Safety in construction--a comprehensive description of the characteristics of high safety standards in construction work, from the combined perspective of supervisors and experienced workers

A Bayesian network model integrating organizational, individual and psychological factors for strengthening construction worker safety behavior

Objectives. Construction worker safety behavior (CWSB) may be affected by a confluence of multilevel and interrelated factors. Cultivating and maintaining CWSB is vital for improving construction safety. Current studies focus on organization-level or individual-level CWSB antecedents. However, few studies have examined the influence of psychological factors on CWSB, thereby reducing the joint effects of multilevel factors on CWSB. Methods. To determine effective strategies for strengthening CWSB, this study adopted the Bayesian network technique to explore the interrelationships between CWSB and its antecedent factors. A Bayesian belief network model was developed and trained with data collected from Chinese construction workers, which connected organizational, individual and psychological factors with CWSB. Results. According to the sensitivity analysis, safety knowledge, safety climate and psychological capital are the three most significant influencing factors for CWSB. A combined strategy that enhances safety knowledge, safety climate and communication competence simultaneously is the most effective option for strengthening CWSB. The validation and robustness of the network showed good accuracy for safety behavior judgment. Conclusion. This study proposes an alternative way to improve safety behavior by identifying its interactive causes and illustrates the importance of initiating systematic safety measures, which may help to mitigate the problem of safety plateau.

Safety culture development in the construction industry: The case of a safety park in Sweden

The problem of occupational accidents in the construction industry has necessitated a focus on proactive measures such as safety management programs. An example of this is safety parks, i.e. facilities where employees and managers from different construction companies can participate in site-specific activities and train in safety-related matters in a realistic context. Two specific focus areas are often present within these types of safety management programs: hands-on safety training and safety culture development as being within the purview of management. The purpose of this article is to investigate the developers' intentions with the park in relation to safety culture development. Twenty interviews were conducted with experts in the area of health and safety. Results indicate that the safety park can contribute as a mirror for the companies own operations, with new information and knowledge of how work can be performed with safety being prioritized, to developing communication regarding safety-related matters, and finally the stations at the park may initiate a translation process as to how the lessons learned at the park can be applied to the participants' own workplaces. All in all, the activities at the park can be said to be normative in nature, i.e. the developers seemingly have a desire to steer the safety culture development in a certain direction. There is a need for further research focusing on the concept of safety culture in these types of programs and, more broadly, in relation to its intended industry-wide effects.

Hand-arm vibration: Swedish carpenters' perceptions of health and safety management

BACKGROUND

Workers in the construction industry are highly exposed to vibration from handheld equipment, which can have negative effects on the nerves and blood vessels in the hands. Employers in this industry often fail to comply with legislation regarding vibration exposure.

AIMS

To assess carpenters' perceptions of proactive health and safety (H&S) management regarding hand-arm vibration exposure at construction sites in Sweden.

METHODS

The carpenters answered a questionnaire on their perception of the implementation of H&S management, on symptoms indicating injury and on the use of vibrating equipment.

RESULTS

One hundred and ninety-four carpenters from 4 construction companies and 18 construction sites completed the questionnaire. Attitudes to H&S management were generally positive. However, 36% of the carpenters reported that the H&S regulations and routines did not function in practice, and 40% claimed they did not receive necessary information on the exposure and effects of vibration. Most respondents (74%) perceived a high risk of injury in general in their work. Younger carpenters, carpenters employed at smaller companies and carpenters with symptoms indicating injury or with higher vibration exposure reported more negative perceptions.

CONCLUSIONS

In general, the carpenters were positive about management's commitment to H&S management. However, the results indicate deficiencies in the way in which this commitment is applied in practice at the workplace. This highlights the importance of raising awareness concerning vibration exposure and possible injuries, and strengthening proactive H&S programmes, especially in smaller companies.

Improving Safety Performance of Construction Workers through Learning from Incidents

Learning from incidents (LFI) is a process to seek, analyse, and disseminate the severity and causes of incidents, and take corrective measures to prevent the recurrence of similar events. However, the effects of LFI on the learner's safety performance remain unexplored. This study aimed to identify the effects of the major LFI factors on the safety performance of workers. A questionnaire survey was administered among 210 construction workers in China. A factor analysis was conducted to reveal the underlying LFI factors. A stepwise multiple linear regression was performed to analyse the relationship between the underlying LFI factors and safety performance. A Bayesian Network (BN) was further modelled to identify the probabilistic relational network between the underlying LFI factors and safety performance. The results of BN modelling showed that all the underlying factors were important to improve the safety performance of construction workers. Additionally, sensitivity analysis revealed that the two underlying factors-information sharing and utilization and management commitment-had the largest effects on improving workers' safety performance. The proposed BN also helped find out the most efficient strategy to improve workers' safety performance. This research may serve as a useful guide for better implementation of LFI practices in the construction sector.

