Risk coupling analysis of causal factors in construction fall-from-height accidents

Purpose Construction fall-from-height accidents are not only caused by a single factor but also by the risk coupling between two or more factors. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively analyze the risk coupling relationships between multiple factors and identify critical factors in construction fall-from-height accidents. Design/methodology/approach A cause analysis framework was established from the perspective of human, machine, material, management and environmental factors. The definition, the classification and the process of risk coupling were proposed. The data from 824 historical accident reports from 2011 to 2021 were collected on government websites. A risk coupling analysis model was constructed to quantitatively analyze the risk coupling relationships of multiple factors based on the N-K model. The results were classified using K-means clustering analysis. Findings The results indicated that the greater the number of causal factors involved in risk coupling, the higher the risk coupling value and the higher the risk of accidents. However, specific risk coupling combinations occurred when the number of their coupling factors was not large. Human, machine and material factors were determined to be the critical factors when risk coupling between them tended to pose a greater risk of accidents. Originality/value This study established a cause analysis framework from five aspects and constructed a theoretical model to quantitatively analyze multi-factor coupling. Several suggestions were proposed for construction units to manage accident risks more effectively by controlling the number of factors and paying more attention to critical factors coupling and management and environmental factors.