Intervention and management of construction workers’ unsafe behavior: A simulation digital twin model

Abstract

Efforts to address unsafe behaviors of construction workers have predominantly focused on identifying causative factors, unraveling formation mechanisms, and devising pre-emptive control strategies. Nonetheless, these studies have inadequately examined the reasons behind workers' engagement in unsafe behavior from a behavioral psychology perspective, specifically the collision reaction between impulsivity and self-control in the decision-making process, as well as the lack of exploration of psychological processes and behavioral response mechanisms of workers under different management strategies on construction sites. This paper describes an explanatory closed-loop structured model to simulate the safety performance of workers' behavior under different intervention strategies, considering the behavioral decision process and interactions between workers and managerial environment. The hybrid simulation model for worker’s unsafe behavior consists of three parts: the control panel, the proactive management panel, and the reactive panel. The model provides valuable information for explaining the causation of workers’ unsafe behaviors and finding efficient management strategies. Through simulation experiments, results show that proactive management has more advantages in maintaining workers' behavioral safety levels over a long period of time than reactive management. This research provides valuable information for policy analysis and decision-making for project managers.