Innovative temporary edge protection system in trench works for the construction industry and rescue operations

This study assessed an innovative temporary edge protection system (TEPS) designed and developed to improve the ergonomics, health and safety at trench works in the construction industry, which ranks as one of the most hazardous worldwide. A wooden prototype of this innovative TEPS was built, and its mechanical resistance was compared to a conventional one. Thereafter, field tests were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of this pioneering TEPS. Both in analytical studies and field tests, the mechanical resistance to static loads of the TEPS complied with EU standards, and outperformed the conventional TEPS. The novel TEPS is effective as fall protection for different trench shoring systems and in buildings without edge protection systems. Moreover, this novel lightweight TEPS is easy to transport, with simple and safe on-site installation.

Managing the Wellbeing of Elite Rugby Union Players from an Occupational Safety and Health Perspective

The intense, physical contact nature of rugby union often encourages the normalization of risk-taking behaviour resulting in a relatively high acceptance of risk. This study aims to explore safety culture in rugby union from an OSH perspective, with the purpose of assisting coaches and management in their decision-making processes to improve players' health, welfare, and long-term well-being. In terms of data collection, this study involved semi-structured interviews with senior support staff (n = 15) in elite rugby union. Interview transcripts underwent inductive analysis prior to an abductive analysis that was guided by an established occupational-safety-and-health (OSH) framework. Rugby union players' safety can be considered from two dimensions: management's commitment to safety (i.e., safety prioritization, safety empowerment, and safety justice), players' involvement in safety (i.e., safety prioritization, and trust in other players' safety competence, and players' safety concern for the opposition players). Within the themes identified, players' attitude towards their opponents' safety which has been rarely considered as a factor for injury prevention is also discussed in this study. If sport support staff (i.e., managers/coaches/medical) can become more involved in players' performance-orientated training using OSH management processes to aid in their decision-making, their exists the capacity to benefit players' safe return to play after injury rehabilitation. Meanwhile, directing the development of appropriate behavioural educational interventions to raise safety-awareness amongst players can improve their long-term health and well-being and provide them with the necessary safety and health information to support their own decision-making processes. As a multidisciplinary design, this study contributes new multidisciplinary insights that have the potential to advance managerial practices utilizing an OSH perspective, including decision-making supporting risk alleviation for safety and long-term health and wellbeing initiatives in competitive team sports.

Review of Management Comprehensiveness on Occupational Health and Safety for PPP Transportation Projects

Sustainability of large transport infrastructure projects is directly linked with the working conditions and procedures in construction and maintenance. Furthermore, safety is one of the most crucial performance indicators for transport infrastructure operators, dealing with management priorities, policies and measures closely related to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). This issue is extremely important especially for public private partnerships (PPP), extensively adopted in transport sector in many regions, where detailed contacts and OHS provisions should be considered. By a systemic analysis, this research identifies the key management factors influence safety performance in the PPP/concession projects and the management comprehensives over those factors. The survey analysis framework for the evaluation of OHS management performance for large transport operators are breakdown, promoting the structure and the expected outcomes toward sustainable management of transport infrastructure. The application is the Greek motorways concessions projects that implemented in the last decade. The research outputs provide key messages to planners, managers, decision makers, and stakeholders over large transport infrastructure sustainable development, promoting OHS performance aspects should be taken into consideration in operation management contacts and highlighting the link between OHS, level of safety, and sustainability. The case study structure and outputs are valuable for comparisons with similar cases, provide the framework for using in other places and/or cases and stimulate the interest for further research.

