Identifying and prioritizing the main factors and components affecting health, safety and environment (HSE) motivation in the construction industry using fuzzy Delphi and network analysis process (ANP) methods

Employees’ motivation to perform job duties safely plays an important role in reducing risk of occupational accidents in the construction industry. The aim of this study was to identify, weight and prioritize the main factors and components affecting health, safety and environment (HSE) motivation in the construction industry.

First, a primary list of factors and components potentially affecting HSE motivation was prepared by literature review and face-to-face interviews with the experts (faculty members and executive experts) and important factors and components were identified using fuzzy Delphi technique. Then, weighting and ranking of these factors and components were performed based on three criteria of cost, effectiveness and feasibility by network analysis process (ANP) using Super Decision software.

The main factors affecting HSE motivation were organizational factors, individual factors, management factors, safety knowledge and safety climate, and the most important factors were respectively management factors (with a weight of 0.27), safety knowledge (with a weight of 0.25), and organizational factors (with a weight of 0.22). The prioritization of the components affecting HSE motivation showed that the components with the highest priorities are not only related to management factors and a combination of actions such as increasing awareness of existing risks, holding operational maneuvers, management's commitment to HSE, and fairness of encouragement and punishment can be more effective in promoting HSE motivation in the construction industry.

Applying the results of identifying and prioritizing effective factors in HSE motivation in the construction industry and focusing on components related to safety knowledge, management factors, and organizational factors can improve the effectiveness of HSE management programs in this industry.