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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 December 2023

James Kanyepe and Nyarai Kasambuwa

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of institutional dynamics on road accidents and whether this relationship is moderated by information and communication…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of institutional dynamics on road accidents and whether this relationship is moderated by information and communication technology (ICT).

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a quantitative approach with 133 respondents. Research hypotheses were tested in AMOS version 21. In addition, moderated regression analysis was used to test the moderating role of ICT on the relationship between institutional dynamics and road accidents.

Findings

The results show that vehicle maintenance, policy enforcement, safety culture, driver training and driver management positively influence road accidents. Moreover, the study established that ICT moderates the relationship between institutional dynamics and road accidents.

Practical implications

The results of this study serve as a practical guideline for policymakers in the road haulage sector. Managers may gain insights on how to design effective interventions to reduce road accidents.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by exploring previously unexplored moderating paths in the relationship between institutional dynamics and road accidents. By highlighting the moderating role of ICT, the study sheds new light on the institutional dynamics that influence road accidents in the context of road haulage companies.

Details

Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2632-279X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 June 2024

Alexandros Nikitas

Connected and autonomous mobility may be an imminent game-changing reality, still in its embryonic form, that is set to disrupt a century-long ‘driver-centric’ status quo and…

Abstract

Connected and autonomous mobility may be an imminent game-changing reality, still in its embryonic form, that is set to disrupt a century-long ‘driver-centric’ status quo and recalibrate transport in unprecedented and possibly entirely unexpected ways. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) may have among others, a major impact on sustainability which in an era where concerns about the urgency and magnitude of climate change threats are voiced more and louder than ever before, needs to be a positive one for helping societies to enjoy liveable futures. This might not be an easy task to accomplish, however. This chapter, using a thematically organised narrative review approach, tries to give a well-rounded answer on whether driverless technology can yield sustainability benefits (or not) by looking at all three spheres of sustainability referring to environmental, economic and social implications. Agendas like motor traffic, air pollution, energy consumption, employment dynamics, inclusion, cybersecurity and privacy are all explored, and a conclusion is derived highlighting the need to package automation with connectivity, alternative fuelling and multimodality and building it around public transport (and to a lesser extent sharing service) provision. The road to make driverless transport genuinely sustainable is ‘bumpy’ and ‘uphill’ and requires the development of an appetite not for technology excellence per se, but rather for travel behaviour change. Achieving this needs serious strategic and coordinated multi-stakeholder efforts in terms of pro-active policy reform, user (and transport provider) education and training initiatives, infrastructure investment, business plan development, and living lab experimentation.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Sangjun Park and Cynthia Lum

A considerable amount of police evaluation research focuses on innovative approaches to reduce crime at places. This is hardly coincidental; policing and place-based scholars have…

1073

Abstract

Purpose

A considerable amount of police evaluation research focuses on innovative approaches to reduce crime at places. This is hardly coincidental; policing and place-based scholars have found crime is highly concentrated, and when police focus on these places, they can prevent and reduce crime. The regularity of such findings led Weisburd (2015) to assert the existence of a “law of crime concentration.” Given that bold assertion, the authors test whether the law of crime concentration is generalizable to one of the most common public safety concerns that police handle—traffic crashes.

Design/methodology/approach

To determine whether the law of crime concentration applies to traffic crashes, the authors examined crash locations and times in all counties in Utah across four years. Following and expanding on Weisburd's methods, the authors calculate the bandwidth of concentration for these crashes and analyze various types by severity and possible explanations for variations in crash concentrations across the state.

Findings

A small proportion of street segments and intersections experience a disproportionately high number of crashes, and the degree of concentration of crashes may be even higher than that of crime. Further, there are variations in the levels of crash concentration across counties and in the severity of injuries resulting from the crashes.

Practical implications

Place-based criminologists and policing scholars have not often explored traffic crashes in their analyses. Yet, traffic problems take up a significant amount of law enforcement time and resources and are often priorities for most law enforcement agencies. Given what the authors know from traffic, policing and crime and place research, targeted approaches at micro traffic crash hot spots can be beneficial for public safety prevention.

Originality/value

This study is the first to explore the application of Weisburd's Law of Crime Concentration to traffic crashes. Given that police spend a significant amount of time and resources on traffic-related problems in their jurisdiction, finding more effective, evidence-based approaches to address this public safety concern should be a high priority for police and researchers alike.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2024

Defaru Katise Dasho and Gesese Ganka Churaida

Road accident is a major threat to sustainable road safety, causing immense suffering and posing an increasingly serious global challenge, especially in developing countries. It…

Abstract

Purpose

Road accident is a major threat to sustainable road safety, causing immense suffering and posing an increasingly serious global challenge, especially in developing countries. It is the leading cause of death, injuries and property damage. While vehicle driver-related factors play a significant role in accidents, poorly designed and constructed roads are also a growing factor. As result, this study aims to assess traffic accident problems associated with design-construction complications on Arba Minch-Jinka Road, Ethiopia.

