Analyzing the causes of falling from height accidents in construction projects with analytical hierarchy process (AHP)

Introduction: Fall from height is one of the main causes of death in the construction workers. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors affecting falls from height accidents in construction industry. Material and method: A descriptive-analytical study was conducted on five constructional projects in Pars Jonoobi industrial region, Iran. All of the reported events from 2011 to 2015 were investigated and 74 out of 377 occupational accidents were considered as falls from height accidents. The identified factors and sub-factors were divided into 3 main factors including individual, organizational and environmental factors and 14 sub-factors based on the experts’ opinion. Then, AHP method was used to determine and prioritize of the factors and sub-factors. Results: The results of hierarchical analysis of fall from height accidents causes showed that environmental, individual, and organizational factors with weights of 0.359, 0.351, and 0.290 were in the first, second, third priorities, respectively. Meanwhile, among all examined sub-factors, work platform elevation, mental/ occupational stresses and safety culture had the highest priority. Conclusion: Paying attention to the strategies that enhance the safety culture of employees and reduce their occupational stress levels in the workplace can be very effective in preventing of fall from height accidents.