Throughout the world, the construction industry has had a poor safety record, and is disproportionately more dangerous when compared to other industries. The major cause of construction accidents is attributed to unsafe behaviors and work practices, which are viewed as the direct result of having a poor safety culture. The development of a mature safety culture has been recognized as a vital element in the achievement of high standards of safety, alongside an effective safety management system. A better understanding of how to improve safety culture greatly assists an organization to allocate appropriate safety resources, and thus improve its overall occupational health and safety performance.

The system dynamics (SD) modeling was first introduced by Forrester (1961) as a method for modeling and analyzing the behavior of complex social systems, particularly in an industrial context. It has been used to examine various social, economic, and environmental systems, where a holistic view is important, and feedback loops are critical to the understanding of interrelationships. A SD simulation approach relies on an understanding of complex interrelationships existing among different elements within a system. This understanding is achieved by developing a model that can simulate and quantify the behavior of the system over time. Such simulations are considered essential in understanding the dynamics of the system.