Impact of Risk Factors on Construction Worker Safety: A Delphi Rating Study Based on Field Worker Perspective

Different factors impact the health and safety of construction workers on a jobsite. Most studies focus on gathering insight on risk factors from researchers or management-related employees using a cross-sectional survey. This study aimed to investigate and rate key factors contributing to worker safety—namely site conditions, as well as human, environmental, social, economic, organizational, regulatory, psychological, and ergonomic factors—from a worker perspective. The impact of these factors was determined in terms of the amount of risk added to the risks resulting from the degrees of connectivity (DoC) model scenarios—a novel accident causation model. The study also aimed to determine whether particular trades are associated with differing risk levels related to these factors. Responses from a sample of highly experienced construction workers from the northwestern region of the United States were collected, refined, and analyzed after several rounds of surveys using the Delphi method. The research results show that organizational factors are perceived to have the greatest impact on construction worker safety, while human factors have the least impact. The results also reveal no association between the trades and the risk ratings. This study provides experienced workers’ opinions regarding factors that might magnify the risks resulting from DoC scenarios. The study is unique in that construction workers’ feedback has been utilized and analyzed using the Delphi method. Project planners and safety risk managers may benefit from the ratings of the various factors when undertaking planning and preparation activities before and during construction.