Investigating Information Overload Cognitive Correlation Crane Operators

Information overload (IO) is a potential threat to safety decisions and work efficiency of practitioners during construction programs in such an era of information exploding. Nevertheless, research about the impact of IO at a construction site is scarce. This paper is a pre-experimental attempt about the effect of IO on performance based on three crane operators, using a cognitive perspective to explore the influencing mechanism. Crane operators are wired up with Electroencephalography (EEG) headset to finish the corresponding operational task within different levels of information load (IL) in a virtual environment. The preliminary outcomes indicate that information amount and presentation type indeed affect cognitive load via self-ratings and EEG measures. This paper provides insights into IO's adverse impact, recognizes primary contributors leading to IO. More importantly, later findings of cerebral activity can reveal the cognitive influence of IO.