Cognitive Approach to Construction Safety: Task Demand-Capability Model

In the evolution of safety research, the literature identifies three paradigms: normative, error-based, and cognitive engineering. Traditionally, strategies to improve construction safety have been based on the normative paradigm—compliance with prescribed safety rules. However, the normative approach ignores how the characteristics of the production system and team processes influence the work behaviors and the possibility of errors and accidents. These factors are the focus of the cognitive engineering perspective. This study develops a cognitive model of construction safety, which conceptualizes safety as an emergent property of the production system. The model proposes that during a task, the task demands and the applied capabilities determine the potential for errors and accidents. It also proposes that the production practices and the teamwork processes of the crew shape the work situations that the workers face—that is, the task demands and the applied capability. Empirical evidence from recent case studies is discussed. The cognitive perspective shifts the focus of accident prevention from conformance with rules to the issues of task demands and applied capabilities, and the factors affecting them—such as work design, workload, resource allocation, and team processes.