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Numerous studies indicate that unsafe behaviors of construction workers (UBCW) are the direct causes of most construction safety incidents. To unveil the interconnections among unsafe behaviors and the underlying mechanisms of different accident types, this study extracts the unsafe behavior chains from accidents. Based on the theory of complex networks, we constructs both the whole network of UBCW and four subnetworks corresponding to different accident types by using unsafe behavior chains. The findings reveal that the degree distributions of all networks conform to truncated power-law distributions, highlighting the critical role of hub nodes in accident occurrences. Moreover, the whole network exhibits small-world characteristics, underscoring the need to address the propagation and clustering effects of unsafe behaviors, reassess risk management approaches, and devise targeted control strategies and measures. By analyzing the topological structures of the networks, this paper ranks the importance of different behaviors across various metrics and proposes tailored accident prevention recommendations through comparative analysis of different accident types. This research holds significant theoretical and practical implications for refining accident causality models and enhancing safety management practices at construction sites. However, the study has limitations, notably future studies should focus on the absence of specific construction accident databases and the unaddressed link between accident severity and unsafe behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk assessment, consisting of hazard identification and risk analysis, is an important process that can prevent costly incidents. However, due to operational pressures and lack of construction experience, risk assessments are frequently poorly conducted. In order to improve the quality of risk assessments in the construction industry, it is important to explore the use of artificial intelligence methods to ensure that the process is efficient and at the same time thorough. This paper describes the adaptation process of a case-based reasoning (CBR) approach for construction safety hazard identification. The CBR approach aims to utilize past knowledge in the form of past hazard identification and incident cases to improve the efficiency and quality of new hazard identification. The overall approach and retrieval mechanism are described in earlier papers. This paper is focused on the adaptation process for hazard identification. Using the proposed CBR approach, for a new work scenario (the input case), a most relevant hazard identification tree and a set of incident cases will be retrieved to facilitate hazard identification. However, not all information contained in these cases are relevant. Thus, less relevant information has to be pruned off and all the retrieved information has to be integrated into a hazard identification tree. The proposed adaptation is conducted in three steps: (1) pruning of the retrieved hazard identification tree; (2) pruning of the incident cases; and (3) insertion of incident cases into the hazard identification tree. The adaptation process is based on the calculation of similarity scores of indexes. A case study based on actual hazard identifications and incident cases is used to validate the feasibility of the proposed adaptation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a case-based reasoning (CBR) approach to construction hazard identification that facilitates systematic feedback of past knowledge in the form of incident cases and hazard identification. This paper focuses on two of the key components of the CBR approach: (1) a detailed knowledge representation scheme, developed based on the modified loss causation model, to codify incident cases and past hazard identification and (2) an intelligent retrieval mechanism that can automatically retrieve relevant past cases. The detailed knowledge representation scheme presented herein is designed to model both incident cases and hazard identification so that both types of knowledge repository can be retrieved simultaneously and adapted for use. The scheme also includes a linguistic structure used to facilitate indexing of cases. The retrieval mechanism is based on the concept of similarity scoring. In this paper, a novel scoring technique based on semantic networks is presented. A case study is presented to demonstrate and validate the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 65 construction workers are killed each year due to trench related accidents. Accident prevention begins with having a clear understanding of the causes of these accidents. This paper discusses the analysis of 296 fatality reports related to trenching operations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the 1997–2001 time frame. In this paper, two models will be considered to analyze the fatality reports and to find the major relationships between the “how” and the “why” of trenching fatalities. The first model considers the causes related to physical processes, and the second model evaluates causes that can be linked to human behavior. The understanding of the major links between these two models and other factors will help to develop more effective strategies to prevent trenching fatalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on construction workers' unsafe behaviors and develops a cognitive model of construction workers' unsafe behaviors (CM-CWUB). In the construction industry, many accident investigations reveal that workers' unsafe behaviors are the most frequent and direct causes of on-site accidents, and thus need to be addressed urgently. Based on cognitive and social psychology theories and existing accident causation models, this paper develops a CM-CWUB by adopting a five-stage form, specifically representing the construction workers' cognitive processes when confronted with potential hazards on construction sites. Using a cognitive perspective can reveal the mechanism of human error and thus can elucidate how unsafe behaviors are produced. The five stages include obtaining information, understanding information, perceiving responses, selecting response, and taking action, with obtaining information and selecting response as the two key stages. Obtaining information elaborates construction workers' observations and processing of hazard information on sites by themselves, and selecting response adopts the theory of planned behavior to reflect various factors of influence when workers select unsafe