Nature of Occupational Incidents among Roofing Contractors: A Data Mining Approach

Given that roofing contractors in the construction industry have the highest fatality rate among specialty contractors, understanding the root cause of incidents among roofers is critical for improving safety outcomes. This study applied frequency analysis and decision tree data-mining techniques to analyze roofers’ fatal and non-fatal accident reports. The frequency analysis yielded insights into the leading cause of accidents, with fall to a lower level (83%) being the highest, followed by incidence sources relating to structures and surfaces (56%). The most common injuries experienced by roofing contractors were fractures (49%) and concussions (15%), especially for events occurring in residential buildings, maintenance and repair works, small projects (i.e., $50,000 or less), and on Mondays. According to the decision tree analysis, the most important factor for determining the nature of the injury is the nonfragile injured body part, followed by injury caused by coating works. The decision tree also produced decision rules that provide an easy interpretation of the underlying association between the factors leading to incidents. The decision tree models developed in this study can be used to predict the nature of potential injuries for strategically selecting the most effective injury-prevention strategies.

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