Flow-down of safety from general contractors to subcontractors working on commercial construction projects

Small and medium construction firms have high injury rates but lack resources to establish and maintain effective safety programs. General contractors with exemplary safety programs may serve as intermediaries to support development of smaller firm's safety programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the flow-down influence of general contractors' safety programs on the safety climate and safety behaviors among workers employed by small and medium sized subcontractors. This study collected workers' perception of safety climate and safety behaviors while working on projects with general contractors with exemplary safety programs and other general contractors. We also documented the safety program policies and practices of subcontractors, and recorded the changes in safety policies required from general contractors with exemplary programs. We examined differences in safety program changes between small and medium sized subcontractors. Results showed workers perceived general contractors with exemplary safety programs had stronger safety climates than other general contractors. Smaller subcontractors had less robust safety programs with fewer safety elements than larger subcontractors, and therefore, many of the smaller subcontractors had to adopt more safety policies and practices to work for general contractors than large subcontractors. These findings suggest that general contractors with robust safety programs can serve as intermediaries and influence the development of the safety programs of small sized firms. Future work will need to determine if smaller firms eventually adopt safety policies and practices as part of their permanent safety program.

The Factors Affecting Unsafe Behaviors of Iranian Workers: A Qualitative Study Based on Grounded Theory

Background

Some researchers state that they are not yet able to provide a deep understanding of the underlying causes of unsafe behaviors (UBs). Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the attitudes and experiences of Iranian workers of UBs.

Methods

This present study was conducted in 35 industries using a semistructured interview based on grounded theory. Forty participants were interviewed, including 13 industrial safety and health experts and 27 workers and supervisors. The analysis of the present study consisted of a three-step coding process including open, axial, and selective coding.

Results

The results showed that the factors affecting UBs could be classified into three categories: organizational, individual, and socioeconomic factors. Organizational factors were divided into 6 parts: procedure and environmental conditions, communications, monitoring, organizational safety culture, resource allocation, and human resources. Socioeconomic factors had three subcategories: community safety culture, type of organizational ownership, and economic problems. Finally, the individual factors were classified into two categories of personality traits and individual competence.

Conclusion

The results showed that organizational factors were the most categorized, and it is estimated that this factor has a more important role in the UBs. Of course, to better understand the close relationship between these factors and find the weight and importance of each factor, it needs to measure it with multicriteria decision systems.

The changed relations between the construction industry and occupational health services

BACKGROUND: From the 1960s until the beginning of the 1990s, the construction industry in Sweden received support for health and safety issues from Bygghälsan, an Occupational Health Service (OHS) that targeted the construction industry. In the 1990s, a reorganization of the OHS changed the relations between the actors involved. OBJECTIVES: This study explores these changed relations between the construction industry and the “old” industry-specific Bygghälsan versus the relations with “new” external OHS. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 interviewees from the construction industry and individuals involved in OHS which were transcribed and analyzed. RESULTS: The results suggest that OHS have changed towards a more general character instead of tailor-made services which has had a negative effect on the relations. Further, Bygghälsan was perceived as being a part of the construction industry while contemporary OHS providers were perceived as outsiders which further complicates building trustful relations. CONCLUSIONS: The relation between the construction industry and Bygghälsan was perceived as better compared to the relations with the new companies providing external OHS. The main barrier to building better relations is the perception that contemporary OHS do not have the same knowledge about the construction industry as Bygghälsan.

Deep Learning Models for Health and Safety Risk Prediction in Power Infrastructure Projects

Inappropriate management of health and safety (H&S) risk in power infrastructure projects can result in occupational accidents and equipment damage. Accidents at work have detrimental effects on workers, company, and the general public. Despite the availability of H&S incident data, utilizing them to mitigate accident occurrence effectively is challenging due to inherent limitations of existing data logging methods. In this study, we used a text-mining approach for retrieving meaningful terms from data and develop six deep learning (DL) models for H&S risks management in power infrastructure. The DL models include DNN_classify (risk or no risk), DNN_reg1 (loss time), DNN_reg2 (body injury), DNN_reg3 (plant and fleet), DNN_reg4 (equipment), and DNN_reg5 (environment). An H&S risk database obtained from a leading UK power infrastructure construction company was used in developing the models using the H2O framework of the R language. Performances of DL models were assessed and benchmarked with existing models using test data and appropriate performance metrics. The overall accuracy of the classification model was 0.93. The average R² value for the five regression models was 0.92, with mean absolute error between 0.91 and 0.94. The presented results, in addition to the developed user-interface module, will help practitioners obtain a better understanding of H&S challenges, minimize project costs (such as third-party insurance and equipment repairs), and offer effective strategies to mitigate H&S risk.

