Construction Safety Management Research Articles

Implementation of Safety Management of Selected Construction Companies in Manila

In the 1980s, the safety management system (SMS) was created to reduce material waste and the risk of accidents and fatalities in the construction industry. With the correct SMS deployment, construction companies can reduce safety-related difficulties. This study assessed the current status of construction safety management intending to determine the level of implementation of selected construction companies with category AAA in Manila, Philippines. A survey was done to determine the SMS implementation level in terms of lack of control, basic cause, immediate cause, incident, and accident. The researcher used the quantitative method of research with the survey questionnaire as the main tool in gathering data. Architects, engineers, safety officers, and skilled workers were the respondents of the study. The gathered data were statistically treated with the use of Frequency, Percentage, Weighted Mean, Kruskal Wallis, Man Whitney U-test, and Spearman Rho Correlation. The overall results showed that the level of the selected construction companies in Manila is somewhat implemented. The results of this study are helpful to the industry as well because they can improve the understanding of SMS among industry professionals and aid in better SMS deployment at work.

Examining a two-step working model of safety knowledge in translating safety climate into safety behavior

PurposeGiven a baffling contradiction that the availability of safety knowledge may not necessarily lead to workers' safety behavior, this study aims to develop an exploratory two-step working model of safety knowledge in translating safety climate into safety behavior. In particular, this study highlights the importance of articulating tacit safety knowledge and improving workers' systematic problem solving (SPS) capacity in a favorable safety climate.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses 110 valid responses from Pakistan-based construction workers to test five hypotheses which embody the exploratory two-step working model of safety knowledge. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze the data.FindingsThe results of this study support the two-step working mechanism of safety knowledge in translating safety climate into safety behavior. Furthermore, results suggest that safety climate as a job resource facilitates converting construction workers' tacit safety knowledge into explicit safety knowledge (i.e. safety knowledge articulation) and then enabling them to spot non-conformities in safety management practices (i.e. SPS) and consequently to work safely (i.e. safety behavior).Originality/valueThe study has both theoretical and practical significance. In theory, it extends organizational learning theory and job demands-resources (JD-R) theory in the construction safety research domain and elaborates on the mediating role of safety knowledge articulation and SPS for the relationship between safety climate and safety behavior. In practice, it highlights the importance of continuous articulation of tacit safety knowledge and accumulation and use of explicit safety knowledge in construction safety management practices.

Evaluating Building Construction Safety Performance in Different Regions in China

This article employs a three-stage slack-based data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) model to evaluate the construction safety performance (CSP) of 30 provinces and cities in China, focusing on enhancing the sustainable development of construction safety in the industry, in line with the concept of sustainable development. The research findings indicate that the supervision environment of each province and city exerts a more substantial influence on the sustainable development of construction safety compared with the level of socio-economic development. Significant changes have been observed in the regional distribution of construction safety management levels within the construction industry by eliminating the impact of economic development, the supervision environment, and random errors. The original pattern of “East > West > Central > Northeast” has shifted to “East > Central > Northeast > West.” Moreover, it has been discovered that high-efficiency values of safety performance in certain provinces and cities are partially attributed to external environmental (EE) pressure. In contrast, low-efficiency values cannot be solely attributed to their lack of willingness to implement safety management. Finally, the article proposes strategies, including government policy-led approaches, technology prioritization, and management prioritization, to enhance the sustainable development of construction safety in the construction industry based on the internal safety performance of each province.

The Improvement of Service Quality in Prefabricated Steel Structure Construction Process

The purpose of this study is to investigate customers’ perceptions of service quality and to present guidelines for improving services in prefabricated steel structure management. The researchers use qualitative research by in-depth interview as a data collection method. Twenty customers in Bangkok who had used the service in the construction of prefabricated steel structures were the key informants. The results showed that in developing the service quality of the steel building structure business, the management had to improve the entire process in three stages, which are as follows: 1) the pre-service stage consists of providing tender document and contract and design ability for prefabricated steel structures; 2) the in-service stage consists of contract and design modifications, time management, resources management, ability to monitor the construction process, team management, and safety management ; 3) the post-service stage consists of success in service activities and success in financial and monitoring management. This three-step process improvement increased customer satisfaction in the present and would persuade potential customers to choose to use the services.

