Modeling of the Accidentality Phenomenon in the Construction Industry

Abstract

The aim of the conducted research was to develop a methodology of investigating the accidentality phenomenon in the construction industry, which is considered as a process that is created by a sequence of accidents occurring at discrete periods of time and at various construction sites in terms of their location, construction, and technical equipment. In order to investigate the circumstances of accidents, a methodology developed by the European Statistical Office of the European Union (ESAW) was used during the research. The basic elements of the proposed methodology is the IT database (computer knowledge database (CKD)), which includes information about the circumstances and causes of accidents and also constitutes a repository for the collected data, as well as a graphic and IT model of the accident process in the form of a directed graph. In order to detect the characteristic features of the accidentality phenomenon in the construction industry, a simulation of a sequence that consists of 485 occupational accidents that occurred in 2008−2016 in five Polish voivodeships was carried out. The conducted research and analysis allowed the most common accident scenarios that occur in the construction industry to be identified, as well as the probability of their occurrence and the critical path in the graph that indicates the most accident-causing activities to be determined. The proposed model is important for construction practice. Based on a large set of data on accidents included in the CKD, it is possible to study the impact of the following on the accidentality phenomenon: Technologies used in the construction industry, the types of carried out construction works, and the methods used to organize work and equipment.

Keywords

• occupational safety
• construction industry
• accidentality
• directed graph
• accident model