Knowledge transfer for occupational health and safety: Cultivating health and safety learning culture in construction firms

Within the last decades the incidence of workspace injuries and fatalities in the UK construction industry has declined markedly following the developments in occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems. However, safety statistics have reached a plateau and actions for further improvement of OHS management systems are called for. OHS is a form of organizational expertise that has both tacit and explicit dimensions and is situated in the ongoing practices. There is a need for institutionalization and for the transfer of knowledge across and along construction supply chains to reduce OHS risks and facilitate cultural change. The focus of this article is the factors that facilitate OHS knowledge transfer in and between organizations involved in construction projects. An interpretative methodology is used in this research to embrace tacit aspects of knowledge transfer and application. Thematic analysis is supported by a cognitive mapping technique that allows understanding of interrelationships among the concepts expressed by the respondents. This paper demonstrates inconsistency in OHS practices in construction organizations and highlights the importance of cultivating a positive safety culture to encourage transfer of lessons learnt from good practices, incidents, near misses and failures between projects, from projects to programmes and across supply chains. Governmental health and safety regulations, norms and guidelines do not include all possible safety issues specific to different working environments and tied to work contexts. The OHS system should encourage employees to report near misses, incidents and failures in a 'no-blame' context and to take appropriate actions. This research provides foundation for construction project practitioners to adopt more socially oriented approaches towards promoting learning-rich organizational contexts to overcome variation in the OHS and move beyond the current plateau reached in safety statistics.

Understanding the Sociocognitive Process of Construction Workers' Unsafe Behaviors: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach

Previous literature has recognized that workers’ unsafe behavior is the combined result of both isolated individual cognitive processes and their interaction with others. Based on the consideration of both individual cognitive factors and social organizational factors, this paper aims to develop an Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) approach to explore construction workers’ sociocognitive processes under the interaction with managers, coworkers, and foremen. The developed model is applied to explore the causes of cognitive failure of construction workers and the influence of social groups and social organizational factors on the workers’ unsafe behavior. The results indicate that (1) workers’ unsafe behaviors are gradually reduced with the interaction with managers, foremen, and workers; (2) the foreman is most influential in reducing workers’ unsafe behaviors, and their demonstration role can hardly be ignored; (3) the failure of sociocognitive process of construction workers is affected by many factors, and cognitive process errors could be corrected under social norms; and (4) among various social organizational factors, social identity has the most obvious effect on reducing workers’ unsafe behaviors, and preventive measures are more effective than reactive measures in reducing workers’ unsafe behaviors.

A comparative analysis of safety management and safety performance in twelve construction projects

INTRODUCTION

Safety management in construction is complicated due to the complex "nature" of the construction industry. The aim of this research was to identify safety management factors (e.g., risk management and site management), contextual factors (e.g., organisational complexity) and combinations of such factors connected to safety performance.

METHOD

Twelve construction projects were selected to compare their safety management and safety performance. An analytical framework was developed based on previous research, regulations, and standards where each management factor was defined. We employed qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to produce case knowledge, compare the cases, and identify connections between the factors and safety performance. The material collected and analyzed included, for example, construction planning documents, reports from OHS-inspections, safety indicators, and interviews with project leaders and OHS experts.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The research showed that: (a) the average score on 12 safety management factors was higher among projects with high safety performance compared to projects with low safety performance; (b) high safety performance can be achieved with both high and low construction complexity and organizational complexity, but these factors complicate coordination of actors and operations; (c) it is possible to achieve high safety performance despite relatively poor performance on many safety management factors; (d) eight safety management factors were found to be "necessary" for high safety performance, namely roles and responsibilities, project management, OHS management and integration, safety climate, learning, site management, staff management, and operative risk management. Site management, operative risk management, and staff management were the three factors most strongly connected to safety performance.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Construction stakeholders should understand that the ability to achieve high safety performance in construction projects is connected to key safety management factors, contextual factors, and combinations of such factors.

