Identifying root causes of fatal accidents at construction sites in Ho Chi Minh City

This paper presents the results from a survey on root causes that led to fatal accidents in construction projects In Vietnam. The survey was conducted by means of structured questionnaires and interviews with relevant individuals such as Foremen, field engineers, and project managers working in construction companies located in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city of Vietnam. The survey sample consists of in total 91 fatal accident cases that occurred in construction projects during the years 1996-2005 and were recorded in a report at the Vietnam Department of Labor-Invalids-Social Affairs. The current effort is aimed at determining the essential measures for avoiding fatal accidents that have been increasingly taking place in Vietnam construction firms. The findings from the survey provided a necessary basis for determination of critical factors to be used as safety indexes in developing a checklist for preventing fatal accidents in future construction project