Skip to main content

Why Do Accidents Happen? A Critical Review on the Evolution of the Construction Accident Causation Models

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Construction Safety

Part of the book series: Risk Engineering ((RISK))

  • 3284 Accesses

Abstract

Construction accident rates have remained unacceptably high in Hong Kong. Despite huge sums of money invested in implementing safety tools by contractors and developers, the total compensation remains high. Likewise construction academics have developed many accident causation models in an attempt to find out causes of accidents. This paper aims at reviewing the evolution of construction accident causation models in tandem with development in technology and procurement methods.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Briere, J., Chevalier, A., & Imbernon, E. (2010). Surveillance of fatal occupational injuries in France: 2002–2004. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 53, 1109–1118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cecchetti, S. G. (2009). Crisis and responses: The Federal Reserve in the early stages of the financial crisis. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23(1), 51–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Central Intelligence Agency (2010) The world factbook 2010. Available from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html. Cited 1 Dec 2010.

  • Chun, C. K., Li, H., & Skitmore, M. (2012). The use of virtual prototyping for hazard identification in the early design stage. Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management, 12(1), 29–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, T., & Lingard, H. (2011). A retrospective analysis of work-related deaths in the Australian construction industry. In Charles Egbu, Eric Choen Weng Lou (Eds.) proceedings of the ARCOM twenty-seventh Annual conference, University of Reading, UK, 279–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crotty, J. (2009). Structural causes of the global financial crisis: a critical assessment of the ‘New Financial Architecture’. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(4), 563–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debrah, Y. A., & Ofori, G. (2001a). Subcontracting, foreign workers and job safety in the Singapore construction industry. Asia Pacific Business Review, 1(8), 145–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debrah, Y. A., & Ofori, G. (2001b). Subcontracting, foreign workers and job safety in the Singapore construction industry. Asia Pacific Business Review, 8(1), 145–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, D. J., & Nicholas, J. (2002). The state of health and safety in the UK construction industry with a focus on plant operators. Structural Survey, 20(2), 78–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eun, C. S., & Resnick, B. G. (2009). International financial management. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goetsch, D. L. (2003). Construction safety and health. New York: Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodhart, C., & Hofmann, B. (2008). House prices, money, credit, and the macroeconomy. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 24(1), 180–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hacker, H. M., & Suchman, E. A. (1963). A sociological approach to accident research. Social Problem, 10, 383–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinrich, H. W. (1980). Industrial accident prevention: a safety management approach. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, N. (1999). An exploratory study of meanings of risk control for long term and acute effect occupational health and safety risk in small business construction firms. Journal of Safety Research, 30(4), 61–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, S., Park, M., Lee, H. S., Yoon, Y., & Son, B. S. (2010). Korean real estate market and boosting policies: Focusing on mortgage loans. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 14(2), 157–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jannadi, O. (1995). Impact of human relations on the safety of construction workers. International Journal of Project Management, 13(6), 383–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J., & Rhee, Y. S. (2009). Global financial crisis and the Korean economy. Seoul Journal of Economics, 22(2), 145–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kjellen, U. (2000). Prevention of accidents through experience feedback. London: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leather, P. J. (1987). Safety and accidents in the construction industry: a work design perspective. Work & Stress, 1, 167–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li RYM. (2006). Effectiveness of various construction safety measures in Hong Kong. BSc Thesis, Real Estate and Construction. The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J., & Mills, A. (2001). Measuring the occupational health and safety performance of construction companies in Australia. Facilities, 19(3/4), 131–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lingard, H., & Rowlinson, S. (1994). Construction site safety in Hong Kong. Construction Management and Economics, 12(6), 501–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lingard, H., & Rowlinson, S. (2005). Occupational health and safety in construction project management. New York: Spon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitropoulos, P., Abdelhamid, T. S., & Howell, G. A. (2005). A systems model of construction accident causation. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 131(7), 816–825.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peckitt, S. J., Glendon, A. I., & Booth, R. T. (2004). Societal influences on safety culture in the construction industry. In Rowlinson, S., (Ed.) Construction safety management systems. London: Spon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pheng, L. S., & Shiua, S. C. (2000). The maintenance of construction safety: Riding on ISO 9000 quality management systems. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 6(1), 28–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poon, S. W., Tang, S. L., & Wong, F. K. W. (2008). Management and economics of construction safety in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • UK HM Revenue and Customs Department (2011) Residential property transaction Volume 2011. Available from:http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/survey_of_prop/menu.htm. Cited 24 Sep 2011.

  • Rowlinson S. (1997). Hong Kong constructionSite management and construction. Hong Kong: Sweet and Maxwell Asia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, A., & Jha, R. (2012). Fiscal deficits, banking crises and policy reversal in a semi-open economy. Economic Modelling, 29(2), 271–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toole, T. M. (2002). Construction site safety roles. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 128(3), 203–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2010) World Development Indicators Database 2010. Available from:http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf. Cited 1 Dec 2010.

  • Zhu, C. J., Fan, D., Fu, G., & Clissold, G. (2010). Occupational safety in China: Safety climate and its influence on safety-related behavior. China Information, 24(1), 27–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This chapter is a revised version of the paper “The evolution of construction accident causation models”, presented in CIB Congress 2010, 10–14 May, 2010, Manchester. The authors would like to thank CIB for granting the right to republish.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rita Yi Man Li .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Li, R.Y.M., Poon, S.W. (2013). Why Do Accidents Happen? A Critical Review on the Evolution of the Construction Accident Causation Models. In: Construction Safety. Risk Engineering. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35046-7_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35046-7_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-35045-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35046-7

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics