Construction management expert, Dr. Opeyemi Oyeyipo, has identified investing in contemporary safety training as one of the most viable ways of reducing fatalities at construction sites in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

The senior lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Construction Science and Management at the University of Texas at San Antonio, United States, while calling on practitioners in the African construction industry to embrace immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR), and most notably metaverse technologies to enhance productivity and excellent delivery of projects, said that the safety of workers will improve significantly if this is done.

He said, “Despite the poor/no accident reporting in most construction sites, Nigeria loses many lives and productive hours to construction accidents, injuries, and significant cost implications for contractors and clients.

“The integration of metaverse-based safety training of workers, especially in high-risk environments, is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.”

Oyeyipo, who has over 15 years of combined academic and industry experience, including working as the cost consultant involved in infrastructural facilities for a private university in Ogun State, is no stranger to the challenges facing construction safety, particularly in developing nations where regulatory enforcement and real-time site supervision are often weak.

His research, published in reputable international journals such as the Institution of Civil Engineers’ *Smart Infrastructure and Construction*, explores the barriers to adopting immersive technologies for safety enhancement in Nigeria’s construction industry.

Alongside some notable collaborators, he has carried out research currently under review about drivers, barriers, and critical success factors of metaverse-based safety training in the construction industry, which will be particularly crucial for practitioners seeking to modernise safety standards in low-technology environments.

A solution rooted in innovation

Speaking further, Oyeyipo stated that, “Most accidents happen not because workers are unskilled, but because they are unfamiliar with on-site risks and lack simulation-based exposure to those hazards.”

Unlike traditional lectures or poster-based safety training, immersive technologies simulate real construction site conditions—from scaffold collapses to crane malfunctions—allowing workers to learn in a safe but experiential digital environment.

“With simple VR headsets and gamified modules, even small-scale contractors can drastically improve site readiness and hazard recognition,” he adds.

Nigerian construction industry at a tipping point with fatalities

The construction industry of developing countries like Nigeria has witnessed an increasing surge in accidents and deaths, many of which can be attributed to poor or inadequate site training, lack of real-time hazard awareness, and poor safety culture.

For Dr. Oyeyipo, this is both a public health and development issue.

“Investing in immersive safety training should be included in both public procurement frameworks and private project planning,” he urges.

Building the future workforce

Apart from his research, Oyeyipo is passionate about training future-ready construction professionals.

He is also leading initiatives to embed immersive technologies into the training of the future construction workforce, including efforts at UTSA, where he mentors emerging professionals and decision-makers in the construction industry.

He also calls on government agencies, professional bodies, and educational institutions in Nigeria to develop partnerships with tech providers and international collaborators to localise and scale the deployment of these training platforms.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We can adapt existing solutions to suit Nigeria’s realities and language preferences. What we must not do is ignore the opportunity,” he concludes.

Recognition and impact

Dr. Oyeyipo’s work has not gone unnoticed. He has published extensively on construction safety, sustainability, and digitalisation in construction management and continues to collaborate with leading African and international researchers to transform industry practices.

As Nigeria seeks to accelerate its infrastructure development agenda, voices like Dr. Oyeyipo’s highlight the urgent need for innovation that prioritises human lives on the job site.