Looking beyond Human Centred Design approach for bettering lives of Construction Workers in India

Abstract

It is an cipated that close to 7 billion people will call a city their permanent home by the year 2050, as stated in documented databases such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Our World in Data and the World Bank's World Development Report. We es mate that there will be around 7.95 billion people living in the world in the year 2022, with 4.54 billion residing in urban areas and 3.42 billion in rural areas. Over 51 million people are employed in the construc on business across the United States, making it one of the major industries in terms of employment in recent years. The construc on business in India is responsible for the employment of more people than any other single sector. Es mates provided by the most recent Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2019-20 suggest that there are approximately 1.1 million people employed in the construc on industry in Delhi, which is known as the capital of migrants and a city of opportuni es. This is due to the fact that the percentage of the popula on that is employed in low-income countries is significantly larger than in high-income countries. The pressure to find an immediate job in order to meet the financial requirements of a family of three or four has resulted in an increase in the number of people in India who are working in the construc on industry. Despite the fast growth of the construc on industry, neither the administra ve apparatus of the government nor the employers on the job sites have kept pace with the steadily improving standard of living experienced by construc on employees. Migrant construc on workers are frequently put in perilous situa ons, suffer from illness, are subjected to a significant amount of harassment, and have a poor quality of life while working. This qualita ve and experimental study sheds light on the precarious circumstances in which construc on employees find themselves and how technology might benefit their wellness and lifestyle on the job site. Specifically, the study focuses on how technology can assist construc on workers in maintaining a healthy lifestyle while on the job. Because of advances in technology, human-centred design can now be carried out on a very global as well as a very ny level, sparking empathy at every stage.