Knowledge Graph Improved Dynamic Risk Analysis Method for Behavior-Based Safety Management on a Construction Site

Construction sites are considered high-risk working environments. Safety risk analysis of construction sites is one of the important aspects of construction safety management. However, existing construction safety risk analysis methods typically face overreliance on subjective experience and cannot reflect the real-time risk level of construction projects. Crucial information about construction accidents implies a complex semantic network that can obtain objective quantitative data and then serve the quantitative analysis of construction safety risk. Therefore, a knowledge-graph-improved dynamic risk analysis method for behavior-based safety (BBS) management on construction sites is proposed. Specifically, this study quantifies the risks and consequences of unsafe behaviors in construction by conducting graph topology analysis based on historical accident data, improves the grey clustering model, and calculates the construction site risk. Thus, the proposed method combines expert experience and objective historical data to give more objective and realistic results. The results of the application of this method on one project show that the improved dynamic analysis method can utilize the historical accident data to achieve a more reasonable overall risk grading for BBS on construction sites; at the same time, the method can determine real-time key BBS indicators; further, the construction safety management measures for key BBS indicators can effectively reduce current BBS risks of a construction project.

Assessment of Barriers to Robotics Process Automation (RPA) Implementation in Safety Management of Tall Buildings

Construction is dangerous, making safety management essential. Robotics process automation (RPA) can improve construction project risk management. RPA is hindered by several factors. This study examined the primary technical, economic, legal, privacy, and resource obstacles to RPA adoption for tall building safety management. The pilot survey comprised 161 Malaysian tall building specialists, while the full questionnaire poll included 231 experts. EFA and SEM analyzed the data. Technology, economics, legislation, privacy, and resources prevented RPA from managing tall building safety. Theoretical and empirical breakthroughs in construction safety management and RPA deployment prompted this inquiry. This study illuminates the main obstacles to employing RPA for tall building safety management. The results show where to spend time and money to eliminate the obstacles. The study’s management implications may benefit construction safety managers, project managers, and company owners. The findings may help the building industry plan RPA safety management in tall projects and overcome hurdles. This study contributes to construction safety management and RPA deployment theory by identifying and analyzing the main barriers to using RPA for safety management in high-rise buildings. This research can help solve the problems preventing RPA from being used in construction project safety management.

Prioritization of risk mitigation strategies for contact with sharp object accidents using hybrid bow-tie approach

Occupational accidents are still a priority for the construction industry and safety professionals. Appropriate and proactive risk management strategies for complex construction safety management issues are essential to transform the “if-it-breaks-fix-it” approach into “fix-it-so-as-not-to-break.” This study introduces a novel hybrid bow-tie (H-BT) model to identify the riskiest causal paths and the most effective protective and preventive strategies. A dataset comprising 829 “contact-with-sharp-object” (CwSO) injury cases collected from 63 projects carried out by three companies is used to define the pairwise relationships among risk factors and define the risk paths using a mutual information matrix. A Delphi analysis is conducted to achieve the final strategies and calculate the risk reduction effect (ΔRR) and cost of each strategy. Finally, protective and preventive strategies are prioritized according to the ΔRR/cost ratio. The findings show that to reduce the number and severity of CwSO accidents, “stop working authority” and “staffing for safety” are the most effective preventative and protective strategies, respectively. Besides, inadequate supervision/management leadership is found to be the originating risk factor in many of the risk paths. This study incorporates mutual information between risk factors, BT, and preventive and protective barriers in the same, easy-to-understand visual model to examine a particular injury type, which is the primary contribution to theory. Overall, the risk assessment model developed is expected to improve the effectiveness of safety management applications in construction sites and eventually contribute to the minimization of incidents in construction projects.

Analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Implementation in National Strategic Projects Case Study of Kulon Progo Airport Infrastructure Development Project

One of the provinces that has received the government's attention and is recorded as having a national strategic project as stated in Presidential Decree No. 3 of 2016 concerning the acceleration of the implementation of national strategic projects is the Province of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), namely Kulon Progo Airport Infrastructure Development. The project which is carried out by a joint operation between PT PP (Persero) Tbk and PT Geotekindo (PP KSO) stands on 587 Ha of land with the target that the airport must operate partially in just nine months from the start of construction. This project has challenges in the form of work complexity, the use of a large number of various types of heavy equipment, thousands of workers with various skills, and a very short time to complete the work. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that influence the Construction Safety Management System (CSMS), analyze the risk level of project implementation, and evaluate the effectiveness of CSMS performance implementation in the Kulon Progo Airport Infrastructure Development Project which is expected to be able to provide lessons learned from other similar projects. The research method used is a qualitative method using HSE activity reports during the construction period and interviews with seven informants who were involved during the construction period. The results of the study show that there are ten top ranking keys to the success of the Construction Safety Management System (CSMS) in the Kulon Progo Airport Infrastructure Development Project, including Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, Control and Opportunity, Job Safety Analysis (JSA), Communication, Concern with training programs, Occupational Health Management, Work Environment Safety Management, Equipment, Construction Safety Unit Duties and Responsibilities, Standards and Legislation as well as Inspections and Audits. Whereas the implementation of the risk level can be mitigated properly because it is planned in great detail and communicated very intensively from the top management level to the level of workers in the field and for the implementation of CSMS performance in the case study this research has proven to be effective.

