34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) - Singapore, Singapore - 2026

https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0233

Analysis of suicide rates in construction and how lean can help reverse the trends

Min Liu1, Thais da C. L. Alves2 & Weilin He3

1Professor, Abdallah H. Yabroudi Endowed Prof. in Sustainable Civil Infrastructure, Dept. of Civil and Env. Eng., Syracuse Univ., Syracuse, NY 13244, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-3070-7109
2Professor, AGC-Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Eng.& Mgmt., Civil, Construction & Env. Eng. Dept., San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-7928-9190
3PhD Student, Dept. of Civil and Env. Eng., Syracuse Univ., Syracuse, NY 13244, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0009-0001-2881-7499

Abstract

Suicide rates in Construction are among the highest in the industry, a problem that appears to have been amplified after the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents an analysis of data obtained from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2003 to 2023, including 27,388 deaths by suicide across the top five occupations where these deaths occurred. The authors present the data and discuss potential solutions based on another study which points out how Lean Construction tools and practices can improve the sense of belonging in construction projects.

Keywords

Construction workers, suicide, belongingness, stress, depression.

Files


Full Text
 

Reference

Download: BibTeX | RIS Format

Reference in APA 7th edition format:

Liu, M., Alves, T. C. L. & He, W.. (2026). Analysis of suicide rates in construction and how lean can help reverse the trends. In Hamzeh, F., Poshdar, M., & Garcia-Lopez,, N. P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) (pp. 390–401). https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0233

Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:

Liu, M., Alves, T. C. L. & He, W.. (2026). Analysis of suicide rates in construction and how lean can help reverse the trends. IGLC34. https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0233

 

Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.

2015 © All Rights Reserved.