Prioritization of Personal Protective Equipment Plans for Construction Projects Based on an Integrated Analytic Network Process and Fuzzy VIKOR Method

The risk of both fatal accidents and non-fatal injuries in the construction industry is significantly high in most countries. To reduce this construction safety risk, the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is one of the major measures on the jobsite. In this research, in order to comprehensively assess the PPE plans, a three-phase framework was proposed to identify the optimal solution for PPE planning from a set of alternatives. As a result, four main criteria and fifteen sub-criteria were identified based on a systematic literature review, and a decision-making model integrating the analytic network process (ANP) and VIekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje was developed. As the assessment information in the survey was incomplete and vague, the fuzzy sets theory was adopted to transform the linguistic terms into fuzzy numbers for evaluation. The model further calculated the weight of each criterion and prioritized the potential PPE plan alternatives. Finally, the presented model was implemented in a case study to verify its feasibility and applicability for practical construction management. The proposed method enables the selection of the most compromising solution as the optimal PPE plan. This research assists decision-makers and safety planners at construction workplaces to improve the overall safety performance and reduce accident risks, which significantly contributes to construction safety management and practice.