Finding Causal Paths between Safety Management System Factors and Accident Precursors

Understanding the causal relationships between safety management system (SMS) factors and accident precursors helps construction organizations identify which factors require improvement upon observing an accident precursor. Previous research has not clearly distinguished between SMS factors and accident precursors. This background examines the relationships between SMS factors and accident precursors using empirical data. Specifically, five structural equation models (SEMs) were developed to map causal paths between SMS factors and accident precursors. Each of the SEMs helps identify what specific SMS factors would have a significant influence on the occurrence of a particular type of accident precursor. These models can thus help describe what specific SMS factors would need to be improved when a certain type of accident precursor appears on site. The SEM results show in particular that the occurrence of accident precursors can be attributed largely to adverse project conditions such as project schedule pressure, reworks, and change orders. Construction organizations may capitalize on these findings by prioritizing safety management resources to address specific observed accident precursors in a more informed and targeted manner.