Analysis of occupational accidents for safety design.

BACKGROUND: Safety design covers proactive actions as it analyzes accident risks early in the enterprise life cycle, and considers the designer acting on accident prevention as a member of the construction team. OBJECTIVE: This paper proposes an accident investigation to establish links between accident causes and design to support Prevention through Design (PtD) tools. METHODS: This article analyzed more than a thousand severe and fatal accident cases in the construction sector. A systematic analysis method was structured based on descriptions of accident causes and measures that could be taken to avoid accidents. RESULTS: Analyzing the severe and fatal accidents, the safety measures implemented in the project design could avoid at least 23.6% of the events. As a result, the architectural and structural designs were more effective in accident prevention. The reference percentages and the design types that are more effective in preventing accidents are analyzed through a representative sample of the analysis of the accident. CONCLUSIONS: This research contributes to applying safety guidelines in design projects, directly assisting in project and construction management.

Gamification using technologies for occupational safety training in the civil construction sector.

BACKGROUND: Although regulatory norms on work safety offer guidelines for organizing and preventing accidents, the construction site is an environment susceptible to deviations, sometimes due to the lack of effective training. To this end, technologies such as virtual reality become possibilities for innovations with great advantages, as they allow simulations, modeling, exploratory environments and games, which allow the user to create a greater connection and interest in the subject in question. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to present the technological advances applied in safety-oriented training in the construction industry worldwide, emphasizing serious games through a systematic review of the literature. METHODS: The review was carried out using five scientific databases, with a research protocol to answer questions about the application of gamification to guarantee the safety of workers. RESULTS: Fifteen articles were evaluated, with descriptive, observational research and case studies. It was found that the use of technologies in construction safety is not yet a common reality in the sector, as it presents challenges and limitations, such as gameplay and issues related to cost. However, they show great potential as a dynamic solution in the training of civil construction workers, effectively collaborating in accident prevention and work safety. CONCLUSION: Several software programs and applications were found for creating three-dimensional scenes and for providing users with a customized experience according to the needs observed in the virtual interaction; building information modeling tools, which promote realistic project modeling; and equipment to visualize the scenes created. Furthermore, the possibility of combining traditional theoretical teaching with serious games was verified. However, gamification applicability is an alternative that still has limitations, in addition to the lack of flexibility in the rules imposed on the game, hampering users' authenticity in making decisions.

Fatal fall-from-height accidents: Statistical treatment using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System - HFACS.

INTRODUCTION: The civil construction industry (CCI) is one of the most dangerous sectors for occupational accidents. Studies conducted in several countries show that occupational accidents involving falls from height are the main cause of deaths in recent years. METHOD: This article analyzed the combinations of causal factors with the highest likelihood of accidents involving falls from height in construction to assist in decision-making. The methodology was divided into four stages: accident collection and sample definition; accident analysis; probability determination; and obtaining the theoretical curve of an accident probability distribution. The methodology was applied to reports of fatal fall-from-height accidents that occurred in the United States between 1997 and 2020. RESULTS: The results show that among the accidents analyzed, the highest probability of fatality is when a roofer aged between 31 and 44 years performs their activity on a roof between 10:00 and 11:59 am. It is also noted that the three causal factors most present in the accidents were: organizational process (97.7%); poor management of worker resources (96.6%); and organizational climate (95.4%). From the probability distribution curve, 68% of the fatal accidents occurred after reaching between 18 and 34 causal factors present in the HFACS method categories.

Digital tools for prevention through design application: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Prevention through Design (PtD) is a safety initiative that increases the ability of eliminating risks before construction. Implementing digital tools for PtD is an innovative way to help identify embedded risk in design phase by automating a process that is currently time consuming and extensively dependent on designers' experience. However, there is a lack of known digital safety tools available to professionals. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to systematically review published research on the development of digital tools for PtD in order to point out existing processes and limitations. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) guidelines were used to search publications in Scopus database. Initially, 148 publications were found, but after applying the filters, thirteen publications were read and included in this review. RESULTS: Quantitative results showed few publications and quantitative results detailed the studied digital tools workings and what limitations prevent their full implementation by designers. CONCLUSION: Although 53.84% of methods are automatic, existing barriers such as the inability to consider schedule, and to provide a complete database challenge the validity of these tools. Therefore, PtD still poses a research gap for future research on safety matters.

Construction accident prevention: A systematic review of machine learning approaches.

BACKGROUND: The construction industry is an important productive sector worldwide. However, the industry is also responsible for high numbers of work-related accidents, which highlights the necessity for improving safety management on construction sites. In parallel, technological applications such as machine learning (ML) are used in many productive sectors, including construction, and have proved significant in process optimizations and decision-making. Thus, advanced studies are required to comprehend the best way of using this technology to enhance construction site safety. OBJECTIVE: This research developed a systematic literature review using ten scientific databases to retrieve relevant publications and fill the knowledge gaps regarding ML applications in construction accident prevention. METHODS: This study examined 73 scientific articles through bibliometric research and descriptive analysis. RESULTS: The results showed the publications timeline and the most recurrent journals, authors, institutions, and countries-regions. In addition, the review discovered information about the developed models, such as the research goals, the ML methods used, and the data features. The research findings revealed that USA and China are the leading countries regarding publications. Also, Support Vector Machine - SVM was the most used ML method. Furthermore, most models used textual data as a source, generally related to inspection reports and accident narratives. The data approach was usually related to facts before an accident (proactive data). CONCLUSION: The review highlighted improvement proposals for future works and provided insights into the application of ML in construction safety management.

Analysis of noise on construction sites of high-rise buildings.

In the civil construction industry sector, it has been observed that the increasing use of machines has made tasks noisier and consequently caused hearing loss and had other adverse effects on workers. The objective of this study was to identify and assess the physical risks of noise present in activities undertaken in a construction company in order to propose control measures which will contribute to the management of health and safety within the company's organization. The methodology applied was based on verifying the characteristics of exposure to noise on construction sites, from an observation of sources which generated noise and making measurements of sound pressure levels emitted by these sources. The data was then analyzed and compared with the recommended performance levels established in control measures. As a result, it was found that some machines and equipment used in civil construction often generate noise above the acceptable levels and as such, in these cases, various control measures have been proposed. It is believed that the use of management techniques is the most effective way to assess risk and to implement the preventive and corrective actions proposed, and allows for the analysis of sound pressure levels on an ongoing basis.