behavior. Based on the developed model, cognitive failures that would lead to construction workers' unsafe behaviors at different cognitive stages are then systematically analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In several studies it is widely accepted that human error is the main reason for up to 80% of all incidents and accidents in complex high-risk systems that exist in the aviation, petrochemical, healthcare, construction, mining, and nuclear power industries. The construction industry, greatly impacted by accidents, is accountable for more than 1,000 fatalities in each of the past 14 years. The human factors analysis classification system (HFACS) is a general human error framework originally developed and tested as a tool for investigating and analyzing the human causes of accidents with applications to rail, air, and offshore environments. This paper introduces the concept of HFACS along with the framework of human error awareness training (HEAT) and their potential contribution to the construction industry. Based on the HEAT approach, this paper proposes a new error analysis educational and classification tool for safety within the construction industry. The primary difference between HFACS and HEAT is found in the structure, content, and presentation of the information allowing for higher effectiveness in incident investigation and safety education and training in construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational injury and fatality risk analysis was performed on 16 building trades in the study reported herein. The approach was based on defining risk fundamentally as the product of probability (frequency) and severity, and using the risk plane concept to evaluate and rank the trades in terms of nonfatal injury rates. A parameter named index of relative risk was then used for fatality rate based ranking, and the results separately obtained from these analyses were integrated into a combined risk score for arriving at final rankings. Bureau of Labor Statistics data was used in the study. The risk analysis methodology included both frequency and severity considerations associated with nonfatal injuries. It was observed that simultaneous consideration of frequency and severity gives more comprehensive results than performing risk analysis based exclusively on either frequency or severity. The findings of the study indicated that ironworkers and roofers were the highest risk trades. The information derived from the methodology presented in this paper should be particularly valuable for risk managers, legal and liability experts, and project managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisions made before construction can affect safety on the construction site, either positively or negatively. This was observed from past research that identified the link between design decisions and fatalities. The concept of implementing design decisions that positively affect safety falls under the general concept of prevention through design (PtD), which attempts to identify and mitigate hazards early in the design process to eliminate the risks of injury or damage during construction. Prevention through design is practiced in other countries, primarily through legislation. The objective of this paper is to present the results of a survey that was conducted to identify construction industry stakeholders' views on the concept of PtD and gauge the possibility for implementing PtD in the U.S. construction industry through either legislation or other means. Four distinct groups were surveyed: engineers, architects, contractors, and owners. Within this study, PtD was described and introduced to survey participants as design for construction worker safety (DCWS) to differentiate PtD efforts in construction from efforts in other industries. The survey consisted of questions that asked about the industry's knowledge of PtD and the extent of PtD practice in the United States, participants' opinions on designer and owner safety knowledge and perceptions, and obstacles and enablers for designer participation in construction safety. The responses from the various groups were compared to identify the groups that are more receptive to the idea of designer participation in construction worker safety. The results showed that architects were the least receptive to the idea, whereas the other groups were more likely to be supportive, with some hesitations. Architects and engineers identified the existence of economic, legal, and contractual obstacles for designers to practice DCWS, whereas contractors only identified economic obstacles. No enablers were identified by any group. The research contributes additional information that can be used by construction industry practitioners and organizations desiring to expand and optimize PtD implementation in the United States. The research results can be used by project teams to plan for PtD education and training efforts on projects and by construction industry organizations to develop PtD diffusion strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is very difficult to implement quantitative risk assessment (QRA) for safety management in subway construction because of to the shortage of sufficient information about accidents happening in subway construction. QRA contains, for example, the statistical analysis of incidents, the calculation of safety precursors, and a foundation of precursor early warning systems. To enhance the possibility of QRA and further the safety management in subway construction, a versatile subway construction incident database (SCID) was developed. SCID is composed of three kinds of incidents-inclusive of accidents, near-misses, and unsafe behaviors/conditions. First, this paper researched in-depth on the relationship and differentiation among incident, accident, near-miss, and unsafe behavior/condition, and the methodology of data collection about subway construction incident was represented. Second, Microsoft Access 2007 was employed as the software platform and each part of SCID was devised. Then, the organization structure of SCID implementation was constructed from three aspects of surveillance, research, and implementation, for the sake of a better effect. Finally, a case example of the use of the SCID for safety management in subway construction was expatiated. This study can fill a gap in the safety management of subway construction and will contribute to safety risk analysis as a qualitative tool in identifying relevant precursor scenarios or as a quantitative tool in estimating safety management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-risk