Risk-based management of occupational safety and health in the construction industry – Part 1: Background knowledge

Abstract

During the last decades, there has been a growing awareness about occupational safety and health risks by the various interested parties in the construction industry. However, despite the substantial improvements achieved, the rate of accidents is still significantly higher than in most of the other industries. Two major reasons have been used to explain this high rate of accidents in the construction industry: (i) the intrinsic riskiness due to the nature of the activities and the particular characteristics of constructions projects and organizations and (ii) the financial and economic issues regarding the implementation of additional safety measures in a growing competitive market.This companion paper is presented in two parts. The present document refers to Part 1 and reviews the major lines of research and main contributions in the field of occupational safety and health in the construction industry. The review covers occupational safety and health research, organized in accident understanding studies, accident analysis studies and accident modeling studies, and occupational safety and health risk management, in particular risk criteria and limits. The review reveals the need for a methodology to quantify occupational safety and health risk in construction projects following the guidelines set by the international standard ISO 31000:2009. Part 2 proposes and details the Occupational Safety and Health Potential Risk Model (OSH-PRM) that was designed to allow estimating the statistical cost of occupational safety and health risk.