Causes and impacts of site accidents in the Egyptian construction industry

This paper aims to investigate the causes and impacts of site accidents in the Egyptian construction industry. To achieve this aim, a research methodology consisted of literature review and survey questionnaire was developed to accomplish three objectives. First, literature review was used to investigate the nature of the construction industry, identify and classify the causes of site accidents as well as their social and economic impacts on organizations and affected families. Second, a survey questionnaire was conducted with a representative sample of large and medium sized construction firms in Egypt to examine their perception of the causes of site accidents. Finally, outlining research conclusions and recommendations useful to construction firms and governmental organizations. The research identified 16 causes of construction site accidents. These causes were classified into three categories based on the party responsible for the occurrence of site accidents namely, workers, organization management and government. Results of data analysis showed that "Lack of housekeeping" and "Lack of governmental inspection for Safety" were ranked the highest causes of site accidents in the Egyptian construction industry, while "inefficiency of old safety equipment or no safety equipment at all" and "reluctance to input resources for Safety" were ranked the least causes. Moreover, Spearman correlation test showed there are relationships between many causes in which some causes may affect the occurrence of other causes. This research provides valuable information about the nature of the construction industry with particular focus on site accidents, causes and impacts of construction site accidents. The research tackled a topic that received scant attention in construction literature especially in the Egypt context. The work presented in this paper represents a synthesis that is important and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred in the Egyptian construction industry.