Time series analysis of construction accidents in Saudi Arabia with consideration of COVID19 lockdown effects

Abstract Safety in the construction sector is a critical concern due to the high frequency of accidents and their impact on worker health, project timelines, and productivity. To the best of our knowledge, no prior study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has applied quantitative time series forec...

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Main Author: Badr T. Alsulami
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16509-0
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author Badr T. Alsulami
author_facet Badr T. Alsulami
author_sort Badr T. Alsulami
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Safety in the construction sector is a critical concern due to the high frequency of accidents and their impact on worker health, project timelines, and productivity. To the best of our knowledge, no prior study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has applied quantitative time series forecasting to construction accident data. This study analyzes over a decade of monthly accident records (January 2011–September 2022) from the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) using three univariate forecasting models: Seasonal AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA), Holt–Winters exponential smoothing, and Simple Exponential Smoothing (SES). The analysis identifies recurring seasonal patterns, long-term trends, and quantifies the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on accident rates. SARIMA (1,1,1) (1,1,1,12) achieved the best performance, with a Mean Absolute Error of 74.75 and Root Mean Squared Error of 103.77, effectively capturing both seasonal cycles and trend behavior. By integrating historical pattern analysis with predictive modeling, the study provides a data-driven basis for proactive safety planning and accident prevention in the Saudi construction industry.
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spelling doaj-art-20c1ebd2aa6547cfb5429901326f41ea2025-08-24T11:22:08ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111910.1038/s41598-025-16509-0Time series analysis of construction accidents in Saudi Arabia with consideration of COVID19 lockdown effectsBadr T. Alsulami0Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Architecture, Umm Al-Qura UniversityAbstract Safety in the construction sector is a critical concern due to the high frequency of accidents and their impact on worker health, project timelines, and productivity. To the best of our knowledge, no prior study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has applied quantitative time series forecasting to construction accident data. This study analyzes over a decade of monthly accident records (January 2011–September 2022) from the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) using three univariate forecasting models: Seasonal AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA), Holt–Winters exponential smoothing, and Simple Exponential Smoothing (SES). The analysis identifies recurring seasonal patterns, long-term trends, and quantifies the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on accident rates. SARIMA (1,1,1) (1,1,1,12) achieved the best performance, with a Mean Absolute Error of 74.75 and Root Mean Squared Error of 103.77, effectively capturing both seasonal cycles and trend behavior. By integrating historical pattern analysis with predictive modeling, the study provides a data-driven basis for proactive safety planning and accident prevention in the Saudi construction industry.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16509-0Construction safetyKingdom of saudi arabiaTime series modeling
spellingShingle Badr T. Alsulami
Time series analysis of construction accidents in Saudi Arabia with consideration of COVID19 lockdown effects
Scientific Reports
Construction safety
Kingdom of saudi arabia
Time series modeling
title Time series analysis of construction accidents in Saudi Arabia with consideration of COVID19 lockdown effects
title_full Time series analysis of construction accidents in Saudi Arabia with consideration of COVID19 lockdown effects
title_fullStr Time series analysis of construction accidents in Saudi Arabia with consideration of COVID19 lockdown effects
title_full_unstemmed Time series analysis of construction accidents in Saudi Arabia with consideration of COVID19 lockdown effects
title_short Time series analysis of construction accidents in Saudi Arabia with consideration of COVID19 lockdown effects
title_sort time series analysis of construction accidents in saudi arabia with consideration of covid19 lockdown effects
topic Construction safety
Kingdom of saudi arabia
Time series modeling
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16509-0
work_keys_str_mv AT badrtalsulami timeseriesanalysisofconstructionaccidentsinsaudiarabiawithconsiderationofcovid19lockdowneffects