Enhancing Readability in Construction Safety Reports Using a Two-Step Quantitative Analysis Approach
This study addresses the limitations of South Korea’s Design for Safety (DfS) reports, which are a critical component of construction safety reports (CSRs) but rely heavily on text, limiting readability and visual comprehension. While previous studies have highlighted the readability challenges in c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/12/1994 |
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| author | Jihyun Oh Jaewook Jeong Jaemin Jeong Louis Kumi Hyeongjun Mun Hyugsoo Kwon Hoyoung Kim |
| author_facet | Jihyun Oh Jaewook Jeong Jaemin Jeong Louis Kumi Hyeongjun Mun Hyugsoo Kwon Hoyoung Kim |
| author_sort | Jihyun Oh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study addresses the limitations of South Korea’s Design for Safety (DfS) reports, which are a critical component of construction safety reports (CSRs) but rely heavily on text, limiting readability and visual comprehension. While previous studies have highlighted the readability challenges in construction safety documents, few have quantitatively combined layout and readability assessments using objective metrics. To enhance information delivery, this research proposes an improved CSR format and quantitatively evaluates its effectiveness compared to the conventional format. A two-step analysis was conducted using document layout analysis, pixel-based methods, and the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) to assess layout and readability. The results showed that conventional CSRs consist of nearly 100% text, while the improved format integrates approximately 70% images and 30% text, enhancing visual clarity without altering content. The improved format achieved a higher average FRES score of 50.24 compared to 44.52 for the conventional format, indicating a 1.12-fold increase in readability. These findings suggest that the improved CSR format significantly enhances comprehension and information delivery. The proposed quantitative analysis method offers a practical approach for evaluating and improving document design in construction safety, and it can be applied to other fields to improve the effectiveness of written communication. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8417a309458649d09cde4c2b8a314e4b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj-art-8417a309458649d09cde4c2b8a314e4b2025-08-20T03:26:51ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-06-011512199410.3390/buildings15121994Enhancing Readability in Construction Safety Reports Using a Two-Step Quantitative Analysis ApproachJihyun Oh0Jaewook Jeong1Jaemin Jeong2Louis Kumi3Hyeongjun Mun4Hyugsoo Kwon5Hoyoung Kim6Department of Business Administration and Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, 27 King’s College Cir, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, CanadaDepartment of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Safety Management, Korea South-East Power Co., 32 Sadeul-ro 123beon-gil, Jinju-si 52852, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Safety Management, Korea South-East Power Co., 32 Sadeul-ro 123beon-gil, Jinju-si 52852, Republic of KoreaThis study addresses the limitations of South Korea’s Design for Safety (DfS) reports, which are a critical component of construction safety reports (CSRs) but rely heavily on text, limiting readability and visual comprehension. While previous studies have highlighted the readability challenges in construction safety documents, few have quantitatively combined layout and readability assessments using objective metrics. To enhance information delivery, this research proposes an improved CSR format and quantitatively evaluates its effectiveness compared to the conventional format. A two-step analysis was conducted using document layout analysis, pixel-based methods, and the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) to assess layout and readability. The results showed that conventional CSRs consist of nearly 100% text, while the improved format integrates approximately 70% images and 30% text, enhancing visual clarity without altering content. The improved format achieved a higher average FRES score of 50.24 compared to 44.52 for the conventional format, indicating a 1.12-fold increase in readability. These findings suggest that the improved CSR format significantly enhances comprehension and information delivery. The proposed quantitative analysis method offers a practical approach for evaluating and improving document design in construction safety, and it can be applied to other fields to improve the effectiveness of written communication.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/12/1994construction safety reportdocument layout analysisFlesch Reading Ease ScorereadabilityMonte Carlo simulationAnderson–Darling goodness-of-fit test |
| spellingShingle | Jihyun Oh Jaewook Jeong Jaemin Jeong Louis Kumi Hyeongjun Mun Hyugsoo Kwon Hoyoung Kim Enhancing Readability in Construction Safety Reports Using a Two-Step Quantitative Analysis Approach Buildings construction safety report document layout analysis Flesch Reading Ease Score readability Monte Carlo simulation Anderson–Darling goodness-of-fit test |
| title | Enhancing Readability in Construction Safety Reports Using a Two-Step Quantitative Analysis Approach |
| title_full | Enhancing Readability in Construction Safety Reports Using a Two-Step Quantitative Analysis Approach |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing Readability in Construction Safety Reports Using a Two-Step Quantitative Analysis Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing Readability in Construction Safety Reports Using a Two-Step Quantitative Analysis Approach |
| title_short | Enhancing Readability in Construction Safety Reports Using a Two-Step Quantitative Analysis Approach |
| title_sort | enhancing readability in construction safety reports using a two step quantitative analysis approach |
| topic | construction safety report document layout analysis Flesch Reading Ease Score readability Monte Carlo simulation Anderson–Darling goodness-of-fit test |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/12/1994 |
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