Assessing the Safety Risks of Civil Engineering Laboratories Based on Lab Criticity Index: A Case Study in Jiangsu Province

Yi Zhang, Peng Mao, Hongyang Li, Yuxin Xu, Dan You, Hui Liu, Wei Huang and Jingfeng Yuan
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Yi Zhang: Department of Construction Management, College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Peng Mao: Department of Construction Management, College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Hongyang Li: Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Yuxin Xu: Department of Construction Management, College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Dan You: Department of Construction Management, College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Hui Liu: Department of Construction Management, College of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Wei Huang: School of Civil Engineering, Sanjiang University, Nanjing 210012, China
Jingfeng Yuan: Department of Construction and Real Estate, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-24

Abstract: With the rapid development of the construction industry, an increasing amount of attention were paid by universities to the development of civil engineering experiment courses so as to improve the practical research abilities of students. In recent years, due to the frequent occurrence of civil engineering laboratory accidents, it has become an urgent issue regarding on what factors influencing safety risks and how to assess and reduce the safety risks in civil engineering laboratories. Based on the lab criticity index (LCI) model, the research specificities of civil engineering laboratories were analyzed through literature review and expert interviews and 13 risk factors of civil engineering laboratories, from the four aspects of man, object, management, and environment, identified. The data for each parameter in the LCI model was obtained through a questionnaire survey, and finally the LCI value was calculated to evaluate priority. Among them, insufficient safety awareness of operators, danger due to equipment failure, imperfect management policies, and complex floor conditions were listed as the most common risk factors. Based on the LCI model, the worsening factors of these four risk factors were further analyzed. The LCI model is applied to the new research field of safety risk assessment in civil engineering laboratories that few researchers have studied before and a risk list for civil engineering laboratories was created. We revealed the safety status of civil engineering laboratories in Jiangsu Province and provided feasible suggestions for improving the management and supervision of civil engineering laboratories at universities. It can strengthen operator awareness of the risks in civil engineering laboratories and improve the social group’s attention to the safety risks of the laboratories, thus reducing the accidents’ possibility and seriousness of civil engineering laboratories.

Keywords: civil engineering laboratories; safety risk assessment; LCI; risk factors; worsening factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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