Measuring construction safety performance in Chinese provinces through cross-efficiency theory

Selecting key indicators from extensive safety-related data is crucial for accurately measuring safety performance. The construction safety of Chinese provinces in 2021 was examined using constant returns to scale and cross-efficiency analyses within the data envelopment analysis model, based on input–output measures. The cross-efficiency analysis addresses the awkward scenario where the performance scores and rankings of multiple provinces remain consistent. The normal and aggressive cross-efficiency analyses yield better evaluation outcomes, with the benevolent cross-efficiency analysis having the highest average performance score. The 16, 2, and 16 provinces identified in the normal, aggressive, and benevolent cross-efficiency analyses, respectively, exhibit higher performance scores in the meta -frontier analysis compared to the group-frontier. The western region ranks higher in terms of meta -frontier and the technological gap ratio, whereas the central region ranks higher in group-frontier. This study assists policymakers in developing effective safety management practices for a safer and efficient construction environment.