Agent-based simulation framework for enhanced construction site risk estimation and safety management

Despite ongoing efforts to boost safety through new regulations and technologies, the construction industry still grapples with significant safety and accident issues. Construction sites are complex and dynamic environments, teeming with workers, vehicles, and machinery engaged in various activities. This complexity often leads to unpredictable hazardous events, making safety management a challenging task heavily reliant on the experience of safety managers. This paper introduces a framework to aid safety managers in risk assessment by developing an advanced simulation system. The system merges 4D Building Information Modeling (BIM) Simulation with 3D Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS) within a game engine environment. This integration allows for the simulation of various entities (agents) and their interactions on a construction site, offering a detailed view of potential hazards. The proposed system features an automatic Prevention through Design (PtD) method. This method predicts hazards by analyzing the likelihood of occurrence, vulnerability, and exposure values during the planning phase. It simulates agent behaviors, records interactions leading to hazardous events, and visualizes these interactions as hazard exposure heatmaps in the 4D BIM model. The model reflects various site configurations over time, helping safety managers to strategically organize activities and workspaces to minimize risks. The framework follows the ISO 31000:2018 risk definition and addresses the complexity of construction site systems and their risk management issues. It discusses the key components of the framework, including the rules of agent behavior based on game theory, management of BIM data for 3D scenario creation, and a detection and visualization system for monitoring agent interactions. Overall, this framework seeks to enhance risk assessment effectiveness in the construction industry by leveraging BIM and advanced simulation techniques to provide valuable insights for improving site safety management.