Application of soft computing techniques to safety management during bridge construction

Abstract

Bridge construction has become complex and is being conducted on ever larger scales, and the technology of bridge construction is advancing rapidly. Currently, problems in the safety management during bridge construction are very important. In our country, Japan, the number of worker killed on construction sites steadily decreased in the past, however the rate has been constant for the past 15 years. Therefore, the causes of serious accidents on bridge construction sites have been analysed. The results of our analysis reveal that serious accidents are caused by a combination of lesser accident factors. It is reasonable to suppose that serious accidents can be prevented if potential factors are eliminated. Skilled construction workers are able to avoid potential accident factors because of their experience and knowledge. However, the number of skilled workers has decreased and their valuable knowledge and experience is seriously needed. The aims of this paper are not only to develop an expert system for supporting safety management in the bridge construction but also to apply 3-D computer graphics (CG) to simulate and also to make better understanding the accidents during bridge construction for integrating into the expert system.