Behm, M (2004) Establishing the link between construction fatalities and disabling injuries and the design for construction safety concept. PhD thesis, Oregon State University, USA.
Abstract
Construction remains the most hazardous industry in the United States in terms of the aggregate number of fatalities. Twenty percent of all occupational related fatalities occur in construction; approximately three construction workers die per calendar day. Moreover, this trend has been prevalent for too long. One method to reduce this trend is to involve architects and design engineers in considering construction safety during the design process. The concept of designing for construction safety is a viable intervention to improve worker safety. However, in the United States many barriers (legal, contractual, regulatory) exist that prevent this intervention from becoming part of a standard practice within the construction industry. Four-hundred and fifty construction accidents from two databases were analyzed and a link to the design for construction safety concept was determined. An objective investigation model was developed to make these determinations. A significant link between the concept of designing for construction safety and construction fatalities and disabling injuries was established. Specific construction project parameters linked to the concept of designing for construction safety include the minimization of risk due to falls through and from roofs, skylights and structural steel construction; and the minimization of risk due of contact with electric and other utilities. It is recommended that the concept of designing for construction safety be considered by regulatory agencies, insurance companies, and the United States' construction industry as one intervention of a comprehensive safety agenda to reduce the disproportionate number of fatalities and disabling injuries.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Veltri, A T |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | United States; construction safety; insurance; safety; utilities |
| Index terms: | regulatory agency, United States, minimization, injury, design process, construction safety, steel construction, construction project, construction accident, aggregate, engineer, utilities, database, falls, becoming, construction worker, roof, fatalities, construction industry, insurance, investigation, architect |
| Subjects: | philosophical process, structural engineering, algorithms, production management, Geography, economic analysis, construction type, materials science, practitioner, data management, occupational health and safety management, health conditions and diseases, administrative law, industry analysis, environmental health, health risk and incident analysis, design practice, data collection methods, profession, design methods |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Construction Technology, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here