Fall accidents constitute a crucial type of accident in the construction industry. This study investigates fall accidents that occurred in the United States between 1997 and 2012. Using the 20,997 construction industry accidents recorded in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) database, this study examines the frequency and trend of fall accidents. Additionally, by using data from 9,141 fall accidents, this study investigates various dimensions of fall accidents, such as fall height, fall location, and fall protection, and types of industry and projects where fall accidents occurred. The analyses and subsequent findings are discussed as follows: First, the percentage of fall accidents from four major accident types (fall, struck by, caught in or between, and electrocution) has been increased substantially. Second, in terms of project type, residential housing projects experienced a higher portion of fall accidents. Third, more than 80% of fall accidents occurred from a height of less than 9.1 m (30 ft), and only 11% of fall accident victims were properly equipped with fall protection. These findings serve to alert safety agencies of the need to diagnose the current state of fall accidents and to revise the policies and regulations to reduce these figures.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has attracted attention in recent years as a way to prevent construction site accidents. Although various IoT technologies have been tested for the purpose of safety management, few have been implemented in actual projects. One possible reason is that the effectiveness of these technologies has rarely been calculated. In this study, a method for quantitatively evaluating the effectiveness of IoT technologies for accident prevention is presented. Taking the domino theory of accident causation into account, this method has three aspects: the degree of the causes of accidents that an IoT technology prevents, association between accident types and their causes, and frequency of each accident type. To quantify these, two different types of survey were conducted, and statistical records about construction accidents by type were used. To test the applicability of this method, the effectiveness of two IoT technologies was calculated. The method successfully quantified how much each technology contributes to preventing certain types of accident as well as the overall accident-prevention effect. The proposed method can enable practitioners to assess the effectiveness of certain IoT technologies, which will be useful in justifying investments in the technology. The method will lead to deploying more IoT technologies for safety management, which will eventually contribute to decreasing accidents in the construction industry.

The purpose of this study is to investigate performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of claim management for construction projects. As current construction projects become larger and more complex, claim management becomes more diverse and essential for the success of the project. Although claim management has been the subject of many previous studies, few studies have investigated the performance indicators for claim management. By interviewing 21 industry practitioners from 10 companies in South Korea who have expertise in claims, this study proposes performance indicators for claim management based on the issues within various claim management processes. The proposed indicators are validated both qualitatively and quantitatively and proven to diagnose the process of claim management appropriately. These indicators are helpful in monitoring and controlling companies’ claim management, which will contribute to managing claims more effectively.

The lack of fall protection has been the most frequently cited Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard in the US construction industry. This article investigates the use of fall protection in the US construction industry over the past two decades. Using fall accidents data between 1997 and 2012 from the OSHA Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), the use of fall protection, categorized into three classes (correct use, misuse, and no fall protection), was studied with regard to industry sector, project cost, fall cause, injury class, and fall height. Inferential statistics, such as chi-square and the Kruskal-Wallis test, and frequency analyses were conducted. The data analyses revealed that more than 70% of fall accident victims lacked fall protection. Over time, the portion of victims lacking fall protection has decreased, but the portion of victims using fall protection incorrectly has increased. Regarding the relationship between fall protection use and injury class, it was found that fall protection contributes to mitigating injuries, and the association between fall protection use and injury class is statistically significant. Also, this study found a statistically significant correlation between height and fall protection use, meaning that laborers working in higher places tend to use fall protection more often. Few studies on the use of fall protection have made use of the comprehensive OSHA IMIS database. This study’s findings contribute to specifying strategies to promote the proper use of fall protection in the construction industry.

The importance of construction industries has increased significantly in developing countries because of rapid urbanization. Lack of construction management (CM) skills is one of the main risks for project stakeholders in developing countries. Therefore, developing countries need to create training programs and establish laws and regulations to enhance CM skills. As CM has many functions, it is necessary to prioritize them appropriately. In this study, a survey of practitioners in the Cambodian construction industry was conducted to determine their perceptions of CM and the most important CM function. According to the analysis of data from146 surveys, the study found that safety management is the most important CM function. Considering that the problems faced by developing countries with regard to the construction industry are similar, this study can help developing countries prioritize CM functions to develop training programs, laws, and regulations that improve their construction industries.