Barriers to Incident Reporting in the Pakistani Construction Industry: An Exploratory Factor Analysis Approach

Abstract

The construction industry is amongst the most hazardous industries, with workers routinely involved in critical accidents. Following proper safety procedures can help to reduce these accidents. Incident reporting is widely regarded as an effective approach to improving worker safety on construction sites as it allows relevant stakeholders to learn from past events. Despite the acknowledged significance of incident reporting in reducing accident rates, several researchers have reported that the construction industry still lacks effective incident reporting and investigation practices. This study aims to explore the barriers that inhibit the reporting of incidents in the construction industry of Pakistan. Through a detailed literature review, 29 barriers that inhibit effective incident reporting were identified. A questionnaire survey was then carried out to include the perspective of construction industry professionals on the identified barriers. A total of 214 responses were collected. Further, for dimension reduction, exploratory factor analysis was utilized, and four components were revealed and discussed. These components include organizational, individual, environmental, and technical. The findings of this study will help the relevant construction industry stakeholders in improving safety performance by mitigating these reporting challenges at the construction sites, resulting in a better working environment for workers with fewer risks and accidents.