Design/methodology/approach

From 2013 to 2021, a large amount of traffic accident data was gathered, and through actual roadway surveys at potential locations along the road, the data was associated with design-construction parameters. The analysis was done by adopting descriptive statistics incorporating comparative hypotheses, in which the individual and combined effects of design-construction issues were identified. Results revealed, on average, 76% of total coincided accidents along the study road were associated with design-construction issues. Exclusively, causing factors, i.e. roadway, driver, vehicle, pedestrian problems and environmental, contributed 7.65%, 77.78%, 6.17%, 6.05% and 2.35% traffic accidents, respectively.

Findings

Detailed and time-consuming data collection, investigations, analysis and assessments were used in the research to discover a strong association between road design-construction problems and traffic accidents. As a result, 42 black spot sections were identified, and 7.65% is exclusively caused from design-construction problems. Curved road sections led the surge by 42% from selected design-construction variable, whereas the remaining 58% was shared among four parameters. According to relative analysis, design-construction issues caused a 58.17%, 12.14%, 32.36% and 29.93% increase in accidents in combination with driver, vehicle, pedestrian and environmental factors, respectively. This is in an average of 33.15% escalated problem in a combination that raises questions about the sustainability of road safety.

Originality/value

It is essential to use scientific methodologies to evaluate traffic accidents and associated design-build discrepancies in developing nations like Ethiopia if we are to achieve sustainable road safety. The fundamental importance and value of this study is that it promotes accountability to the road design and construction, which are not frequently thought of as influencing factors in traffic accidents. This paper is original, and all references have been correctly mentioned, to the best of the author’s knowledge.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 July 2024

Yi Chai, Yungang Wang, Yuansheng Wang, Le Peng and Lvyuan Hou

At present, the statistics of human error events in domestic civil aviation are limited, and the analysis indicators are difficult to quantify. The purpose of this study is to…

Abstract

Purpose

At present, the statistics of human error events in domestic civil aviation are limited, and the analysis indicators are difficult to quantify. The purpose of this study is to reduce the incidence of human error events and improve the safety of civil aviation.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a safety prevention evaluation method combining analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) is proposed. The risk factors of civil aviation safety are identified through questionnaire survey and calculated by MATLAB software.

Findings

The results of the study are as follows: a safety risk evaluation index system including 4 first-level indicators and 16 second-level indicators is constructed; the AHP is used to calculate the weight of the influencing factors of human error and sort them; and the FCE method is used to quantitatively evaluate the safety prevention of civil aviation human error and put forward the countermeasures.

Research limitations/implications

This study also has some limitations. While it provides an overall quantitative identification of civil aviation safety risk factors, the research methods chosen, such as the questionnaire survey method and the AHP, involve individual subjectivity. Consequently, the research results may have errors. In the preliminary preparation of the follow-up study, we should analyze a large number of civil aviation accident investigation reports, more accurately clarify the human error factors and completely adopt the quantitative analysis method in the research method.

Practical implications

This study identifies the risk factors of civil aviation safety and conducts a reasonable analysis of human error factors. In the daily training of civil aviation, the training can be focused on previous man-made accidents; in view of the “important” influencing factors, the aviation management system is formulated to effectively improve the reliability of aviation staff; according to the evaluation criteria of human error in civil aviation, measures to prevent and control accidents can be better formulated.

Social implications

In view of these four kinds of influencing factors, the corresponding countermeasures and preventive measures are taken according to the discussion, so as to provide the basis for the prevention of aviation human error analysis, management and decision-making, prevent the risk from brewing into safety accidents and improve the safety of aviation management.

Originality/value

Based on the questionnaire survey, this study creatively applies the safety prevention evaluation method combining AHP and FCE to the study of civil aviation human error, integrates the advantages of qualitative and quantitative methods, flexibly designs qualitative problems, objectively quantifies research results and reduces subjective variables. Then, by discussing civil aviation safety management measures to avoid risk factors, reduce the incidence of human error events and improve the safety of civil aviation.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2022

Lijia Shao, Shengyu Guo, Yimeng Dong, Hongying Niu and Pan Zhang

The construction collapse is one of the most serious accidents since it has several attributes (e.g. accident type and consequence) and its occurrence involves various kinds of…

Abstract

Purpose

The construction collapse is one of the most serious accidents since it has several attributes (e.g. accident type and consequence) and its occurrence involves various kinds of causal factors (e.g. human factors). The impact of causal factors on construction collapse accidents and the interrelationships among causal factors remain poorly explored. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to use association rule mining (ARM) for cause analysis of construction collapse accidents.

