VP-based safety management in large-scale construction projects: A conceptual framework

Construction safety is a serious problem in the construction industry worldwide, especially in large-scale construction projects. In order to improve the safety management performance, through the identification of the key factors that cause accidents, this research develops a conceptual framework of adopting virtual prototyping (VP) technology to aid in construction safety management. It consists of three components: modelling and simulation, the identification of unsafe factors, and safety training. A real-life case study is presented to demonstrate how to implement the VP-based safety management platform and evaluate its feasibility and validity. It is shown that the VP-based safety management platform can effectively aid in safety management and improve the safety performance of construction projects.

► The key factors causing construction accidents are identified.
► A conceptual framework of VP-based construction safety management is proposed.
► This framework is tested and evaluated by a real-life construction project.
► VP has the potential to aid in safety management and improve its performance.