Sustainable Construction Project Management (SCPM) Evaluation—A Case Study of the Guangzhou Metro Line-7, PR China

As a pillar industry of the Chinese national economy, the construction sector needs to improve its level of management to embrace sustainable development. Sustainable construction project management (SCPM) performance evaluation can help to raise the level of management. However, the existing evaluation system that takes into account both the sustainable development and the dimension of traditional project management is meager. In order to address this problem, this study sets out an integrated sustainable performance evaluation method for SCPM, along with a comprehensive analysis of both traditional and future management directions. Through literature review and enterprise data analysis of the relevant factors of finance, schedule, quality, and safety, etc., indicators are filtered and classified. In order to determine the strength of each indicator, a questionnaire is administered to construction professionals within a large construction enterprise (group). From the result of the weight with an improved Group-G1 (iG1) method (finance 0.206, schedule 0.206, quality 0.185, safety 0.134, informatization 0.134, and greenization 0.134), it indicates that finance, schedule and quality management are still top three important dimensions in SCPM. However, amazingly, the greenization and informatization management is as significant as safety management. Finally, based on set pair analysis, the Guangzhou Metro Line 7 project is used as a verifying case, affirming the validity of the sustainable performance evaluation model. The above SCPM evaluation model can not only provide a guideline for construction companies’ sustainable management in China, but also serve as reference cases for other countries/regions to carry out relevant research work.

Knowledge Management Influence on Safety Management Practices

Many studies have been conducted in relation with knowledge management (KM), indicating the benefit associated with KM; among which safety management (SM) improvement is one of them. So, the aim of this article is to assess the influence of KM on SM practices in construction industry. In this regard, various factors that affect KM and SM are identified through literature review. Then, a questionnaire survey was facilitated to collect data based on the identified factors. These factors are ranked using a relative importance index (RII) to ascertain the level of importance among its group. Further, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis are carried out to test and measure the strength of the relationship between KM and SM factors. Results indicate that there exists a definite and significant relationship between the factors of KM and SM in construction industry. Overall, the results obtained from the study will assist practitioners and professionals to develop and upgrade KM and SM practices in construction industry.

Occupational safety in the construction industry

BACKGROUND

The paper is a research review focusing on occupational safety in the construction industry.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose is to present research that highlights the areas of occupational safety and risks and to identify areas where research is lacking.

METHODS

146 articles from scientific journals, mainly covering the construction industry in Europe, Canada, USA, Australia and Japan have been studied. The findings are presented under 11 categories: accident statistics; individual factors; legislation and regulations; ethical considerations; risk management; leadership, management, organization; competence; safety design; cost-benefit calculations; programs and models; and technical solutions.

RESULTS

The research is dominated by initiatives from researchers and government authorities, while the construction industry only appears as the object for the research. There is a scarcity of research on integrated systems encompassing subcontractors, as well as a lack of research with sociological perspectives on accidents. Furthermore, only a few studies have applied a gender perspective on safety in construction, i.e. there is a need of further research in this particular area.

CONCLUSIONS

A range of initiatives have been taken to increase safety in the construction industry and the initiatives are mainly reported to be successful. There are some cultural differences, but basically researchers present similar results regardless of country.

Perceptions on safety climate: a case study in the Omani construction industry

Generally, a mature safety climate and a rich safety culture contribute to achieving a safe workplace. The purpose of this paper is to examine the understanding of using safety climate and to make explicit some of the main elements that have a greater impact in the construction industry in Oman. Relevant safety climate factors from literature have been identified using specific search criteria, which resulted in 62 factors spanning over a period of 37 years from 1980 to 2017. The results of face-to-face interviews with construction professionals from chosen construction companies in Oman that show a high level of safety performance are also presented. The result shows that management commitment; alignment and integration of safety as a value; accountability across the board; supervisory management; empowerment and involvement of workers; improvement of communication; and training and education are some of the main elements that significantly affect safety climate in Oman. The common safety climate factors reported in this research are based on the views of selected interviewees working in the construction industry in Oman. It is suggested that these factors may be validated further considering views of other members of the construction team, before being used for safety climate assessment.

Improvement of inspection system for reduction of small-scale construction site accident in Korea

This study analyzed the trend of construction accidents focused on the small-scale construction sites and the correlation between the ratios of official inspection by government and total fatality injuries per 10,000 people (TFR) by construction size in Korea. The method is to analyze statistical data for the construction accidents and official safety inspection system. In construction, accidents rate and TFR are recently increasing unlike other industries. In addition, the smaller the scale of construction sites, the higher the TFR, and vice versa. The smaller the scale of construction sites, the greater the degree of difference in the TFR for each year, and vice versa. In small-scale construction sites, which have amounted less than $273,000 (£231,000), approximately 45.7% of deaths occurred on sites between $36,400 (£30,800) and $182,000 (£154,000). The ratio of inspection, which represents the ratio of official inspection proportion to site share, is in inverse proportion to the TFR by construction size. As the ratio approached zero, TFR became higher, and the higher the ratio, the lower TFR since the official inspection was mainly carried out in medium and large-scale construction sites. To get an effect of official inspection, the focus of official inspection should move onto the small-scale construction site.

