Assessing key risk factors for workers during nighttime in the Indian construction industry

Abstract

Construction activities are crucial for global infrastructure development, but are often accompanied by significant risks, particularly at night. The transition from day to night amplifies hazards due to inadequate lighting, disrupted routine work, fatigue, and heightened stress levels. This study uses a field-based approach, incorporating expert interviews, to identify and prioritize 17 critical safety attributes construction workers face during nighttime. The study conducted 15 expert interviews, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to quantify and prioritize these risks in the Indian context. The attributes identified were categorised into five factors, i.e., environmental, human, work-related, equipment, and organizational. By prioritizing through AHP, work-related risks, such as construction height, emergency preparedness, and falling objects, emerge as the most critical. While equipment hazards like poor lighting and faulty electrical grounding also rank high. However, organizational issues, including lack of training and weak supervision, significantly affect safety but are often normalized in the informal sector. Notably, human factors like fatigue, sleep deprivation, and stress rank lowest, despite their known long-term impact on alertness and safety, revealing a significant gap in current safety approaches. The study highlights the need to increase awareness of often-overlooked risks, particularly human and organizational factors. The findings support policymakers and practitioners in prioritizing safety concerns, planning, supervision, and training efforts for nighttime construction. This study contributes to developing more targeted, evidence-informed safety strategies in nighttime construction in the Indian construction sector.