Study of Occupational Safety Risks in Prefabricated Building Hoisting Construction Based on HFACS-PH and SEM

Abstract

As the concern for environmental pollution and occupational safety caused by the construction industry is gradually increasing worldwide, the prefabricated building model has become a type of construction promoted by sustainable societies. In China, the management codes of prefabricated buildings are not mature enough and safety accidents occur frequently during the construction process. Therefore, how to analyze and determine the main factors that affect the safety of the construction of prefabricated buildings has become a problem to protect the lives and health of construction workers. In this study, we focused our research on the accident-prone component-hoisting construction phase. First, through the questionnaire and accident data, the traditional human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS) was improved into the HFACS–prefabricated building hoisting (PH) risk model. This study also established a comprehensive safety prevention and control system for the component-hoisting process of prefabricated buildings by combining the factor analysis of using structural equation modeling (SEM). The prevention and control measures to avoid the occurrence of prefabricated building component-hoisting accidents were also proposed from four aspects: external environment, organizational factors, prerequisites for triggering accidents, and unsafe leadership behaviors. The results showed the following: (1) For the external environment, occupational safety and health system standards should be established and safety supervision responsibilities should be implemented. (2) For organizational factors, safety management systems should be improved with more capital investment. (3) For unsafe leadership behaviors, safety education and training should be strengthened to ensure workers’ optimal physical and psychological states. (4) For the prerequisite of accidents, it is necessary to create a good hoisting work environment.