Design/methodology/approach

An accident analytic framework is developed to determine the accident attributes and causal factors, and then ARM is introduced as the method for data mining. The data are from 620 historical accident records on government websites of China from 2010 to 2020. Through the generated association rules, the impact of causal factors and the interrelationships among causal factors are explored.

Findings

Collapse accident is easily caused by human factors, material and machine condition and management factors. Furthermore, the results show a close interrelationship between many causal factors and construction scheme and organization. The earthwork collapse is greatly related to environmental condition and the scaffolding collapse is greatly related to material and machine condition.

Practical implications

This study found relevant knowledge about the key causes for different types of construction collapses. Besides, several suggestions are further provided for construction units to prevent construction collapse accidents.

Originality/value

This study uses data mining methods to extract knowledge about the causes of collapse accidents. The impact of causal factors on various types of construction collapse accidents and the interrelationships among causal factors are explained from historical accident data.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 January 2023

Yongliang Deng, Zedong Liu, Liangliang Song, Guodong Ni and Na Xu

The purpose of this study is to identify the causative factors of metro construction safety accidents, analyze the correlation between accidents and causative factors and assist…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the causative factors of metro construction safety accidents, analyze the correlation between accidents and causative factors and assist in developing safety management strategies for improving safety performance in the context of the Chinese construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve these objectives, 13 types and 48 causations were determined based on 274 construction safety accidents in China. Then, 204 cause-and-effect relationships among accidents and causations were identified based on data mining. Next, network theory was employed to develop and analyze the metro construction accident causation network (MCACN).

Findings

The topological characteristics of MCACN were obtained, it is both a small-world network and a scale-free network. Controlling critical causative factors can effectively control the occurrence of metro construction accidents. Degree centrality strategy is better than closeness centrality strategy and betweenness centrality strategy.

Research limitations/implications

In practice, it is very difficult to quantitatively identify and determine the importance of different accidents and causative factors. The weights of nodes and edges are failed to be assigned when constructing MCACN.

Practical implications

This study provides a theoretical basis and feasible management reference for construction enterprises in China to control construction risks and reduce safety accidents. More safety resources should be allocated to control critical risks. It is recommended that safety managers implement degree centrality strategy when making safety-related decisions.

Originality/value

This paper establishes the MCACN model based on data mining and network theory, identifies the properties and clarifies the mechanism of metro construction accidents and causations.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 31 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2024

Gargy Sudhakaran, Abhinesh Prabhakaran, Colin Booth, Samuel Abbey, Abdul-Majeed Mahamadu, Panagiotis Georgakis and Maria Pohle

In alignment with the European Union’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate road fatalities by 2050, leveraging technological advancements becomes crucial for addressing the…

Abstract

Purpose

In alignment with the European Union’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate road fatalities by 2050, leveraging technological advancements becomes crucial for addressing the challenges of vulnerable road users (VRUs), and for mitigating the impact of human error. Despite increasing scholarly interest in applications of extended reality (XR), a research gap persists, particularly in the role of XR in transportation safety. Therefore, the aim of the study was to fill this gap through a systematic literature review to evaluate comprehensively the potential scope and practical applicability of XR technologies in enhancing the safety of VRUs.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review was undertaken, following PRISMA guidelines meticulously, in which 80 relevant articles from databases, such as Scopus and Science Direct, were identified and analysed.

Findings

The results of the analysis revealed the potential of XR beyond pedestrians and cyclists, and highlighted a lack of research about the impact of XR with regard to the personal traits or abilities of VRUs. The results of a thorough analysis confirmed the potential of XR as a promising solution for an approach to collaborative co-creation in addressing the safety challenges of VRUs. In addition, the integration of eye-tracking with virtual reality emerged as a promising innovation for enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users.

Research limitations/implications

Theoretical implications include enhancing the understanding of applications of XR in VRUs’ safety and providing insights into future research possibilities and methodological approaches. Valuable insights into search strategies and inclusion-exclusion criteria can guide future research methodologies.

Practical implications

Practically, the findings from the study offer insights to assist urban planners and transportation authorities in incorporating XR technologies effectively for VRUs safety. Identifying areas for further development of XR technology could inspire innovation and investment in solutions designed to meet the safety needs of VRUs, such as enhanced visualisation tools and immersive training simulations.

