A fuzzy-based construction safety advisor (CSA) for construction safety in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is considered one of the fastest growing and most developed countries in the Middle East. Despite this fact, construction safety has not been seriously considered and construction workers are facing the dangers of construction operation on daily basis. This study has the objective of creating an intelligent system, a Construction Safety Advisor (CSA) to address the needs of safety in the construction industry in the UAE. CSA was designed based on two models; the first model utilizes the knowledge available from safety agencies such as OSHA and HSE to develop a safety performance model. The safety performance model used the main component, elements and units of a construction safety and health program to base the evaluation on. Each part of the safety program was defined to have two main variables; significance and availability. Fuzzy logic approach was used to define the two variables and quantify the different components and elements of the safety program and subsequently evaluate the total safety program performance using two forms of fuzzy membership. The second model of CSA evaluates the construction site safety setting by analyzing the different events and contributors that could negatively affect the workers' perception of site safety and subsequently influence their behavior. This model uses fault tree analysis to identify the basic events contributing to the negative site safety setting and if applicable their interactions. The fault tree is then used to derive a mathematical model to calculate the probability of the site safety setting. CSA also includes a number of printable resources such as safety codes, training materials, in addition to safety checklists that enable construction firms to check the rules and standards against which their safety program will be evaluated and to perform onsite safety inspections. CSA has the potential for implementing a safety code in the construction industry and providing a preliminary layout for the different construction safety categories. In addition, CSA helps construction firms to evaluate and assess their safety program, and their site safety settings. Although CSA is designed for use by the UAE contractors and government agencies, it can be implemented and used wherever a safety program needs evaluation. The safety and health program used in CSA contains the safety requirements necessary for almost all construction projects thus giving CSA the potential to be used by different countries and contractors. Upon its completion, CSA was evaluated by construction engineers, construction managers, and companies' owners, whom rated CSA as very good.