Managing active cultural differences in U.S. construction workplaces: Perspectives from non-Hispanic workers

INTRODUCTION

Current census reports indicate a growing shift toward workforce diversity in the U.S. construction industry, which is largely the result of increasing participation from the Hispanic community. The data also suggest that the Hispanic workforce suffers a higher rate of fatal injuries compared to their non-Hispanic counterparts. Therefore, there is a dire need to develop and utilize new management tools and strategies to accommodate the differences in language and culture of this incoming labor force.

METHOD

The absence of these tools and strategies poses several challenges including cost overrun, schedule delay, and more importantly, higher workplace injury rates. This study aims to provide a better understanding of the contribution of cultural diversity as a factor that may influence the overall site safety.

RESULTS

As a result, this study provides further evidence that indicate that the current findings regarding the influence of active cultural differences are reliable, valid, and needs attention. Furthermore, the study provides sub-analysis results of cultural values among Hispanic workers, which suggest that workers from Mexico are less likely to speak up on safety issues when compared to other Hispanic workers. Therefore, this study has both practical and theoretical implications for managing workforce diversity and related safety performance in the U.S. construction industry. The results of the study can be used by employers and managers to adopt responsive strategies and tools to reduce the likelihood of fatal and nonfatal injuries among Hispanic workers.

Effects of organizational complexity and resources on construction site risk

INTRODUCTION

Our research is aimed at studying the relationship between risk level and organizational complexity and resources on constructions sites. Our general hypothesis is that site complexity increases risk, whereas more resources of the structure decrease risk. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach was adopted to validate our theoretical model.

METHOD

To develop our study, 957 building sites in Spain were visited and assessed in 2003-2009. All needed data were obtained using a specific tool developed by the authors to assess site risk, structure and resources (Construction Sites Risk Assessment Tool, or CONSRAT). This tool operationalizes the variables to fit our model, specifically, via a site risk index (SRI) and 10 organizational variables. Our random sample is composed largely of small building sites with general high levels of risk, moderate complexity, and low resources on site.

CONCLUSIONS

The model obtained adequate fit, and results showed empirical evidence that the factors of complexity and resources can be considered predictors of site risk level.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Consequently, these results can help companies, managers of construction and regulators to identify which organizational aspects should be improved to prevent risks on sites and consequently accidents.

Safety climate and safety behaviors in the construction industry: The importance of co-workers commitment to safety

BACKGROUND

There is growing empirical evidence that as safety climate improves work site safety practice improve. Safety climate is often measured by asking workers about their perceptions of management commitment to safety. However, it is less common to include perceptions of their co-workers commitment to safety. While the involvement of management in safety is essential, working with co-workers who value and prioritize safety may be just as important.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate a concept of safety climate that focuses on top management, supervisors and co-workers commitment to safety, which is relatively new and untested in the United States construction industry.

METHODS

Survey data was collected from a cohort of 300 unionized construction workers in the United States. The significance of direct and indirect (mediation) effects among safety climate and safety behavior factors were evaluated via structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Results indicated that safety climate was associated with safety behaviors on the job. More specifically, perceptions of co-workers commitment to safety was a mediator between both management commitment to safety climate factors and safety behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

These results support workplace health and safety interventions that build and sustain safety climate and a commitment to safety amongst work teams.

An investigation and analysis of safety issues in Polish small construction plants

The construction industry is a booming sector of the Polish economy; however, it is stigmatised by a lower classification due to high occupational risks and an unsatisfactory state of occupational safety. Safety on construction sites is compromised by small construction firms which dominate the market and have high accident rates. This article presents the results of studies (using a checklist) conducted in small Polish construction companies in terms of selected aspects of safety, such as co-operation with the general contractor, occupational health and safety documents, occupational risk assessment, organization of work, protective gear and general work equipment. The mentioned studies and analyses provided the grounds to establish the main directions of preventive measures decreasing occupational risk in small construction companies, e.g., an increase in engagement of investors and general contractors, improvement of occupational health and safety (OSH) documents, an increase in efficiency of construction site managers, better stability of employment and removal of opposing objectives between economic strategy and work safety.

