A Hybrid Simulation Approach for Understanding the Social Contagion Effect of Safety Violations within the Construction Crew

摘要

Previous studies have recognized the social factor of safety violation within the construction crew. However, discussion on the social contagion effect of safety violation is still sparse. Therefore, this research aims to develop a hybrid simulation approach for looking into the cognitive, social, and organizational aspects that can altogether determine the social contagion effect of safety violations within the construction crew. The hybrid approach integrates system dynamics (SD) and agent-based modeling (ABM) to better represent the real world. SD is used to capture the systematic level dynamics such as the influence of perceived production pressure. ABM is employed to mimic the decision rules and interactions among the worker and management. The research contributes to providing a practical framework to examine how specific accident prevention measures (e.g., setting the safety goal) interacting with worker or environmental characteristics (e.g., the hazard level) influence the social contagion effect of safety violations. Our findings show that different interventions should be taken for situational and routine safety violations. Our model can also serve as a test-bed to evaluate different safety programs or strategies by considering the social contagion effect of safety violations.