A Novel Safety Risk Assessment Based on Fuzzy Set Theory and Decision Methods in High-Rise Buildings

The high-rise construction industry has particular features, such as prolonged construction periods and constant change in the workplace. These features may have turned it into the most dangerous industry, given its significant mortality rate. This research aims to identify effective criteria for high-rise buildings’ safety issues and rank the most critical risks to level up the safety of these projects. This research is divided into two phases: In Phase I, the effective criteria in the literature on the occurrence of accidents are divided into three main classes, and their weights are determined using the best–worst method. In Phase II, the existing risks are ranked using the fuzzy Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija Kompromisno Resenje (FUZZY VIKOR) method. The results indicate that safety training and monitoring, which account for approximately 35% of the total weight, are the most influential criteria for risk occurrence. The risk of falling from heights has been ranked first as the most critical safety risk according to the eight criteria, including safety training and monitoring. The total weight of criteria in which falling from height attains the first rank equals 0.688. Damages caused by working with manual tools and equipment have the highest priority in four criteria, and the total weight of 0.1591 attains the second rank. The results of this research comply with the current situation of the construction industry and pave the way for future research on high-rise construction projects.