What the paper contributes
This study reconstructs how fatal falls develop from contributing factors through immediate and root causes. It combines frequency analysis, prioritisation and fault-tree logic using 128 Malaysian fatal cases.
Method
Accident narratives were coded into contributing factors, immediate causes and root-cause categories. Those elements were then assembled into fault-tree pathways and ranked using risk and prioritisation matrices.
Main finding
The highest-occurrence causes included inadequate leadership and supervision, failure to use PPE, and inadequate or poorly followed work standards, which recorded an 85.15% occurrence rate.
Practical value
The framework shows not only which causes occur frequently but how they can combine into fatal pathways, helping safety professionals target upstream controls before a near miss becomes a fatal event.