Title: Utilising the fuzzy analytic network process technique to prioritise safety challenges in construction projects

Authors: Mostafa Pouyakian; Ali Akbar Shafikhani; Amir Abbas Najafi; Behrouz Afshar-Najafi; Amir Kavousi

Addresses: Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ' Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ' Department of Industrial Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin Branch, Qazvin, Iran ' Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: This study aims to identify and rank the obstacles to implementing a safety program in the Iranian construction industry. The obstacles were identified through literature review and interviews with experts in the Iranian construction industry. Because of the complex structure of the relationships between the obstacles and their mutual effects, the fuzzy analysis network Process method was used to model them. Obstacles to safety implementation were identified and ranked using the proposed model. Fourteen obstacles were identified in the three organisational, contractors, and systems dimensions. The most critical obstacles include tight project schedules, resource constraints, fierce competition between contractors to reduce time and cost. This study showed that the Iranian construction industry, despite its advantages, faces obstacles in the successful implementation of safety programs. It seems that the identified obstacles can be removed by modelling the safety program in project scheduling. However, more studies are needed in this area.

Keywords: safety; accidents; construction; analytic network process; ANP; fuzzy evaluation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2024.136285

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2024 Vol.20 No.1, pp.16 - 32

Received: 02 Sep 2021
Accepted: 03 Dec 2021
Published online: 26 Jan 2024 *

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