Using tacit knowledge in training and accident prevention

Tacit knowledge plays an invaluable role in construction and has been labelled as the ‘most strategically important resource’ in organisations. Microconstruction firms rely heavily on the tacit knowledge acquired by their workers when managing site safety. Unfortunately, the importance of this knowledge is sometimes overlooked due to its inexpressible and informal nature. This paper investigates how microconstruction firms use tacit knowledge to prevent accidents on site, thereby improving overall site safety. An ethnographic approach was used to gather rich in-depth qualitative data on the practices of these ‘hard-to-reach’ microconstruction firms. Five case studies were conducted in the East Midlands region of the UK. Findings from the case studies suggest that workers of microconstruction firms use tacit knowledge in areas such as training newcomers and also identifying and managing imminent risks and dangers on site. Additionally, tacit knowledge plays an important role in safety communications among the workers of these microfirms; it helps establish shared understanding and a common sense of achieving their goals. This research sheds light on an underexplored area of the construction industry, which is arguably crucial in preventing accidents and ensuring the well-being of site workers.

Using tacit knowledge in training and accident prevention

Tacit knowledge plays an invaluable role in construction and has been labelled as the ‘most strategically important resource’ in organisations. Microconstruction firms rely heavily on the tacit knowledge acquired by their workers when managing site safety. Unfortunately, the importance of this knowledge is sometimes overlooked due to its inexpressible and informal nature. This paper investigates how microconstruction firms use tacit knowledge to prevent accidents on site, thereby improving overall site safety. An ethnographic approach was used to gather rich in-depth qualitative data on the practices of these ‘hard-to-reach’ microconstruction firms. Five case studies were conducted in the East Midlands region of the UK. Findings from the case studies suggest that workers of microconstruction firms use tacit knowledge in areas such as training newcomers and also identifying and managing imminent risks and dangers on site. Additionally, tacit knowledge plays an important role in safety communications among the workers of these microfirms; it helps establish shared understanding and a common sense of achieving their goals. This research sheds light on an underexplored area of the construction industry, which is arguably crucial in preventing accidents and ensuring the well-being of site workers.

Identifying behaviour patterns of construction safety using system archetypes

Construction safety management involves complex issues (e.g., different trades, multi-organizational project structure, constantly changing work environment, and transient workforce). Systems thinking is widely considered as an effective approach to understanding and managing the complexity. This paper aims to better understand dynamic complexity of construction safety management by exploring archetypes of construction safety. To achieve this, this paper adopted the ground theory method (GTM) and 22 interviews were conducted with participants in various positions (government safety inspector, client, health and safety manager, safety consultant, safety auditor, and safety researcher). Eight archetypes were emerged from the collected data: (1) safety regulations, (2) incentive programs, (3) procurement and safety, (4) safety management in small businesses (5) production and safety, (6) workers' conflicting goals, (7) blame on workers, and (8) reactive and proactive learning. These archetypes capture the interactions between a wide range of factors within various hierarchical levels and subsystems. As a free-standing tool, they advance the understanding of dynamic complexity of construction safety management and provide systemic insights into dealing with the complexity. They also can facilitate system dynamics modelling of construction safety process.

Framework for continuous assessment and improvement of occupational health and safety issues in construction companies

BACKGROUND

Construction industry is among the most hazardous industries, and needs a comprehensive and simple-to-administer tool to continuously assess and promote its health and safety performance.

METHODS

Through the study of various standard systems (mainly Health, Safety, and Environment Management System; Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 180001; and British Standard, occupational health and safety management systems-Guide 8800), seven main elements were determined for the desired framework, and then, by reviewing literature, factors affecting these main elements were determined. The relative importance of each element and its related factors was calculated at organizational and project levels. The provided framework was then implemented in three construction companies, and results were compared together.

RESULTS

THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY SHOW THAT THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE MAIN ELEMENTS AND THEIR RELATED FACTORS DIFFER BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL AND PROJECT LEVELS: leadership and commitment are the most important elements at the organization level, whereas risk assessment and management are most important at the project level.

