them as the most reliable. More than 85% anticipated moderate or significant safety benefits.
  • Trigger-based monitoring (31.07%) and checks at the start and end of shifts (28.16%) were preferred over continuous monitoring (6.80%).
  • Preferred responses included scheduling adjustments (41.75%) and rest breaks or task rotation (33.98%). These findings describe participant perceptions and preferences, not measured sensor accuracy or demonstrated reductions in incidents.

Written overview based on the published paper.

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Tafazzoli, M., Haq, I., Naeijian, F., Goodarzi, M., Al-Bayati, A. J., & Kamari, M. (2026). Fatigue monitoring technologies in construction: How professionals perceive, trust, and prefer subjective, objective, and hybrid approaches. Buildings, 16(11), 2091. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16112091

Publisher & DOI ↗
Video explanation · 8 min 27 secOpen video ↗

2026 · Journal article

AI and water quality: predicting mill effluent

Can a mill’s operating data help anticipate wastewater quality? This video explains a comparison of five machine-learning approaches for predicting effluent biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), using 1,033 daily records from a full-scale European pulp and paper mill.

Key findings from the paper

  • The support-vector-machine model achieved the strongest predictive performance: R² = 0.85, NSE = 0.82, and RMSE = 5.5 mg/L.
  • The neural network combined competitive accuracy (R² = 0.82; RMSE = 6.8 mg/L) with the fastest runtime. Genetic programming provided interpretable equations, while tree-based models offered operational transparency.
  • The study benchmarks retrospective predictions from January 2020–October 2022. Real-time process control remains a future application requiring sensor integration; the models include laboratory-measured influent BOD.

Written overview based on the published paper.

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Naeijian, F., Arefinia, A., Zaki, M. T., Orner, K. D., Tafazzoli, M., & Rowles, L. S. (2026). AI-driven deployable water quality management: Benchmarking effluent BOD prediction at a European pulp and paper mill. ACS Engineering Au, 6(1), 170–184. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsengineeringau.5c00088

Publisher & DOI ↗
Video explanation · 9 min 18 secOpen video ↗

2026 · Journal article

Taming construction chaos with federated BIM

How can temporary shoring and permanent structures be coordinated before conflicts reach the jobsite? This video explains a federated BIM case study combining Tekla Structures, Revit, Navisworks, and Dynamo for a fourteen-story building with a five-level basement.

Key findings from the paper

  • Parameter-driven categorization made more than 6,000 truss-guard and rebar conflicts tractable for resolution.
  • Sheet-cutting waste across 18 tons of steel fell from 4.5% to below 3%; plywood requirements fell 15%, from 3,350 to 2,850 m².
  • Rebar scheduling recovered 51 of 103 additional tons, including 32.8 tons directly attributable to the interaction-zone workflow. These are results from one project, rather than guaranteed savings for every building.

Written overview based on the published paper.

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Tafazzoli, M., Falegari, S., & Shirzadi Javid, A. A. (2026). Clash categorization and optimization in a federated BIM workflow for integrating temporary shoring systems and permanent structures in high-rise excavations. Buildings, 16(16), 3290. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16163290

Publisher & DOI ↗
Video explanation · 8 min 23 secOpen video ↗

2026 · Journal article

Understanding community flood vulnerability

How can communities choose flood-vulnerability measures that support better planning? This video introduces the research behind a systematic review of assessment methods across community, regional, and infrastructure scales.

Key findings from the paper

  • The review synthesizes 144 studies published from 2000 through 2025 and consolidates 217 unique indicators.
  • Assessment methods differ by scale: socioeconomic indices, geospatial multicriteria approaches, and infrastructure-performance models capture different aspects of vulnerability.
  • Useful planning decisions require local calibration, clearer definitions, and validation against observed flood impacts.

Written overview based on the published paper.

