Investigation of interaction among factors underlying construction hazard identification

Abstract

Although previous studies explored the effect of relationships between some factors on hazard identification performance, there is still a need to better understand the interactive mechanisms among factors in the hazard recognition process. This study explored the interactions among factors in the search and decision phases on hazard identification performance. A safety inspection experiment was conducted in a civil engineering laboratory, during which the eye movements of the participants were recorded. The experimental data were entered into a three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) model to examine the factors’ interactions. The results revealed that experience and risk tolerance interactively affect hazard identification performance, and visual clutter and time to first fixation respectively have main effects on hazard identification performance. The findings theoretically supplement knowledge about the interactive mechanisms of factors during the hazard recognition process and will play a critical role in providing practical guidance for safety training.