## 4 Results and Discussions
### Implementation Challenges
#### 4.4.1 Scalability and Cost  
The adoption of advanced immersive technologies in traditional workplaces faces significant challenges related to their scalability and cost. Table 11 outlines the critical obstacles related to scalability and cost in integrating advanced digital and immersive technologies, such as XR, VR, AR, DT, and IM, into OHS practices. These barriers are categorized into two main areas: (1) high costs and investment uncertainty, and (2) technical and infrastructure limitations. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l l} \hline \hline
**Technology Group** & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**OHS-Related Advantages**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Key Applications**} \\ \hline  & - & Real-time monitoring of workers and & & \\  & - & environmental conditions & & \\  & - & Predictive analysis of risks (e.g., fatigue, ergonomic & - & Human-robot safety modeling \\ DT and IM & - & strain, hazards) & - & Digital exoskeleton integration \\  & - & Human-centric simulation for planning & - & Simulation of process hazards and \\  & - & and decision-making & & workspace ergonomics \\  & - & Remote collaboration and immersive industrial & & \\  & - & safety design & & \\ \hline  & - & Risk-free training environments for safety scenarios & - & VR steel plant simulations \\  & - & Real-time instructions and hazard alerts & - & AR-based guidance for \\  & - & Ergonomic assessment and cognitive & & machine operation \\  & - & load visualization & - & Confined-space risk training \\ \hline  & - & Continuous monitoring of vitals and posture & - & IoT wristbands and helmets \\ Wearables, IoT, and MoCap & - & Early detection of fatigue, stress, or physical risks & - & McGCap-based posture analysis \\  & - & Support for smart PPE and fall detection & - & Sensor-driven alerts for \\ \hline  & - & Detection of abnormal patterns in worker behavior & - & Emotion AI in Human DTs \\ AI, ML, and Big Data Analytics & & or environmental conditions & - & Data-driven safety dashboards \\  & - & Prediction of fatigue, burnout, and injuries & - & Real-time noise/hazard \\  & - & Adaptive responses and automated alerts & & environment mapping \\ \hline  & - & Ergonomic collaboration strategy development & - & VR-integrated HRC testing \\ HRC Systems & - & Simulation and validation of safe HRC workflows & - & Layout optimization for \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 10: Key applications and OHS benefits of DTs, IM, and other interconnected digital technologies in manufacturing. In the high costs and investment category, the main factor is the significant expenses for hardware, software, setup, and skilled personnel. High initial investments and costs related to hardware, software, and professional personnel for maintenance and support create barriers [68]. This is particularly burdensome for SMEs with limited budgets [64; 12; 6]. Moreover, integrating these advanced technologies into existing systems often necessitates costly upgrades, further increasing the financial burden. For example, integrating XR into existing real-world production lines may require substantial upgrades to legacy systems [12], which are old or outdated computer systems or technologies. In addition, the inherent uncertainty surrounding the return on investment (ROI) for these technologies further complicates the decision-making process for many companies, making them hesitant to invest due to perceived risks [37; 85]. Furthermore, the significant financing and technical support required for building the IM could lead to large enterprises dominating development, potentially fostering industrial monopolies [4]. This could further prevent SMEs with already constrained budgets and a lack of capital investment from adopting these immersive technologies, along with the uncertainties and risks involved. In the technical and infrastructure limitations category, several key challenges are highlighted, including the demanding computational and storage requirements of immersive technologies and limitations in the current network infrastructure.