Meta-Analysis of Studies on Accident Contributing Factors in the Greek Construction Industry

Abstract

Occupational accidents, especially in the construction sector, are a worldwide phenomenon. There is a large and important collection of repeated studies at an international level, which has identified and categorized construction accident contributing factors in different countries individually. This paper is a quantitative meta-analysis of data from existing research that identifies and ranks a comprehensive list of the main factors contributing to occupational accidents in the construction sector in Greece. The methodology includes: (i) the identification of common factors through a systematic literature review and content analysis (ii) the categorization and development of a comprehensive accident factor breakdown structure and (iii) the evaluation of the importance of the common factors through statistical meta-analysis by calculating the overall ranking index (ORI). The results indicated that six out of the top ten contributing factors to construction site accidents are from the Occupational Risks category, only one from each of the Safety Culture, Worker Training Deficiencies, and Safety Equipment/Measures categories. The amalgamated insights of 25 Greek scientific studies are certain to be used to shape safety management processes by construction companies, clients, and safety policy decision makers.