4D-BIM-Based Workspace Planning for Temporary Safety Facilities in Construction SMEs.

Kieu-Trang Pham,Chansik Park,Duc-Nghia Vu,Phuc Le Hieu Hong

doi:10.3390/ijerph17103403

Abstract

Temporary safety facilities (TSFs) are an essential support system providing necessary protection to workers during construction activities, which are targeted towards preventing the occurrence of incidents and accidents at the construction site; however, the schedule and location of installation and demolition of TSFs continue to rely on labor experience, and are often omitted from formal drawings or documents. This results in thousands of accidents in the construction industry, especially in construction small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because of their several limiting factors; therefore, this study proposes automatic workspace planning for TSFs based on construction activities, which is a systematized approach for construction SMEs to practice occupational health and safety (OHS). By using building information modeling (BIM) and add-in algorithm, safety facilities can be simulated and visualized to integrate into the designated workspace. The developed system was implemented utilizing 4D-BIM for TSFs installation and validated with a case study on a residential building project. The result revealed that the visualized TSF produces a better understanding of safety measures with regard to project schedule. Additionally, TSFs workspace planning provides an affordable approach that motivates safety practices among the SMEs; consequently, the effectiveness of construction safety measures and their management is enhanced appreciably.

Highlights

IntroductionThe nature of the construction process makes it prone to risks and accidents; innovations in the construction sector have given rise to new safety issues
The integration of innovative technologies in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) is rapidly transforming conventional construction into smart construction.the nature of the construction process makes it prone to risks and accidents; innovations in the construction sector have given rise to new safety issues
According to the Annual Report on European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2016 and the United States (USA) Small Business Administration Statistic in 2015, the proportion of employment in construction SMEs made up for 87.6% and 82.7% respectively [7,8]. It means that the improvement of safety management in construction, SMEs play a critical role to safeguard more than 80 percent of workers in the construction industry

Summary

Introduction

The nature of the construction process makes it prone to risks and accidents; innovations in the construction sector have given rise to new safety issues. According to recent public reports, construction is one of the most hazardous occupations with considerably higher number of work-related injuries and fatal accidents than other industries [1,2,3]. Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports show that worker fatalities in the construction industry in 2017 accounted for 20.7% with 971 cases. Among the hazards that account for injury and death, OSHA has labeled “Fatal Four” as the leading causes of workplace deaths, which are responsible for more than 60% among the construction worker deaths, by the US Bureau of Labor. These four main hazards consist of falls, struck-by-object, electrocutions, and caught-in-between [4].

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