Factors and Method of Preventing Construction Site Incidents

Construction accidents cause property damage and harm the environment. The construction industry in the UAE has recorded high fatalities and injuries. However, there has been limited research to prevent accidents on construction sites. Hence, this study aims to uncover the factors causing accidents and prevention measures. All the factors and prevention measures were identified through a literature review and verified in a questionnaire survey. A total of 50 incident causative factors were identified in two groups, and direct and underlying causes and six main preventive measures were determined. The questionnaire survey involved 30 experts who had 10 years of working experience in the UAE construction industry. The experts assessed each of the causative factors and the preventative measures based on a 5-point Likert scale. Reliability was tested on the collected data using Cronbach’s alpha value, and the value was 0.977. The most severe relevant factors of direct causes included violation, taking shortcuts, inadequate leadership/supervision, and human errors. The probability and severity were moderate, and the hazardous activities included unsafe working at height and unsafe lifting. This study shows that workers with experience from 1 to 5 years were engaged in the most accidents. In total, 26 preventive measures were determined. The results benefit the construction industry of the UAE in preventing or avoiding potential accidents at construction sites.