Identification of accident scenarios involving scaffolding

Abstract The aim of the undertaken research was to identify the most frequently repeated accident scenarios in relation to accidents that involve scaffolding. The source of knowledge was accident documentation containing information on the circumstances of accidents, as well as their course and consequences. As part of the research, an IT Database (ITD) was developed, which involved accidents that occurred in Poland over the past five years which were related to work on scaffolding. An original graphical, mathematical and IT process model was developed in order to enable a large set of accidents involving construction scaffolding to be studied. Due to the fact that every accident proceeds according to a different scenario, a map of possible accident scenarios was developed and presented in the form of a directed graph. Graph algorithms, including the Dijkstra algorithm, were used to build the IT model. Based on the information contained in the ITD, the course of the accident sequence was analysed in the proposed graph. The most probable accident scenarios, the probability of their occurrence, and the course of the critical path were determined. The obtained results constitute a starting point for estimating the occupational risk associated with working on scaffoldings.