Assessing the Off-Site Manufacturing Workers’ Influence on Safety Performance: A Bayesian Network Approach
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 148, Issue 1
Abstract
Off-site manufacturing (OSM) offers a wide range of benefits to the construction industry by saving time, reducing waste, being an environmentally friendly solution, and providing a much safer onsite environment. However, safety management of OSM has become a concern due to the worker-related safety issues, which increase the safety incidents in off-site factories. However, research on the safety of OSM activities within a factory environment are still very limited. Therefore, this study aims to examine the interrelationships among worker-related safety factors and their influence on OSM safety performance. A probabilistic model based on Bayesian networks (BNs) to assess the influence of worker-related safety climate factors on OSM safety performance is utilized in this research study. A comprehensive review and evaluation of causal safety factors with the support of a questionnaire survey with OSM industry practitioners are the basis for this BN model. The proposed BN model is then verified by conducting a sensitivity analysis such as tornado diagrams and derivatives of sensitivity. The established model presents probabilities associated with different states of safety factors and identifies the interrelationships among worker-related safety climate factors and OSM safety performance. The research findings show that improvements in management safety response, coworkers’ safety values and practices, and quality of training exert a greatest effect on the safety performance. Analysis further indicates that a balance between safety and production significantly affects workers’ safety knowledge. This study contributes to the OSM safety domain by offering an effective tool to predict safety performance.
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Data Availability Statement
The survey data collected and used during the study is available from the corresponding author by request.
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Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 148 • Issue 1 • January 2022
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jun 10, 2021
Accepted: Oct 5, 2021
Published online: Nov 8, 2021
Published in print: Jan 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Apr 8, 2022
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