Safety management implementation drivers for construction projects: a structural equation modelling approach

The construction industry is one of the hazardous fields due to its exceptional environment. Therefore, this work aimed to assess the essential drivers needed for employing safety management in the Palestinian construction industry. The drivers for safety management were recognized from earlier literature, where the questionnaires were dispersed to professionals from construction projects. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) technique was then performed to contextually adjust the identified drivers. The results showed that safety management drivers could be categorized into three constructs: management, awareness and policy. In addition, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was performed to generate the safety management driver's model. The results indicated that management drivers were vital drivers for adopting safety management. The study's findings would act as a reference for construction stakeholders to decrease danger and enhance the construction project's success via implementing safety management drivers.

Identifying and Evaluating the Essential Factors Affecting the Incidence of Site Accidents Caused by Human Errors in Industrial Parks Construction Projects

In terms of safety management, the implementation of industrial parks construction projects (IPCPs) is incredibly challenging due to the special working conditions and the specific type of use of the buildings. On the other hand, the possibility of causing accidents in these areas based on human errors is high and important for project execution due to the risks of human errors and financial losses. Therefore, this study tries to fill this existing research gap by identifying and evaluating the effective key factors leading to the occurrence of construction accidents caused by human errors in the development of IPCPs. After a holistic review of the reported literature, four rounds of fuzzy Delphi survey were launched to capture the individual opinions and feedback from various project experts. Accordingly, 41 key factors affecting human errors in the implementation of industrial parks construction projects in Iran were identified and classified into nine main groups of wrong actions, observations/interpretations, planning/processes, equipment, organization, individual activities, environmental conditions, rescue, and technology. Then, the step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method was adopted to rate and rank the identified factors of human errors in the implementation of IPCPs in Iran. The research findings indicated that among the elicited factors, time factor (0.1226), delayed interpretation (0.1080), and incorrect diagnosis/prediction (0.0990) are the three most crucial factors leading to human errors in the implementation of IPCPs in Iran. The results of this research study have provided various major project stakeholders with an effective decision-aid tool to make better-informed decisions in managing and reducing the occurrence of construction site accidents particularly caused by human errors associated with IPCPs.

Noise Exposure Assessment in Construction Equipment Operators in Tehran, Iran

Occupational hearing loss is a common complication among construction workers, especially those working with heavy machinery and construction equipment. This research measured the noise that construction operators are exposed to, and proves that most of the construction equipment operators that we studied have a potential risk of hearing impairment. We examined 22 types of construction machinery that are commonly used in various stages of construction projects in Tehran (demolition, excavation, and execution). The noise that construction operators were exposed to was measured with a dosimeter during 8 working hours, and the Time-Weighted Average (TWA) was calculated for each operator according to OSHA standards. Finally, a suitable hearing protection device (HPD) was suggested. The results indicated that the operators of D8N (opened-cab) and CAT D8L SA (closed-cab) bulldozers were exposed to more noise than other operators in this study. Hand-saw, Caterpillar 943, and Komatsu 470 loader operators were also exposed to significant noise levels. Other operators, such as drivers of older Benz and Volvo trucks, the Backhoe HLB95, the Soosan mobile crane, and the Bobcat were also exposed to heavy noise that put them at risk of occupational hearing loss.

Opportunities and Challenges for Construction Health and Safety Technologies under the COVID-19 Pandemic in Chinese Construction Projects

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in significant delays and cost overrun in construction projects. The implementation of health and safety (H&S) technologies is one of the most important strategies to alleviate the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on the construction industry and help the industry adapt to the new normal. This study aims to evaluate the adoption of H&S technologies for pandemic management in the construction sector under the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews with eighteen practitioners engaged from construction companies and technology firms were conducted to collect their views on the driving forces and issues of the adoption of H&S technologies for pandemic management in Chinese construction projects. The results reveal that the major H&S technologies used included the health quick response (QR) code system, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered fever monitoring, and site access control system. These technologies were reported to be effective in preventing the spread of the pandemic in workplaces. The findings of the study amplify that the pandemic may serve as an acceleration of the adoption of H&S technologies in the construction sector. Other technologies, such as building information modeling, drones, AI-based safety monitoring, and robotics, however, were seldom used in the studied projects. The interviewees addressed several problems regarding the implementation of these technologies. High costs of technologies, a lack of client support, and disruptions to the normal work process were the main hurdles of the adoption of these technologies. The results indicated that the external influence factor-the COVID-19 pandemic-could considerably drive the use of H&S technologies, whereas the internal influence factors-cost and compatibility of technology-might be the major barriers to technology adoption. To encourage the wider use of H&S technologies in construction, the government is recommended to support the technology transformation by granting financial subsidies for costs involved in innovation adoption. Project owners may consider investing substantially in H&S technologies that can strengthen their resilient and innovative ability to adapt to the post-COVID-19 landscape. The present results will be useful to industry stakeholders and researchers interested in developing H&S technologies for combating the COVID-19 pandemic and future crises.