sectors emphasize teamwork as a key strategy for systematic error management and accident prevention. In the construction sector, however-a sector that accounts for 6% of the employment and 20% of the occupational fatalities in the United States-current theories and practices of accident prevention ignore the important role of team processes. This study investigates the team processes that influence construction workers' safety, and discusses the challenges in developing effective teamwork in construction crews. The paper first summarizes the literature on team performance with a focus on construction work groups. The review identifies the key cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of teamwork affecting workers, safety. These teamwork components provide the criteria for evaluating the attributes of construction operations and context that create challenges to effective teamwork at the production level. This discussion also reviews practices that construction supervisors use to improve teamwork. Research directions are identified for systematic evaluation and improvement of teamwork processes in construction crews. The identification of key teamwork constructs provides practitioners with a framework that can guide efforts to improve teamwork at the crew level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep deprivation contributes to fatigue, which can have a profound effect on an individual's wellbeing, work performance, and safety. To investigate this phenomenon, a study was conducted on a sample of construction workers on a large construction project in Vancouver, Canada. This paper reports on the results from the workers wearing an actigraph 24 h/day for a full week to precisely measure their sleep and rest. The results enabled sleep efficiency and mental effectiveness levels to be determined by correlating them to blood alcohol concentration levels. This allowed determination of increased risk due to inadequate sleep. It was found that workers fell well under recommended sleep requirement guidelines of 8-h sleep per night, which resulted in an increase in risk of accident of 9%. Although further work is needed to better understand the coping mechanisms of fatigue and how the resulting fatigue factor could be measured and managed, this study indicates that workers in the construction industry suffer decrements in performance and are at higher risk of accident at home and work solely due to inadequate sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framing contractors have the highest rate of nonfatal incidents among specialty contractors. This case study analyzes 654 safety incidents that occurred over a period of 512 years in a large residential framing company. Accident analysis and interviews with safety and production experts identify the high-risk tasks, the errors that lead to incidents, and the task factors that increase the likelihood of incidents. The analysis resulted in a framework of five task factors that increase the task demands: (1) working platform constraints; (2) ergonomic postures constraints; (3) material/load handling requirements; (4) tool use/accuracy requirements; and (5) difficulties due to external forces. The combined effect of these factors determines the task difficulty and the likelihood of incidents. The paper discusses safety measures to reduce the task demands of the high-risk tasks, as opposed to measures that reduce exposure or mitigate the consequences. Reducing task demands can reduce the likelihood of accidents while at the same time increasing productivity. For practitioners, the study points to the need to understand the high-risk tasks and reduce task demands in their operations. The framework of the five task demand factors provides the “building blocks” of task difficulty for framing tasks and provides directions for further research in understanding and mitigating the combined effect of the task demand factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tower cranes are the centerpiece of production on today’s typical building construction sites. Tower cranes hoist and transport a variety of loads near and above people, working under crowded conditions, occasionally with overlapping work zones, and often under time, budget, and labor constraints. This work regime further increases the safety risk on sites that are inherently hazardous workplaces. This paper presents the results of a study that identified the major factors affecting safety in tower-crane environments and evaluated the degree to which each factor influences ongoing safety on site. Use of statistical data on accidents was ruled out as a source of information due to the countless number of incidents that go unreported, the common inability of statistics to provide root causes, and the questionability of statistics as a predictor of accidents. The research methodology was therefore based on comprehensive questioning of an expert team that included the safety managers and equipment managers of leading construction companies. With the limited resources available for safety improvement and accident prevention, greater attention must be paid by all parties involved to those factors evaluated as highly affecting site safety due to tower-crane work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how problem patterns can be identified and analyzed for diagnosing and/or predicting nonconformance of constructed facilities. This will enable appropriate actions to be taken for eradicating the causes of nonconformance and preventing their recurrence and/or their occurrence. A structure has been defined for representing construction projects information and organizing knowledge extracted from past experience to facilitate the analyses. Pattern analyses have been directed at deriving root cause classes of problems including (1) design, which relates to the assigned specifications, methods, and/or procedures; (2) execution, which involves errors or the inability to execute tasks; and (3) external, which includes unforeseen events or accidents. Highway pavement construction has been selected as an application and illustrative domain. Expert knowledge related to low density and roughness of constructed pavements has been assembled and organized to support the analyses. The approach provides a generic mechanism to carry out integrated root cause analyses with design/planning, construction, and quality management information. Its application has been demonstrated and validated using case studies from different construction domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of