Framework for improving the prediction rate with respect to outdoor thermal comfort using machine learning

Most of the construction works are conducted outdoors, so the construction workers are affected by weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, and wind velocity which can be evaluated the thermal comfort as environmental factors. In our previous researches, it was found that construction accidents are usually occurred in the discomfort ranges. The safety management, therefore, should be planned in consideration of the thermal comfort and measured by a specialized simulation tool. However, it is very complex, time-consuming, and difficult to model. To address this issue, this study is aimed to develop a framework of a prediction model for improving the prediction accuracy about outdoor thermal comfort considering environmental factors using machine learning algorithms with hyperparameter tuning. This study is done in four steps: i) Establishment of database, ii) Selection of variables to develop prediction model, iii) Development of prediction model; iv) Conducting of hyperparameter tuning. The tree type algorithm is used to develop the prediction model. The results of this study are as follows. First, considering three variables related to environmental factor, the prediction accuracy was 85.74%. Second, the prediction accuracy was 86.55% when considering four environmental factors. Third, after conducting hyperparameter tuning, the prediction accuracy was increased up to 87.28%. This study has several contributions. First, using this prediction model, the thermal comfort can be calculated easily and quickly. Second, using this prediction model, the safety management can be utilized to manage the construction accident considering weather conditions.