Sharif Journal of Civil Engineering

Sharif Journal of Civil Engineering

Semi-Automated Lifecycle Safety Risk Assessment of Construction Projects: A Preventive Approach Based on Building Information Modeling

Document Type : Research Note

Authors
Amirhossein Ostovari 1
Sayyed Vahid Faghihi 2
Seyed Hossein Hosseini Nourzad 3
1 School of Architecture, Department of Construction and Project Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3 1School of Architecture, Department of Construction and Project Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.24200/j30.2025.65673.3388
Abstract
Due to its complex and multifaceted nature, the construction industry has always faced many safety challenges. Safety management is critical in countries like Iran, which face limitations regarding training, equipment, and regulations. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of safety management in the construction industry and provide new approaches to improve it. For this purpose, first, the existing literature in the field of safety management in construction projects is reviewed, and then the challenges in this field are identified and analyzed. In this research, using historical accident database data and in the framework of building information modeling, a semi-automatic approach to identify and evaluate safety risks in the design phase has been developed. To achieve this goal, a plugin was developed for Autodesk Revit, which, by analyzing building components in 3D models, identifies different risks and classifies them based on the severity of the results they create in varying levels of risk (high, medium, and low). Also, the plugin automatically suggests appropriate preventive measures by leveraging OSHA standards and helps users manage risks and prevent them from occurring. In this way, a comprehensive risk assessment process is implemented from the stage of identification and evaluation to the provision of control measures and documentation on these incidents. The results of this research show that by using new technologies, such as building information modeling and implementing preventive strategies in the design phase, it is possible to improve the safety level in construction projects significantly.
Keywords
Safety management
risk assessment
project lifecycle
semi-automation
building information modeling (BIM)
Subjects
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