Explore the studyRead open-access PDF ↗

Mohammadi, M., Tafazzoli, M., Naeijian, F., & Rahbar, S. (2026). Quantifying Community and Infrastructure Vulnerability to Floods: Implications for Land-Use Planning and Resilience. Sustainability, 18(20), 10375. https://doi.org/10.3390/su182010375

Publisher & DOI ↗

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHTS

Explore all studies ↓

EXPLORE THE RESEARCH

Questions, evidence, and contributions.

Full publication list ↗

66 research spotlights

CONNECTED RESEARCH QUESTIONS

People, technology, and the conditions of work.

Shimmer wearable sensing platforms
S.A.F.E. LAB

From physiological measurement
to practical research questions.

Explore the lab ↗
View the research framework
Diagram organizing construction safety and human-performance research themes.
Connected research directionsThe safety research framework connects fatigue, physiological sensing, technology deployment, predictive analysis, and practical intervention.

01 / SAFETY

Construction-worker fatigue & human performance

How do fatigue, work demands, and safety perceptions interact on construction sites? Studies connect worker-centered questions with professional surveys, evidence synthesis, and field research.

02 / MEASUREMENT

Wearable & physiological sensing

How can physiological information support the study of fatigue under realistic working conditions? The S.A.F.E. Lab develops measurement capability through Hexoskin and Shimmer platforms.

03 / IMPLEMENTATION

Smart garments & technology deployment

What determines whether a promising monitoring technology can move beyond a laboratory prototype? The research examines deployment readiness, usability, worker trust, and practical adoption barriers.

04 / ANALYTICS

Predictive safety & decision support

How can measurements and worker experience become useful decision support? Predictive analytics and multimodal sensing are future directions building on current monitoring and technology-readiness research.

05 / ACTION

Field intervention & research-to-practice

What low-cost responses can help workers and supervisors manage fatigue? The JSI-funded Stay Sharp, Stay Safe project moves the program toward testing fatigue-reset strategies and bilingual guidance.

06 / COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAM

Sustainability & resilience

How can buildings and infrastructure perform better for people and communities? Research spans sustainable construction, indoor environmental quality, green infrastructure, water systems, transportation, and energy resilience.

RESEARCH-TO-PRACTICE

A question is only the beginning.

01

Observe

Worker experience, fatigue perceptions, and physiological information.

02

Interpret

Evidence synthesis, analytics, and technology-readiness assessment.

03

Test

Field studies and practical fatigue-reset interventions.

04

Translate

Bilingual guidance, supervisor tools, and implementation products.

Current work connects measurement and technology-readiness research with field studies and practical guidance.

ESTABLISHED COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAM

Sustainability & resilience in the built environment.

This program connects sustainable construction and infrastructure management with building performance, indoor environmental quality, stormwater, water quality, transportation, and energy systems.

Representative work includes green-roof hydrologic performance, Green-Lean construction, indoor air quality evidence gaps, and energy-management research. Current NCHRP and GEFA projects extend the infrastructure and resilience dimension.

Related funded projects ↗
Framework showing related themes in sustainability and built-environment research.
Sustainability across systemsResearch themes span construction, building performance, water and environmental systems, infrastructure, and resilience.
Graphical abstract showing pulp-and-paper wastewater data, five machine-learning models, and predicted-versus-measured biochemical oxygen demand.
Machine learning for water qualityGraphical abstract from “AI-Driven Deployable Water Quality Management”: data processing, model development, and comparison of effluent BOD predictions. Naeijian et al., ACS Engineering Au (2026), CC BY 4.0.Related publication or coverage ↗

COLLABORATIVE WATER RESEARCH

From operating data to environmental decisions.

A collaborative study benchmarked five machine-learning approaches for effluent biochemical oxygen demand prediction at a European pulp-and-paper mill. The work connects environmental monitoring with the practical use of operational data.

Read the ACS Engineering Au article ↗

SELECTED SCHOLARSHIP

Evidence behind the program.

Publication library ↗

RESEARCH · TEACHING · PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT

Connect research questions with field conditions.

Contractors, researchers, agencies, and prospective graduate students are welcome to discuss field partnerships, sensing, fatigue intervention, and infrastructure research.

Get in touch ↗