Comparative safety risk analysis of highway construction work tasks

Behzad Esmaeili, Matthew Hallowell, Sangeeta Pandey

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The construction industry is characterized by a relatively high injury and illness rate. Within the construction industry, the highway construction and maintenance sector is one of the most dangerous. Recent research has shown the importance of quantifying safety risks so that safety information can be objectively integrated into project design and construction planning. Despite its importance, only a few studies have attempted to and quantify safety risks for construction tasks. This paper describes the results of a Delphi study that aimed to quantify the relative unit safety risks for 25 highway construction tasks. Delphi experts have been selected based on rigorous requirements and various controls have been employed to decrease cognitive biases. The results indicate that "construction zone traffic control" and "install traffic control devices" are the highest risk highway construction tasks and "watering and dust palliatives" is the lowest risk task. Once obtained, the risk data were integrated with the safety schedule integration framework presented in the literature. This application of the data demonstrated the practical implications of the data and validated the risk integration framework. It is expected that the findings can be used by safety managers to improve job hazard analyses, prioritize resources, and increase the efficacy of existing schedule-based safety risk management tools.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationAnnual Conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 2011, CSCE 2011
Pages2140-2149
Number of pages10
StatePublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes
EventAnnual Conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 2011, CSCE 2011 - Ottawa, ON, Canada
Duration: Jun 14 2011Jun 17 2011

Publication series

NameProceedings, Annual Conference - Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
Volume3

Other

OtherAnnual Conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 2011, CSCE 2011
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityOttawa, ON
Period6/14/116/17/11

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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