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrated that the framework is easy to administer, and by interpreting the results, the main factors leading to the present condition of companies can be determined.

Factors that influence safety culture in construction

Although there is no consensus on how to define the safety culture of an organisation, the concept is now recognised as an essential contributor to improved occupational safety performance in construction. Indeed, the subject of safety culture has attracted considerable attention in the literature in recent years. The health and safety culture in an organisation is determined by the social and psychological relationships in the workplace. Some view safety culture as a management issue but so fuzzy to the extent that it cannot be measured or reliably changed. This paper aims to explore and to make explicit some of the key factors that influence safety culture in construction. The concepts of organisational culture and climate are firstly discussed. The concept of health and safety culture is then evaluated including the factors that influence it; its assessment and measurement methods. The results of interviews with site safety managers of construction companies that exhibit strong safety cultures are reported. The objective of this work was to determine what works for them. The results reveal that the factors that contribute to positive and negative safety cultures in construction can be grouped into six categories: organisation factors, individual factors, team factors, job design factors, management factors and supervisory factors.

Occupational injury and work organization among immigrant Latino residential construction workers

BACKGROUND

Rates of occupational injury among immigrant workers are widely believed to be underestimated. The goal of this study was to enhance understanding of the burden of occupational injury and the work organization factors underlying injury among immigrant Latino residential construction workers.

METHODS

Prospective data were obtained from a community-based sample of Latino residential construction workers (N = 107) over a 3-month period.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight participants were injured, resulting in an injury incidence rate of 55.0/100 FTE (95% CI = 41.4-71.6) during the 3-month observation period. The injury rate involving days away from work during the observation period was 3.9/100 FTE (CI = 0.2-7.2). Injuries were elevated among roofers relative to framers and general construction workers. Roofers had elevated exposure to a variety of deleterious work organization factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Although imprecise given the small sample, our results suggest a threefold to fourfold underestimate of the injury burden to immigrant Latino construction workers. Work organization may contribute to elevated rates of non-fatal occupational injury, particularly among roofers.

[Case Study] CityCenter and Cosmopolitan Construction Projects, Las Vegas, Nevada: lessons learned from the use of multiple sources and mixed methods in a safety needs assessment

PROBLEM

The present study describes a response to eight tragic deaths over an eighteen month times span on a fast track construction project on the largest commercial development project in U.S. history.

METHODS

Four versions of a survey were distributed to workers, foremen, superintendents, and senior management. In addition to standard Likert-scale safety climate scale items, an open-ended item was included at the end of the survey.

RESULTS

Safety climate perceptions differed by job level. Specifically, management perceived a more positive safety climate as compared to workers. Content analysis of the open-ended item was used to identify important safety and health concerns which might have been overlooked with the qualitative portion of the survey.

DISCUSSION

The surveys were conducted to understand workforce issues of concern with the aim of improving site safety conditions. Such efforts can require minimal investment of resources and time and result in critical feedback for developing interventions affecting organizational structure, management processes, and communication.

SUMMARY

The most important lesson learned was that gauging differences in perception about site safety can provide critical feedback at all levels of a construction organization.

IMPACT ON THE INDUSTRY

Implementation of multi-level organizational perception surveys can identify major safety issues of concern. Feedback, if acted upon, can potentially result in fewer injuries and fatal events.

Safety in Construction Yards: Perception of Occupational Risk by Italian Building Workers

The purpose of this study is to analyse the perception of occupational risk by building workers in an area of Central Italy. Three hundred male building workers compiled questionnaires including 7 different types of dangers: falling from height, cuts and wounds to body and eyes, manual handling of loads, noise, vibrations and dust inhalation. The workers quantified, on a scale of one to five, the potential injury and frequency of occurrence of each risk, as well as providing information on the possibility of checking/avoiding the risk. Furthermore, attendance of the workers at previous specific courses on accident prevention and the effectiveness of these was evaluated. A possible correlation between the perception of job risk and having had previous injuries was also assessed. The results showed that about 35% of workers do not consider their job hazardous; moreover, the risk perception is higher regarding dangers producing immediate injury, as opposed to those producing occupational illnesses. Moreover, there is no direct relationship between considering the job dangerous for health and having attended training courses, while the relationship between risk perception and past injuries is more marked. In conclusion, accident prevention training is essential for building workers; however, it is even more important to improve the quality of workers' information in order to increase their awareness of danger.