The effectiveness of the implementation of a construction safety management system for the maturity safety culture in construction SOES

The construction industry is dangerous, with a high injury rate and death rate compared to other sectors. In the last decade, construction accidents in Indonesia have increased dramatically. H. W. Heinrich in his book The Accident Prevention reveals that 80% of work accidents are caused by unsafe actions and unsafe conditions. Construction safety is the safety of people who work (safe for people) in construction projects, and community safety (safe for the public). Therefore, the work safety system is a significant concern in suppressing the high number of work accidents in the construction industry.
 This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The scoping review framework was developed using PEO (Population, Exposure and Outcome). The population in question is construction workers in Indonesia, the exposure is Occupational Accident Safety, and the Outcome is the exposure and application of this work accident safety system which is the basis for researchers to determine keywords when conducting a literature
 Understanding hazard risks and implementing a good safety management system can change the safety culture in the company. Changes in safety culture that are getting better create a sense of security for workers and can increase work productivity. In the end, good business results will be obtained for the company.
 
 Keywords: individual characteristic; lactation support; lactation facilities; working mother; workplace

Occupational Accident Risk Analysis using Failure Mode and Analysis Method: A Case Study of X City Main Market Development Project

Construction Projects are a work sector that has a high level of work accident risk. This is due to the lack of awareness of the importance of implementing a good Construction Safety Management System (SMKK) following applicable laws and regulations, often the application of the Construction Safety Management System on a project is considered only as a costly expense, not as an investment to prevent work accidents but only is considered to provide a level of loss from the project itself. But, in the construction of the Main Market of City X, there was a work accident; an analysis was carried out using the Failure Mode And analysis method, several works with a high-risk level, namely formwork demolition work, installation work and WF steel assembly work with each value of 48 risk priority numbers with a risk map value of 19, ceiling frame assembly work with a value of 36 risk priority number with a risk map value of 17, Pile head bore work, ceiling material transportation work from storage, test commissioning work with each value of 32 risk priority numbers with a risk map value of 19.

Wearable EEG-based construction hazard identification in virtual and real environments: A comparative study

Hazard identification on construction jobsites is one of the most critical components of construction safety management. To overcome the limitations in the current manual practice, researchers explored the correlation between hazard perception and changes in workers’ electroencephalogram (EEG) signals collected from wearable sensors to identify and differentiate different types of hazards. However, most of such studies are based on experiments in a virtual reality (VR) environment. The unproven applicability of the VR-led results to the real jobsites and the potential discrepancies in results between the physical and virtual environments are the main barriers toward EEG-based ubiquitous hazard identification on the jobsites. To bridge the research gaps, this paper tests the feasibility of identifying construction hazards in physical and VR environments, and compares their results to identify discrepancies. Two experimental environments (physical and VR, respectively), each containing three hazards, were designed with the same configuration. Hazard identification task was performed in both experiments, data (e.g., EEG signals) was collected and preprocessed, and corresponding features were extracted. Hotspot analysis was conducted to infer the existence of hazards by assessing spatial associations. The results showed that both physical and VR settings were effective for hazard detection, while a better performance was observed in the VR setting. In addition, the potential of developing hazard zones as well as particular hazard locations and a gradual increase in subjects’ perceived hazard level were revealed. The results highlight the opportunities of revealing potential construction hazards on the construction jobsite using wearable EEG.

Accident prevention in a highly occupied building through safety audit: a readiness perspective in university buildings

Potential accidents can occur at any time, including educational activities at a university. Twenty-four cases of accidents at universities in Indonesia, in the form of collapsing building components and fires, have been recorded in the last decade. There is a need for colleges to be ready to implement a Construction Safety Management System in the buildings where educational activities take place. There are two aspects to construction safety in public buildings: the engineering aspect and the aspect of safety management and occupational health. This research aims to assess and analyse the readiness to apply construction safety in a building with large occupancy. The research method uses a case study of a building in the civil engineering department of a university in Indonesia. Data collection comprised field surveys, semi-structured interviews and the collection of drawings and documents regarding the management of occupational safety and health in 2020-2021. The results show that the site studied was mediocre, in terms of implementing a construction safety management system. Although the physical condition of the building is good, other indicators, such as building documents and the application of occupational health and safety, fall into the ‘lack of application’ category.

