The Effect of Season on Construction Accidents in Saudi Arabia

Construction workers are exposed to extreme conditions over a large portion of the work day during the different seasons of the year when working on construction sites. Some studies have discussed the effect of seasonal timing of work-related injuries and concluded that more injuries occur during the summer months [1]. Other studies concluded that accidents are more likely to occur during rainy seasons [2]. Construction accidents data from 2004 to 2011 were obtained from the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI). A two way ANOVA analysis showed that there was no significant difference among the years in terms of number of accidents, but there was a significant difference among seasons. Scheffe testing showed that spring had the highest number of accidents followed by summer; and winter had the lowest number of accidents followed by fall. The regression model with indicator variables showed that the relationship of spring to other seasons were significant. In general, spring and summer seasons had significantly higher accidents than fall and winter. Therefore, thinking about safety regulations at construction sites, preparation, having the right programs, and timely equipment checking is the biggest defense against accident occurrence especially in spring and summer