Title: Investigating safety development methodologies in the construction industry and identifying gaps in the studies: a review article

Authors: Mostafa Pouyakian; Ali Akbar Shafikhani; Amir Abbas Najafi; Behrouz Afshar-Nadjafi; 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: Identifying the appropriate safety methodology is essential to improving construction safety performance. This study aims to investigate safety development methodologies in the construction industry and identify gaps in the studies. Articles published from 2000 to 2022 were reviewed. Seventy-seven eligible articles were selected based on comprehensive and exclusive criteria. After obtaining selected literature, gaps in using these methodologies were discussed. Twelve criteria were used to compare safety methodologies. The selected literature focused more on the construction phase and did not provide an effective strategy in the project planning phase. Although the studies had specific benefits, none examined the safety program based on actual project conditions (resource, time, and cost constraints). There is a need for a model that examines safety in terms of actual project conditions (time, cost, and resource constraints). In addition, the model must optimise not only safety but also other vital components of the project (cost, time, and quality) while considering resource constraints (especially equipment constraints). If such a model is designed, the project team will not resist safety changes, which benefits all the construction stakeholders.

Keywords: construction industry; safety management; project schedule; occupational health.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2024.137403

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2024 Vol.20 No.2, pp.163 - 194

Received: 16 Mar 2022
Accepted: 21 Jun 2022
Published online: 18 Mar 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article