The development and validation of a human factors analysis and classification system for the construction industry

Abstract

Human factors significantly contribute to accidents and vary with the industries in which they exist. However, there are few analytical methods for human factors in the construction industry. Based on the prevalent human factor analysis and classification system (HFACS), the present study proposes a HFACS for the construction industry (HFACS-CI). Compared with the HFACS, the HFACS-CI develops Level 5 with classifications including ‘the attitude of owner’ and ‘the regulation of engineering firm’, and adds classifications, i.e., ‘management for change’ and ‘management for subcontractors’, to Level 4. Its validation is verified by application to the 2016 platform collapse in Fengcheng, Jiangxi, China. Finally, utilizing the χ² test and Apriori algorithm to explore the causalities among the classifications of the HFACS-CI, ‘the attitude of owner’, ‘the regulation of engineering firm’ and ‘organizational climate’ are identified as the human factors that may create conditions for the occurrence of other human factors.

Keywords:

• human factors
• construction industry
• causalities

Acknowledgements

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.