Organizational factors and specific risks on construction sites

Key Factors in Crane-Related Occupational Accidents in the Spanish Construction Industry (2012-2021)

The construction industry is one of the riskiest sectors worldwide, with crane operations being one of the most dangerous activities. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the key factors involved in crane-related occupational accidents in the construction industry in Spain. To this end, 1314 accidents involving cranes were analyzed from a total of 241,937 accidents that occurred in the construction of buildings. The data were collected from the Spanish government's occupational accident statistics corresponding to the years 2012-2021. The results evidenced a statistically significant relationship between cranes as the material agent and the size of the company, with 95% of cases corresponding to small- or medium-sized companies (less than 250 employees). Additionally, it shows how the crane operator is identified as a material contributor to crane accidents in the construction industry, and may be considered a key component to these accidents. In conclusion, improving the knowledge gained about the key factors in crane-related accidents at work in the construction industry provides essential information that helps to design and implement appropriate preventive measures to avoid the recurrence of unwanted events with these machines.

From Risk Assessment on Site to How to Improve Safety: An Easy "App" to Control Construction Site Conditions

A construction site has specific risks and organizational conditions requiring on-site safety inspections. Paperwork inspections have important limitations that can be overcome by substituting paper records with digital registers and using new information and communication technologies. Although academic literature has provided several tools to carry out on-site safety inspections adopting new technologies, most construction sites are not currently ready to adopt them. This paper covers this need of on-site control by providing an application that uses a simple technology accessible to most construction companies. The main objective and contribution of this paper is to design, develop, and implement a mobile device application (App), named "RisGES". It is based on the model of risk that grounds the Construction Site Risk Assessment Tool (CONSRAT) and on the related models that connect risk with specific organizational and safety resources. This proposed application is aimed to assess the on-site risk and organizational structure by using new technologies and considering all relevant resources and material safety conditions. The paper includes practical examples of how to use RisGES in real settings. Evidence for the discriminant validity of CONSRAT is also provided. The RisGES tool is at once preventive and predictive since it yields a specific set of criteria for interventions intended to decrease the levels of risks on-site, as well as to detect improvement needs in the site structure and resources for increasing the safety levels.

The Evolutionary Game of Post-conflict Management for New Generation of Construction Workers in China: The Mediating Role of Foremen

The emotional perception of the new generation of Chinese construction workers is becoming stronger, and the traditional punishment-type management model is gradually failing. In order to address the safety hazards caused by the negative emotions generated after workers' conflict events, the motivation of workers to actively participate in the construction of safety climate is increased, and the safety performance of construction projects is enhanced. This paper introduces emotional event theory to assess workers' psychological perceptions and uses foreman as an intermediary for safety management to analyze the decision-making process between managers and work-groups in the safety management process. By establishing a tripartite evolutionary game model of manager, foreman, and worker, the evolutionary differences among the three parties when the manager is strict or appeasing are examined. The results of the study showed that managers who showed appeasement were more effective than those who showed stringency in accomplishing the safety goals of the project. As the workers' psychological perception index increased, workers were more inclined to adopt aggressive strategies, and their behavior was more influenced by their own moral identity as well as the foreman's attitude under the manager's appeasement attitude. This study can provide managers with suggestions on how to handle the situation after a conflict, which can help regulate the behavior of construction teams and eliminate safety risks.