ISM-MICMAC based safety risk sources analysis and control measures for underground engineering of urban rail transit projects

Vigorously developing urban rail transit projects lowers the growing pressure on public transport in densely populated cities. However, accidents frequently occur due to the complex construction environment and diverse risk source factors emerging in urban rail transit construction. Existing research on the causes of urban rail transit construction accidents is mostly limited to the analysis of individual factors. This has negatively affected risk control of projects where risk factors for accidents have mutual influence. This paper adopted an integrated ISM-MICMAC approach to analyze and control urban rail transit construction accident risks. Through the analysis of China’s urban rail transit construction accidents (N = 134) from 2001 to 2019, this study 1) identified 18 risk source factors and their influencing relationships, 2) established a five-level Interpretive Structure Model (ISM) with 38 causal paths, and 3) classified the risk source factors using the Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) procedure. All causal paths starting with the driver factors were then analyzed. Truncation factors and control measures were proposed to prevent accidents. Globally, China’s urban rail transit projects are large in number and size and cover a wide range of geological conditions. The analysis and control of accident risks in these projects provide valuable insights into risk management of urban rail transit construction in other countries.