An integrated DEMATEL–ANP approach for identification and prioritization of factors affecting fall from height accidents in the construction industry

ABSTRACT

Objectives. The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique integrated with the analytic network process (ANP) is used for determination and prioritization of cause–effect relationships among factors affecting construction falls. Methods. Considering the 135 fall accidents collected between 2013 and 2018 from 15 residential construction projects, 70 factors and sub-factors affecting the occurrence of construction falls were determined based on safety experts’ opinions. Questionnaires based on the former and the latter were then distributed among 10 occupational health and safety specialists to determine the effectiveness of the factors. The interactions and important degree of each factor are specified, using the DEMATEL–ANP approach. Results. Findings showed that organizational factors and their sub-factors have the greatest impact on construction falls and were considered as causal variables (D – R > 0), while individual and environmental factors were considered as the effect variables (D – R < 0). The results of prioritization using the ANP method showed that the work platform altitude, psychological/occupational stresses and interactions were ranked as the first through third priorities affecting the falls, respectively. Conclusions. It is necessary to implement a systematic strategy to reduce the unsafe conditions in construction projects and to pay more attention to organizational factors.

KEYWORDS:

• falls from height
• construction industry
• multi-criteria decision-making
• DEMATEL–ANP

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express special thanks to all of the experts and subjects for giving up their time for this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the Occupational Health Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the analyses, and the project was conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

Availability of data and materials

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Iran University of Medical Sciences [Grant Number 1400-2-2-21763].