the Washington State Ergonomics Rule in 2000 initiated seven different demonstration projects in nine high-risk construction trades. The Ergonomics Rule was repealed in 2003, however valuable cooperative field research was conducted in construction prior to rule dissolution. This paper presents summaries and results of each project with the aim of providing the results to construction professionals and researchers seeking to identify and reduce injury risks and building costs. The projects were organized independently but each with the specific aims of conducting work in conjunction with industry, identifying “hazard zone” risk factors as defined by the rule, and identifying feasible solutions in agreement with company partners to mitigate these risk factors. Musculoskeletal injury risk factors were evaluated by ergonomist field observation and working group analysis. Solutions were developed through field work and consensus agreement with industry and labor representatives. Identified injury risk factors and technically feasible interventions are presented for the following trades: Roofing, residential framing, residential carpet and floor installation, commercial carpentry, commercial laborers, commercial concrete reinforcement, commercial concrete finishing, drywalling, and masonry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fall from height (FFH) is the most significant cause of occupational fatalities in the construction industry, accounting for approximately 54% of all accidents. Such fatalities have decreased considerably due to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). However, the manual monitoring of compliance to PPE is complex and challenging for site managers. Automation in construction safety presents multiple solutions for monitoring safety at sites. In this study, a smart safety hook (SSH) monitoring method is proposed to eliminate the risk associated with FFH accidents by integrating computer vision [closed-circuit TV (CCTV)-imagery] and Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based [inertial measurement unit (IMU)IMU and altimeter] monitoring technologies. The proposed monitoring approach is validated through five real-time scenarios: (1) attached to the scaffolding and h>1.82 m (6 ft), (2) attached to the worker and h>1.82 m , (3) unattached and h>1.82 m , (4) h<1.82 m , and (5) outside of the risk zone. The proposed technique aims to relieve the site manager's or safety engineer's workload by smartly and instantaneously alerting of workers' unsafe behavior (via alarm, LED blinking, and bounding box on live camera feed). Moreover, the IoT-based hardware setup goes to low power to extend the battery life when there is no unsafe behavior. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed solution exhibits more than 98% accuracy for real-time detection and classification. Furthermore, it can be extended to monitor several workers and their location data in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong’s construction industry has shown significant improvement in safety performance since the turn of the century. The number of industrial accidents in the construction industry has decreased from 11,925 in 2000 to 3,833 in 2004, which is an encouraging drop of almost 68%. However, the category “fall of person from height” has always represented a large proportion of the industrial accidents, particularly fatal accidents. In 2004, fall of person from height represented just over 47% of the total number of fatal accidents in the construction industry. The statistics show that although the overall number of accidents has dropped immensely, the same does not apply for fall from height accidents. According to statistics provided by the Labor Dept. of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, there were a total of 22 fatal industrial accidents associated with fall of persons from height in repair, maintenance, alteration, and addition works during 2000–2004. When analyzing these case studies, 12 common factors were identified for analyzing these case studies and strategies were suggested to prevent recurrence of similar accidents in each case. The top five strategies were: (1) provide and maintain a safe system of work; (2) provide a suitable working platform; (3) (tier) provide safety information/training/instruction/supervision; (4) (tier) provide suitable fall arresting system/anchorage; and (5) maintain safe workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts to examine the root causes of injuries in the construction industry have been largely focused on fatalities and other serious injuries. These efforts were undertaken with the assumption that the root causes of serious injuries could lead to identifying approaches that could prevent the recurrence of similar injuries in the future and that these approaches would also be successful in eliminating many minor injuries. While some injuries may be either minor or serious depending on small differences in worker position, etc., that assumption does not appear to be valid for most injuries. The trends of causes leading to minor injuries are often quite different from those resulting in serious injuries. With this assumption, an examination was conducted to profile nearly 136,000 construction worker injuries, most of which did not result in lost time. Results indicate that these injuries, not resulting in lost time, generally do not fit the profile of injuries that result in fatalities or that are serious. Over half of the injuries in the present study were associated with lacerations (usually of the fingers and hand) and injuries sustained by the lumbar spine, upper extremities, or eyes. The percentage of injuries that involved lacerations was considerably higher for construction than for all other industries. The costs of injuries were found to be quite varied, depending on the part of the body that was injured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited research has been undertaken to explore how Chinese construction workers' personality affects their safety behavior. Inappropriate behavior on-site can instigate serious accidents, injuries, or fatality as well as incur significant costs and loss of corporate reputation. To address this dearth within the extant literature, this paper uses Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to examine the complex relationship between the personality of Chinese construction workers (especially, bar benders) and occupational accidents. A significant relationship between personality, unsafe behaviors, and the extent of