TY - JOUR
T1 - On-site safety inspection of tower cranes: A blockchain-enabled conceptual framework
AU - Wu, Haitao
AU - Zhong, Botao
AU - Li, Heng
AU - Chi, Hung-lin
AU - Wang, Yuhang
N1 - Funding Information:
This research is partly supported by the “ National Natural Science Foundation of China ” (No. 71732001 , No. 51878311 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - The on-site safety inspection is an essential procedure to ensure tower cranes’ safety in the usage stage by finding equipment defects (e.g., loose bolts) and potential environmental hazards (e.g., poor ground conditions) in advance. However, the following two issues should be tackled to secure its effectiveness: (1) how to guarantee the execution of safety inspections, especially under a tight construction schedule? and (2) how to ensure the inspection information is immutable, transparent, and traceable? This research, guided by the design science approach, aimed to develop a blockchain-enabled framework for assuring the effectiveness of on-site safety inspection of tower cranes (OSITC). First, a literature review was conducted to identify OSITC challenges and blockchain potential. Then, a blockchain-based conceptual framework was provided, with two major components: smart contracts and the consensus process, being discussed. Finally, using the Hyperledger Fabric architecture, a prototype system was developed to instantiate and test the proposed framework. The findings suggest that the blockchain can protect the OSITC's effectiveness by allowing safety inspections to be automatically executed via smart contracts and providing relevant stakeholders with trustworthy inspection records via consensus algorithms. This study provides a novel solution for tower crane safety management to construction researchers and practitioners, inspiring more discussions about blockchain technology.
AB - The on-site safety inspection is an essential procedure to ensure tower cranes’ safety in the usage stage by finding equipment defects (e.g., loose bolts) and potential environmental hazards (e.g., poor ground conditions) in advance. However, the following two issues should be tackled to secure its effectiveness: (1) how to guarantee the execution of safety inspections, especially under a tight construction schedule? and (2) how to ensure the inspection information is immutable, transparent, and traceable? This research, guided by the design science approach, aimed to develop a blockchain-enabled framework for assuring the effectiveness of on-site safety inspection of tower cranes (OSITC). First, a literature review was conducted to identify OSITC challenges and blockchain potential. Then, a blockchain-based conceptual framework was provided, with two major components: smart contracts and the consensus process, being discussed. Finally, using the Hyperledger Fabric architecture, a prototype system was developed to instantiate and test the proposed framework. The findings suggest that the blockchain can protect the OSITC's effectiveness by allowing safety inspections to be automatically executed via smart contracts and providing relevant stakeholders with trustworthy inspection records via consensus algorithms. This study provides a novel solution for tower crane safety management to construction researchers and practitioners, inspiring more discussions about blockchain technology.
KW - Blockchain
KW - Construction safety management
KW - Safety inspection
KW - Smart contract
KW - Tower crane safety
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130417718&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105815
DO - 10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105815
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0925-7535
VL - 153
JO - safety science
JF - safety science
M1 - 105815
ER -