Originality/value

The findings of previous research underscore the vast potential of XR technologies within the built environment, yet their utilisation remains limited in the urban transport sector. The intricacies of urban traffic scenarios pose significant challenges for VRUs, making participation in mobility studies hazardous. Hence, it is crucial to explore the scope of emerging technologies in addressing VRUs issues as a pre-requisite for establishing comprehensive safety measures.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Ning Chen, Zhenyu Zhang and An Chen

Consequence prediction is an emerging topic in safety management concerning the severity outcome of accidents. In practical applications, it is usually implemented through…

Abstract

Purpose

Consequence prediction is an emerging topic in safety management concerning the severity outcome of accidents. In practical applications, it is usually implemented through supervised learning methods; however, the evaluation of classification results remains a challenge. The previous studies mostly adopted simplex evaluation based on empirical and quantitative assessment strategies. This paper aims to shed new light on the comprehensive evaluation and comparison of diverse classification methods through visualization, clustering and ranking techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study is conducted using 9 state-of-the-art classification methods on a real-world data set of 653 construction accidents in China for predicting the consequence with respect to 39 carefully featured factors and accident type. The proposed comprehensive evaluation enriches the interpretation of classification results from different perspectives. Furthermore, the critical factors leading to severe construction accidents are identified by analyzing the coefficients of a logistic regression model.

Findings

This paper identifies the critical factors that significantly influence the consequence of construction accidents, which include accident type (particularly collapse), improper accident reporting and handling (E21), inadequate supervision engineers (O41), no special safety department (O11), delayed or low-quality drawings (T11), unqualified contractor (C21), schedule pressure (C11), multi-level subcontracting (C22), lacking safety examination (S22), improper operation of mechanical equipment (R11) and improper construction procedure arrangement (T21). The prediction models and findings of critical factors help make safety intervention measures in a targeted way and enhance the experience of safety professionals in the construction industry.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical study using some well-known classification methods for forecasting the consequences of construction accidents provides some evidence for the comprehensive evaluation of multiple classifiers. These techniques can be used jointly with other evaluation approaches for a comprehensive understanding of the classification algorithms. Despite the limitation of specific methods used in the study, the presented methodology can be configured with other classification methods and performance metrics and even applied to other decision-making problems such as clustering.

Originality/value

This study sheds new light on the comprehensive comparison and evaluation of classification results through visualization, clustering and ranking techniques using an empirical study of consequence prediction of construction accidents. The relevance of construction accident type is discussed with the severity of accidents. The critical factors influencing the accident consequence are identified for the sake of taking prevention measures for risk reduction. The proposed method can be applied to other decision-making tasks where the evaluation is involved as an important component.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2022

Kerim Koc, Ömer Ekmekcioğlu and Asli Pelin Gurgun

Central to the entire discipline of construction safety management is the concept of construction accidents. Although distinctive progress has been made in safety management…

1042

Abstract

Purpose

Central to the entire discipline of construction safety management is the concept of construction accidents. Although distinctive progress has been made in safety management applications over the last decades, construction industry still accounts for a considerable percentage of all workplace fatalities across the world. This study aims to predict occupational accident outcomes based on national data using machine learning (ML) methods coupled with several resampling strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

Occupational accident dataset recorded in Turkey was collected. To deal with the class imbalance issue between the number of nonfatal and fatal accidents, the dataset was pre-processed with random under-sampling (RUS), random over-sampling (ROS) and synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE). In addition, random forest (RF), Naïve Bayes (NB), K-Nearest neighbor (KNN) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were employed as ML methods to predict accident outcomes.

Findings

The results highlighted that the RF outperformed other methods when the dataset was preprocessed with RUS. The permutation importance results obtained through the RF exhibited that the number of past accidents in the company, worker's age, material used, number of workers in the company, accident year, and time of the accident were the most significant attributes.

Practical implications

The proposed framework can be used in construction sites on a monthly-basis to detect workers who have a high probability to experience fatal accidents, which can be a valuable decision-making input for safety professionals to reduce the number of fatal accidents.

Social implications

Practitioners and occupational health and safety (OHS) departments of construction firms can focus on the most important attributes identified by analysis results to enhance the workers' quality of life and well-being.

Originality/value

The literature on accident outcome predictions is limited in terms of dealing with imbalanced dataset through integrated resampling techniques and ML methods in the construction safety domain. A novel utilization plan was proposed and enhanced by the analysis results.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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