injury was identified. Using the results generated, a series of practical recommendations are proffered to reinforce behavioral safety training (and reduce accidents on-site), including suggestions for conducting training programs that can be tailored to construction workers with different personality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the construction industry has shown significant improvements in safety performance over the past 30 years, falls are still a leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries. Previous studies have focused on identifying factors affecting the risk of falls, but remained silent on investigating the evidential relationships among these factors to better prevent fall accidents. This research proposes a Bayesian network (BN) based approach to diagnose the accident risk of working at heights. The proposed approach consists of a conceptual and generic model with a protocol for assessing the risk of falls and a computational module. The generic BN model was developed on the basis of an extensive review and evaluation of causal factors leading to falls. The computational module was developed on the basis of Bayes' rule for inference to customize model input and job site characteristics. The results of the proposed approach provide probabilities associated with different states of safety risk. Additionally, sensitivity analysis allows practitioners to identify appropriate preventive actions and safety strategies to reduce risk of fall. The proposed approach was verified and tested with a construction operation in a condo-hotel project. This study contributes to the construction safety body of knowledge by providing an effective quantitative risk assessment tool to predict the safety risk of falls from heights. Researchers and practitioners may customize the model to assess and benchmark the fall risk for different operations in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional risk-assessment methods typically evaluate accident probability, exposure frequency or duration, and consequence severity, respectively, and finally determine a quantitative risk score or a qualitative risk level. The assessment process is prospective and subjective. Changing and complex construction situations impede their practical and efficient application. To assess safety risk with regard to changing site conditions in an objective and efficient way, this study proposes a quantitative model for hazard exposure assessment based on real-time location data of construction workforce and equipment, collected by a location-based proximity warning system. In contrast with traditional risk-assessment methods, the model proposed in this study combines accident probability and hazard exposure duration into a single quantitative concept-hazard exposure amount. This concept takes into account the space factor as well as the time factor of construction activities. For ease of understanding, a hazard is analogized as a radiation source and the hazard exposure is then referred to as the radiation quantity received. The longer duration and closer proximity in which a person is exposed to a radiation (hazard), the more radiation the person receives (the higher risk to which the person is exposed). A trial study is described in which a proximity warning system was developed and used to demonstrate and test the model's capability of hazard exposure assessment. This shows that the system can provide safety officers with an ongoing and immediate means of comparing safety risk trends from worker, hazard, and project perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the variety of construction works and jobsite environments, research on highway construction safety is lacking. The purpose of this study is to identify accident factors by work type for highway construction projects through analysis of accidents occurring in Korea from 1997-2008. Analysis of variance and cross-tabulation analysis were used to identify statistically significant differences among nine factors and 248 variables in six work types. This analysis shows that contributing factors and variables to injuries vary depending on time of accident, work, and accident environment. The results outline trends of construction injuries by highway work. The results can be used to identify high-risk types of accidents, measure potential risks, improve safety training, and develop prevention plans for each work type under various work environments. The study shows that most accidents in highway construction fell into six construction work types. Because the relationships among contributing environment classification factors to accidents are identified, the factors can be considered to reduce the possibility of accidents by controlling closely related factors. This research can be used to develop an effective safety plan for highway construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction is the most dangerous land-based work sector in Europe and the United States The cost of accidents has received much attention in the recent past, and online interactive tools were developed to assess the cost of accidents to organizations. Online tools and other sources of information on costs of accidents in the construction industry were a useful development but failed to support the decision-making process in regard to construction health and safety measures. A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) methodology is presented that would enable contractors to assess the true cost of accidents prevention and the associated benefits of accident prevention as part of pre- and postcontract project evaluation. The research investigated the cost and benefit of accident prevention, with a view to drawing attention to the economic consequences of effective/ineffective management of health and safety by contractors. A quantitative research methodology was employed in investigating these costs and benefits within the UK construction industry. The results of ratio analyses indicate that the benefits of accident prevention far outweigh the costs of accident prevention by a ratio of approximately . Further, the results demonstrate that for every £1 spent on accident prevention, contractors gained £3 as benefits. The results also show that small contractors spend relatively higher proportions of their turnover on accident prevention than medium- and large-sized contractors and that small- and medium-sized contractors gain relatively higher proportions of their turnover, in total, as benefits of accident prevention than large contractors. It is concluded that the CBA method can provide a guide to contractor's decision making in regard to accident prevention. When acted upon, the method has the potential to contribute to a reduction in costs, deaths, and injuries in the UK construction industry and possibly in other areas internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repair, maintenance, minor alteration, and addition work (RMAA) has become more and more important in developed societies, but its safety performance is alarming. For example, RMAA projects accounted for 53.2% of the total construction market and the percentage of RMAA accidents to all construction accidents in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) increased considerably in 2007. The RMAA sector has a huge potential for safety improvement. This study aims to explore and evaluate the difficulties of implementing safety practices in RMAA work. The mixed methods approach was adopted, and semistructured interviews and a two-round Delphi survey were conducted for the data collection. Major difficulties were identified, including limited safety resources for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), difficulty in changing the mindset of RMAA workers, and difficulty in performing safety supervision. These obstacles for implementing safety practices in the RMAA sector, if successfully removed, could significantly improve the safety performance of the RMAA sector and the construction industry as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction workers (CWs) are the key and indispensable contributors to every construction project. Their psychological feelings greatly influence their behaviors and safety performance. To improve CWs' safety performance in dangerous working environment, the current research aims to identify the various stressors affecting two types of stress of CWs (i.e., job stress and emotional stress) and to explore the impacts of the two types of stress on CW injury incidents in Hong Kong. Eleven stressors were identified through factor analysis: work overload, role ambiguity, lack of autonomy, unfair reward and treatment, appropriate safety equipment, optimism, interrole conflict, poor workgroup relationship, lack of feedback, poor physical environment, and unsafe environment. The results of correlation and regression analyses reveal that (1) among the two types of stress identified, injury incident of CWs was found to be affected by emotional stress only, (2) emotional stress is predicted by work overload, interrole conflict, poor physical environment, unfair reward and treatment, and appropriate safety equipments, and (3) poor workgroup relationship, work overload, and interrole conflict predict job stress of CWs. Based on the result, various recommendations are suggested to employers on how to minimize CW injury incidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid construction projects and processes will become increasingly important as customers demand better project management performance and globally, as countries plan for and respond to the aftermath of natural and/or unnatural disasters. For use in expedited projects (as well as traditional projects), a rapid universal safety and health system (RUSH) was designed, developed, deployed, and evaluated. For its inaugural application, the RUSH was applied to a 106-hour construction project. Results from an initial application included a safe build in approximately 5 days without recordable incidents. More importantly, lessons were learned by a multidisciplinary team of researchers who observed safety 24/5 for the life of the project. Lessons learned and recommendations for future research are provided as a result of this experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigates most worker-related fatalities and many accidents involving serious injuries. A research study was conducted that focused on the data OSHA accumulated on construction worker accidents involving falls. In the construction industry, falls are the most frequently occurring types of accidents resulting in fatalities. The purpose of the study was to identify the root causes of fall accidents and to identify any additional information that might be helpful in reducing the incidence of construction worker falls in the future. While data from January 1990 through October 2001 were examined, particular emphasis was placed on fall accidents that occurred in the last 5 years of this time interval, a period when more data were accumulated and coded in the OSHA investigation reports. Results show that most fall accidents take place at elevations of less than 9.15 m (30 ft), occurring primarily on new construction projects of commercial buildings and residential projects of relatively low construction cost. Furthermore, experience does not seem to diminish accident occurrence; hazards are often misjudged by workers; and various other patterns can also be observed. Most alarming, the results show that fall accidents account for a growing proportion of the total number of construction worker fatalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction industry safety performance is of grave concern to practitioners and lawmakers. Despite a determined effort to improve, the results are still disappointing. Improving the industry's track record requires an in-depth understanding of the factors that drive risks to individual safety and of how behavior and attitudes can be improved. Construction managers lack knowledge of the safety leadership characteristics, which specifically reduce risk-taking behavior of subordinates on construction sites. This information is presented in this research. A leadership-based safety model consisting of subordinates' self-reported accident and near miss records were investigated along with leadership considerations and initiating constructs, the construction manager's safety behavior and attitude profile, and the safety climate characteristics to determine whether any of these factors contributed significantly to a safer construction site. A stepwise regression model was developed to determine key drivers toward the risk-taking behavior of construction workers. Construction managers were also classified by their effective management of safety. Contrary to the postmodern perspective on safety leadership, construction managers who focused on safety standards on-site, ruled with an iron rod, and needled people working with them for greater efforts were more effective at reducing accidents on-site than those construction managers who did otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]