Despite the continuous progress of tunnel construction technology and safety management technology, road tunnel construction safety still faces many challenges in China, such as how to ensure the effective management and safety control of people and materials, how to ensure the implementation of technology and program implementation, risk assessment of construction site environmental information, etc. Exploring the causes of tunnel construction accidents and understanding the properties of the factors and their interrelationships can effectively control the sources of risk and contribute to the safety control of tunnel construction. Therefore, we have collected 30 formal accident investigation reports from the government safety supervision and management department from 2005 to 2021, including detailed investigation and accident analysis. Based on grounded theory, a qualitative research method to generalize experience through direct observation, abstraction, and analysis of data, we use Nvivo11 software to analyze reports and obtain 6 selective codes, 16 spindle codes, and 43 open codes. In addition, we construct a theoretical model of tunnel construction accident influencing factors, which passed the saturation test. The Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) model is used to analyze the influencing mechanism and interaction relationships of these factors. The two dimensions of influence degree and centrality are used to determine the critical influencing factors of tunnel construction accidents in mountainous areas. They are security awareness and professionalism. According to the cause degree, the influencing factors are divided into cause and result factors. Finally, the basis and suggestions for reducing construction accidents are presented.
Keywords: DEMATEL model; grounded theory; influencing factors; safety engineering; tunnel construction.