Using Improved Principal Component Analysis to Explore Construction Accident Situations from the Multi-Dimensional Perspective: A Chinese Study

Regional Sustainable Performance of Construction Industry in China from the Perspective of Input and Output: Considering Occupational Safety

Improving the poor sustainability of the construction industry requires long-term actions, especially in developing countries such as China. Regional sustainability assessment plays an indispensable role, contributing to a better understanding of the state of development in various regions. However, few studies have focused on the overall sustainability of regional construction industries, and occupational safety is generally ignored. To fill these gaps, an input-output system is established to evaluate regional sustainable performance of the construction industry (SPCI), which is made to include occupational safety by introducing the number of fatalities as an undesirable output. An evaluation model is constructed by combining window analysis with a super-slack-based measure data envelopment analysis (windows-super-SBM DEA). The SPCI in China’s 30 provinces from 2010 to 2017 is dynamically evaluated, and regional differences are further analyzed, with eight regions being defined. The results indicate that (1) the overall SPCI in China has fluctuated smoothly around a slight downward trend. By comparison, the integration of occupational safety refreshes the relative performance of most provinces; (2) dividing China into eight regions presents more detailed information because of those regions’ smaller coverage areas, and more attention should be given to the northeast, northwest, Middle Yellow River region and east coast because of the decrease in the SPCI; and (3) vigorously developing of the construction industry does not necessarily result in a large number of byproducts if the relevant policy is sufficiently strong. The findings of this study are conducive to rationally allocating resources and formulating targeted policies.

Construction safety: an analysis of the cross-influence of economic, construction, and accident death factors

To explore the relations between the number of accident deaths (NCD) and various factors in construction safety, a multiple linear regression model was established, based on the panel data of economy, construction labor, and the number of accident deaths in 31 provinces (regions) of China from 2009 to 2018. The results show that the average total profits and taxes (TPAT), and the death rate of ten thousand people (DR) are positively correlated with NCD, while the labor productivity (LP) is negatively correlated with it. Under the condition that other factors remain unchanged, NCD increases by 0.02 per a hundred million CNY. However, if DR increases by one ten thousand, NCD will increase by 8.66 on average. On the contrary, when LP increases by a hundred million CNY per ten thousand people, NCD decreases by 0.19. The model also predicts NCD in different provinces and cities from 2019 to 2020 with the method of quadratic exponential smoothing. As well, practice results show that the model is effective and practical.

Analysis of the Characteristics of Fatal Accidents in the Construction Industry in China Based on Statistical Data

Background: Construction activities not only provide the necessary conditions for citizens to live, but also cause fatal accidents. Methods: This study aimed to reveal the characteristics of fatal accidents in the construction industry in China based on statistical data. From 2010 to 2019, there were 6005 fatal accidents in China’s construction industry causing 7275 deaths. The important features of these fatal accidents, such as the type, time of occurrence, site location, severity, and geographical region of the accident, were carefully analyzed. Results: There were 258 major and severe construction accidents causing 1037 deaths, accounting for 4.3% and 14.25% of the total number of construction accidents and deaths in this period, respectively. As an important finding, more deaths occurred in August and on Mondays. The greatest number of construction accidents took place along openings and edges, accounting for 22.9% of all fatal accidents. Taking into account their economic development level and number of employees, Qinghai and Hainan experienced a higher mortality rate than Jiangsu. Falls from a high place were the dominant type of construction accident, accounting for 51.66% of all accidents. However, collapses were the primary type of major and severe construction accident, accounting for 60.09% of such accidents. The predicted number of construction deaths in 2020 is 887 according to the GM(1,1) model. Corresponding safety measures should be adopted to improve the working environment of the construction industry. Implications: The implications of these results with respect to the characteristics of construction accidents can be regarded as the foundation for accident prevention in practice.

Feasibility of Casein to Record Stable Isotopic Variation of Cow Milk in New Zealand

Dairy products occupy a special place among foods in contributing to a major part of our nutritional requirements, while also being prone to fraud. Hence, the verification of the authenticity of dairy products is of prime importance. Multiple stable isotopic studies have been undertaken that demonstrate the efficacy of this approach for the authentication of foodstuffs. However, the authentication of dairy products for geographic origin has been a challenge due to the complex interactions of geological and climatic drivers. This study applies stable isotope measurements of d2H, d18O, d13C and d15N values from casein to investigate the inherent geo-climatic variation across dairy farms from the South and North Islands of New Zealand. The stable isotopic ratios were measured for casein samples which had been separated from freeze-dried whole milk samples. As uniform feeding and fertilizer practices were applied throughout the sampling period, the subtropical (North Island) and temperate (South Island) climates were reflected in the variation of d13C and d15N. However, highly correlated d2H and d18O (r = 0.62, p = 6.64 × 10-10, a = 0.05) values did not differentiate climatic variation between Islands, but rather topographical locations. The highlight was the strong influence of d15N towards explaining climatic variability, which could be important for further discussion.