Implementasi Sistem Manajemen Keselamatan dan Kesehatan Kerja (SMK3) Pada Pekerjaan Proyek Pembangunan Infrastruktur

ABSTRACT: The development of technology and information today is very closely related to capacity building in the world of construction, especially in the implementation of infrastructure development projects. This development can be seen from the use of various modern equipment, types of materials and production methods and procurement processes. Humans as workers also experience development in their efforts to get jobs armed with skills and expertise. Based on this, workers as the spearhead in the management and implementation of the project are the main concern to ensure the safety and health of their work In this study it is devoted to knowing the general conditions of the contractor's activities and work activities in carrying out the Occupational Safety and Health Management System, how the Occupational Safety and Health Management System (SMK3) is owned by the contractor, both in field conditions or standard operating conditions and how conformity elements of the implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System with ISO 45001:201, Government Regulation Number 50 of 2012. From the research results it can be said that contractors engaged in road construction construction services, in carrying out their projects in accordance with their duties, principals and functions and produce various types of construction products, such as "U-ditch" pre-cast products. Implementation In implementing project SMK3, planning management is determined using SMKK (Construction Safety Management System) which refers to PUPR Ministerial Regulation Number 10 of 2021. In implementing OSH performance, companies have made efforts to carry out SMK3 procedures in general that are appropriate and refer to PP Number 50 of 2012 and ISO 45001: 2018 with the results of an analysis of the implementation for the K3 performance aspect which refers to the two SMK3 elements according to Government Regulation Number 50 of 2012 and ISO 45001: 2018 of 74.8% and for the provision of various safety support facilities at work of 71% .
 

Impact of physical and mental fatigue on construction workers’ unsafe behavior based on physiological measurement

Introduction: Construction worker fatigue is an important factor leading to unsafe behavior, a major cause of construction accidents. Uncovering the impact mechanism of fatigue on workers’ unsafe behavior can prevent construction accidents. However, it is difficult to effectively measure workers’ fatigue onsite and analyze the impact of worker fatigue on their unsafe behavior. Method: This research analyzes the relationship between the physical and mental fatigue of construction workers and their unsafe behavior via physiological measurement based on a simulated experiment on handling tasks. Results: It is found that: (a) both physical fatigue and mental fatigue have negative effects on workers’ cognitive ability and motion ability, and the negative effects are more serious under the combination of the two types of fatigue; (b) mental fatigue can easily change workers’ risk propensity, making them more willing to face risks, and in a state of the two types of fatigue, they are more likely to make choices with less pay and higher risk; (c) the number of signal identification errors is positively correlated with LF (low frequency)/HF (high frequency), and negatively correlated with the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN), while the number of footstep control errors is negatively correlated with the time elapsed between two successive R waves (RR interval) and skin temperature (SKT). Practical Applications: These findings can enrich construction safety management theory from a perspective of quantified fatigue and facilitate safety management practices on construction sites, thus contributing to the body of knowledge and practices of construction safety management.

Formal evaluation of construction safety performance metrics and a case for a balanced approach

Introduction: Measuring safety performance is crucial to making informed decisions that improve construction safety management. Traditional approaches to construction safety performance measurement primarily focus on injury and fatality rates, but researchers have recently proposed and tested alternative metrics such as safety leading indicators and safety climate assessments. Although researchers tend to extol the benefits of alternative metrics, they are studied in isolation and the potential weaknesses are rarely discussed, leaving a critical gap in knowledge. Method: To address this limitation, this study aimed to evaluate existing safety performance against a set of pre-determined criteria and explore how multiple metrics may be used together to optimize strengths and offset weaknesses. For a well-rounded evaluation, the study included three evidence-based assessment criteria (i.e., the extent to which the metric is predictive, objective, and valid) and three subjective criteria (i.e., the extent to which each metric is clear, functional, and important). The evidence-based criteria were evaluated using a structured review of existing empirical evidence in literature, while the subjective criteria were evaluated using expert opinion solicited through the Delphi method. Results: The results revealed that no construction safety performance measurement metric is strong in all evaluation criteria, but many weaknesses may be addressed through research and development. It was also demonstrated that combining multiple complementary metrics may result in a more complete evaluation of the safety systems because multiple metrics offset respective strengths and weaknesses. Practical Applications: The study provides a holistic understanding of construction safety measurement that may guide safety professionals in their selection of metrics and assist researchers who seek more reliable dependent variables for intervention testing and safety performance trending.

