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The Impact of Heat Waves on Occurrence and Severity of Construction Accidents

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  • Rameez Rameezdeen

    (School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, Australia)

  • Abbas Elmualim

    (School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, Australia)

Abstract

The impact of heat stress on human health has been extensively studied. Similarly, researchers have investigated the impact of heat stress on workers’ health and safety. However, very little work has been done on the impact of heat stress on occupational accidents and their severity, particularly in South Australian construction. Construction workers are at high risk of injury due to heat stress as they often work outdoors, undertake hard manual work, and are often project based and sub-contracted. Little is known on how heat waves could impact on construction accidents and their severity. In order to provide more evidence for the currently limited number of empirical investigations on the impact of heat stress on accidents, this study analysed 29,438 compensation claims reported during 2002–2013 within the construction industry of South Australia. Claims reported during 29 heat waves in Adelaide were compared with control periods to elicit differences in the number of accidents reported and their severity. The results revealed that worker characteristics, type of work, work environment, and agency of accident mainly govern the severity. It is recommended that the implementation of adequate preventative measures in small-sized companies and civil engineering sites, targeting mainly old age workers could be a priority for Work, Health and Safety (WHS) policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Rameez Rameezdeen & Abbas Elmualim, 2017. "The Impact of Heat Waves on Occurrence and Severity of Construction Accidents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:1:p:70-:d:87546
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Aneziris, O.N. & Topali, E. & Papazoglou, I.A., 2012. "Occupational risk of building construction," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 36-46.
    2. Kathryn Glass & Peter W. Tait & Elizabeth G. Hanna & Keith Dear, 2015. "Estimating Risks of Heat Strain by Age and Sex: A Population-Level Simulation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Fred Sherratt & Peter Farrell & Rod Noble, 2013. "UK construction site safety: discourses of enforcement and engagement," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 623-635, June.
    4. Rivas, T. & Paz, M. & Martín, J.E. & Matías, J.M. & García, J.F. & Taboada, J., 2011. "Explaining and predicting workplace accidents using data-mining techniques," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 96(7), pages 739-747.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Joseph P. Bachraty & JianBo Qiao & Elizabeth S. Powers & Lesley W. Vandermark & J. Luke Pryor & Riana R. Pryor, 2024. "Plateau in Core Temperature during Shorter but Not Longer Work/Rest Cycles in Heat," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(3), pages 1-13, March.
    3. Alana L Hansen & Susan Williams & Scott Hanson-Easey & Blesson M Varghese & Peng Bi & Jane Heyworth & Monika Nitschke & Shelley Rowett & Malcolm R Sim & Dino L Pisaniello, 2020. "Using a Qualitative Phenomenological Approach to Inform the Etiology and Prevention of Occupational Heat-Related Injuries in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Robert E. Davis & Wendy M. Novicoff, 2018. "The Impact of Heat Waves on Emergency Department Admissions in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Kerstin K. Zander & Supriya Mathew & Stephen T. Garnett, 2018. "Exploring Heat Stress Relief Measures among the Australian Labour Force," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Minsu Lee & Jaemin Jeong & Jaewook Jeong & Jaehyun Lee, 2021. "Exploring Fatalities and Injuries in Construction by Considering Thermal Comfort Using Uncertainty and Relative Importance Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-30, May.
    7. Guoshan Wu & Heqing Liu & Shixian Wu & Guanglei Liu & Caihang Liang, 2021. "Can Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Be Used as a Biomarker of Thermal Comfort for Mine Workers?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-15, July.

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