An Internet of Things and Fuzzy Markup Language Based Approach to Prevent the Risk of Falling Object Accidents in the Execution Phase of Construction Projects

The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm is establishing itself as a technology to improve data acquisition and information management in the construction field. It is consolidating as an emerging technology in all phases of the life cycle of projects and specifically in the execution phase of a construction project. One of the fundamental tasks in this phase is related to Health and Safety Management since the accident rate in this sector is very high compared to other phases or even sectors. For example, one of the most critical risks is falling objects due to the peculiarities of the construction process. Therefore, the integration of both technology and safety expert knowledge in this task is a key issue including ubiquitous computing, real-time decision capacity and expert knowledge management from risks with imprecise data. Starting from this vision, the goal of this paper is to introduce an IoT infrastructure integrated with JFML, an open-source library for Fuzzy Logic Systems according to the IEEE Std 1855-2016, to support imprecise experts’ decision making in facing the risk of falling objects. The system advises the worker of the risk level of accidents in real-time employing a smart wristband. The proposed IoT infrastructure has been tested in three different scenarios involving habitual working situations and characterized by different levels of falling objects risk. As assessed by an expert panel, the proposed system shows suitable results.

Health and safety improvement in construction projects: a lean construction approach

Objectives. Lean construction techniques have been considered an effective approach and strategy to reduce accidents in construction projects. This article aims to investigate the application of the lean construction principle and its impact on occupational health and safety. Methods. To achieve the aim, an analytical descriptive method was used. The data were collected through a questionnaire, with 70 respondents who were chosen using a random stratified sample method. The questionnaire evaluated the perception of contractors and consultants about the important lean construction factors and their impact on construction project safety. Results. There is an agreement that the application of lean construction techniques can be impeded by challenges like lack of lean construction knowledge, complexity, misconception about lean construction and difficulties in changing employees. Conclusions. The study identified strategies that could be used to address these challenges that will improve the safety of construction projects. These include enlightenment on benefits of the lean practice, publication of improvements realized from lean practice, training, workers' involvement and empowerment, persistence, robust planning and gradual implementation.

Developing Key Safety Management Factors for Construction Projects in China: A Resilience Perspective

It is acknowledged that construction safety is pivotal to the project management objectives. Meanwhile, the concept of resilience provides an effective and pragmatic countermeasure to improve the safety management level of construction projects. However, the “resilience” has not gained considerable attention in the construction safety management system. In this context, the paper aims to develop the key safety management factors for construction projects from the resilience perspective. Firstly, the theoretical framework and key safety management factors of construction safety management system based on the resilience theory are proposed. The importance of each factor is then obtained by using the method of structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that information management, material and technology management, organization management and personnel management would improve the safety and resilience of the project. Specifically, improving the resilience of information flow to strengthen the interaction among elements of the system can enhance the safety management level. These findings can be used as references for construction safety managers to improve the abilities of preventing safety accidents and recovering after safety accidents.

Impacts of Lean Construction on Safety Systems: A System Dynamics Approach

Lean construction has been viewed as an effective management approach for reducing the occurrence of no-value or destructive activities, such as wasting resources and safety-related accidents. However, few studies have systematically addressed how and to what extent lean construction practices influence construction safety. To bridge this gap, a conceptual model is developed and validated using a system dynamics approach. The construction system in this model comprises four sub-systems (i.e., environment system, equipment system, management system, and employee system). Data were collected from 448 projects in China. Simulations were conducted to determine the correlations between five types of lean tools and the four construction sub-systems. The results show that: (a) 5S management has significant positive impacts on the control of key locations and facilities at construction sites, and contributes to the mitigation of environmental impacts; (b) visual management can significantly improve safety compliance and safety management; (c) just-in-time management has significantly positive influences on the safety facilities layout and formulation of the safety plan; and (d) the Last Planner^® System and conference management are effective in improving safety training and the implementation of the safety plan. These findings provide new insights into the use of lean construction for improving construction safety through the implementation of a targeted lean approach.