Safety and Quality Control Management Strategy for Urban Railway Engineering Construction

The safety management of urban railway engineering construction involves many different aspects and a wide scope, playing an important role in guaranteeing the safety of construction projects. Management agencies have more stringent requirements on the quality of railway construction. The overall quality of a construction project should meet the construction requirements before the project can be carried out. In this article, the problems in the actual work of the entire life cycle of safety management are explained, and the lessons and experience pertaining to the safety and quality of urban railway construction projects are discussed. The purpose of this paper is to provide references for the management of urban railway construction.

Safety Management and Quality Control in Hydraulic Engineering Construction

Water conservancy projects are important infrastructure projects related to the national economy and people's livelihood, which have great help for the development of transportation and agriculture, and can bring great economic benefits. In the construction of water conservancy projects, due to the complexity of construction technology and the difficulty of construction, it is easy to form safety hazards. In addition, due to the large scale of construction, the large number of construction units, and the complex construction methods, it will also have a negative impact on the quality control work. The importance and existing problems of safety management and quality control in water conservancy project construction are analyzed. On this basis, safety management strategies and quality control strategies are discussed respectively, with a view to providing reference for safety management and quality control in water conservancy project construction.

Developing a National Data-Driven Construction Safety Management Framework with Interpretable Fatal Accident Prediction

Occupational accidents are frequent in the construction industry, containing significant risks in the working environment. Therefore, early designation, taking preventive actions, and developing a proactive safety risk management plan are of paramount significance in managing safety issues in the construction industry. This study aims to develop a national data-driven safety management framework based on accident outcome prediction, which helps anatomize precursors of fatalities and thereby minimizing fatal accidents on construction sites. A national data set comprising 338,173 occupational accidents recorded in the construction industry across Turkey was used to develop a data-driven model. The random forest algorithm coupled with particle swarm optimization was used for the prediction and the interpretability of the proposed model was augmented through the game theory–based Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) approach. The findings showed that the proposed algorithm achieved satisfactory model performances for detecting construction workers who might face a fatality risk. The SHAP analysis results indicated that both company (such as number of past accidents and workers in the company) and worker-related (such as age, daily wage, experience, shift, and past accident of the workers) attributes were influential in identifying fatalities by detecting which workers might face fatal accidents under which conditions. A construction safety management plan was developed based on the analysis results, which can be used on construction sites to detect workers/conditions that are most susceptible to fatalities. The findings of the present research are expected to contribute to orchestrating effective safety management practices in construction sites by characterizing the root causes of severe accidents.

Action Recognition Based on 3D Skeleton and LSTM for the Monitoring of Construction Workers’ Safety Harness Usage

Fall from height (FFH) is the most common construction accident in the construction industry, thus it is significant to monitor the use of safety harnesses, which are critical to the prevention of FFH. Sensing or computer vision technologies have been adopted to identify workers’ safety harness usage. However, previous research focused mainly on whether a worker wears a safety harness rather than on whether he or she properly fixes it to a lifeline, which is vital to prevent FFH but difficult to monitor. This research establishes an action recognition method based on a three-dimensional (3D) skeleton and long short-term memory (LSTM) to aid in automatically monitoring whether safety harnesses are fixed properly on site. An indoor experiment, which considered the features of a common real construction scenario—working on scaffolding—was conducted to test the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method. The result shows that the method achieves an acceptable precision and recall rate and can be used to detect the incorrect use of safety harnesses by combining multiple actions. This will contribute to the prevention of FFH in practice as well as to the body of knowledge of construction safety management.

Relationship among Safety, Quality and Productivity in Construction Projects

Construction is thought to be the most dangerous business due to its unique nature. To reduce risks and boost productivity in the construction industry, quality and safety management is required. The research examines productivity, quality, and safety in terms of their participation in and effects on the execution of building projects. Safety is given first priority throughout construction, with a focus on hazard detection and the prevention of workplace injuries and accidents. There is an examination and provision of the legislation requiring safety programs, training, and obligation to safety standards. Underlined the significance of safety issues at the design stage. The research also discusses safety of building and the importance of building codes in preventing structural failure, as well as factors that influence building failure and techniques for preventing them. The paper introduces quality through the lens of recent total quality management. Quality control, quality management, quality assurance, and Six Sigma concepts are addressed with examples in relation to building quality and structural integrity. Finally, concepts of productivity are provided, with an emphasis that good project management reduce productivity losses and the use of lean construction and lean Six Sigma methods to complement them. Finally, the report summarizes the relationship among safety, quality, and productivity.