Understanding the Causation Mechanism of Construction Workers’ Unsafe Behaviors in Railway Tunnel Engineering Based on 24model and Social Network Analysis

Construction workers’ unsafe behaviors (CWUBs) are a primary cause of construction safety accidents in railway tunnel engineering (RTE). Understanding the causation mechanism between construction safety accidents, CWUBs, and their influencing factors is crucial for improving safety management. However, research in this area remains insufficient. This study systematically identifies 9 types of construction safety accidents, 11 types of CWUBs, and 35 influencing factors, covering three core dimensions: organizational management, individual safety capacity, and safety environment. Using the 24model, this study qualitatively elucidates the causation mechanism and identifies the primary and secondary causation relationships among 55 factors. On this basis, a network model of CWUBs in RTE is developed and quantitatively analyzed using social network analysis from the perspectives of the overall network, block network, and individual network, resulting in the identification of a critical network comprising 27 key factors. Based on the findings, nine targeted intervention measures are proposed, encompassing pre-emptive prevention, on-site control, and emergency management. This study innovatively integrates the 24model and social network analysis, systematically analyzing the causation mechanism of CWUBs in RTE from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. This research not only provides a systematic and innovative analytical framework for CWUBs in RTE, addressing a critical gap in the study of unsafe behaviors and accident causation in complex systems, but also offers practical guidance for safety risk management. Additionally, it enriches the theoretical framework of unsafe behavior research, providing valuable insights for further studies in related fields.