A social network system for sharing construction safety and health knowledge

Abstract

Abstract Construction is one of the largest contributors to national economies and also one of the most accident-prone industries worldwide. Construction site accidents often result in serious injuries or death, cause serious project delays and cost overruns. Prior studies focused on cause and effect relationships of construction accidents, design for construction safety, effectiveness of worker safety programs and government policies. The focus in those studies has been on generation and utilization of safety-related data and information, and not on how to share safety data efficiently among all stakeholders in the construction industry. This paper proposes a Social Network System for Sharing Construction Safety & Health Knowledge (SNSS), which utilizes semantic wiki web and ontology approach for better communication and representation for construction safety information. SNSS was developed on the basis of a safety semantic wiki template (SSWT), which consists of three components: 1) Safety information module (SIM) which uploads common accident and hazard information for sharing; 2) Safety knowledge module (SKM) where the safety information is refined, confirmed and transferred to a repository of safety knowledge; 3) Safety dissemination module (SDM) which allows users to monitor, manage and retrieve safety information and knowledge. SNSS has been tested in a fall accident case study. The study confirms the applicability and benefits of a social network system for enhancing safety communications among all stakeholders of construction projects and organizations behind the construction business.