Worksite Accident Impacts on Construction and Infrastructure: Nondeterministic Analysis of Subsectors and Organization Sizes

Abstract

Worksite accidents in the construction and infrastructure industries result in cost overruns and schedule downtimes. Previous research has analyzed cost and schedule deviations caused by worksite accidents within these industries. However, a quantitative analysis of accidents at the subsector level and comparisons at the organizational level have yet to be undertaken. Toward this aim, worksite accident data are collected across different industry subsectors and organizations of different sizes, and an integrated risk register is constructed to capture cost and schedule deviations caused by worksite accidents. The findings indicate that structural and installation services are the main contributors to workplace accidents in terms of cost and time deviations. Moreover, organizational size is an important factor in the impact analysis of worksite accidents. Large organizations in the structural services were found to make a significant impact on cost overruns and schedule downtimes. They are followed by small organizations in the installation services subsector and medium/large organizations in the heavy and civil engineering subsector. The findings in this study reveal that improvements and investments in safety training and workplace communications are needed for efficient accident prevention.