Advancing Safety in Construction: An Organizational, Systemic, and Cultural Approach

This panel will focus on addressing the current challenges of the construction industry within the context of Macroergonomics field research. Organizational, systemic and cultural strategies to overcome these challenges will be described. A brief introduction focusing on the unique characteristics of the construction industry and how they relate to the macroergonomics approach will be provided followed by a comprehensive overview of the breadth of the problem. Panelists will highlight successful projects or approaches related to cultural issues, immigrant and aging workforce, training effectiveness and safety culture that have a great potential to enhance safety and health in the construction industry.

Download Full-text

Health and Safety Issues of Older Workers Surveyed in the Construction Industry

Industrial and Systems Engineering Review ◽

10.37266/iser.2013v1i2.pp123-131 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 123-131

Author(s):

Sang D Choi ◽

Douglas Rosenthal ◽

Sampson Hauser

Keyword(s):

Construction Industry ◽

Older Workers ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Wellness Programs ◽

Aging Workforce ◽

Safety Issues ◽

Construction Firms ◽

Age Related ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Health And Safety Issues

The study aimed to gain a better understanding of age-related construction worker’s health and safety issues and discuss practical solutions to improve safety and health of the older workers in the construction industry. A two-page survey questionnaire was developed and sent out to the safety managers, directors, or coordinators in the construction firms. The participants were employed in 27 companies that employed 12,452 employees and have been in business for an average of 75 years. All of the companies had a written safety program, but only 50% of the companies represented in the survey had the Health and Wellness programs. The findings suggested that the construction industry was in fact well aware of the worker health concerns that the aging construction workforce has been facing. The survey also revealed that there was an overwhelming agreement that older workers were still very valuable to the industry. The occupational ergonomic, health and safety professionals should pay more attend to develop creative and effective health/wellness programs that any size organization can use, with the ultimate goal being to have a sustainable and healthier aging workforce in the industry. The results of other findings are also discussed in detail.

Download Full-text

BARRIERS TO THE ADOPTION OF NEW SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES IN CONSTRUCTION: A DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT

Journal of Civil Engineering and Management ◽

10.3846/jcem.2022.16014 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 120-133

Author(s):

Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap ◽

Canwin Guan Ying Lam ◽

Martin Skitmore ◽

Nima Talebian

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Construction Industry ◽

Safety Culture ◽

Data Security ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

New Technologies ◽

Safety Management ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Construction Safety Management ◽

Technological Limitations

The adoption rate of new technologies is still relatively low in the construction industry, particularly for mitigating occupational safety and health (OSH) risks, which is traditionally a largely labor-intensive activity in developing countries, occupying ill-afforded non-productive management resources. However, understanding why this is the case is a relatively unresearched area in developing countries such as Malaysia. In aiming to help redress this situation, this study explored the major barriers involved, firstly by a detailed literature review to identify the main barriers hampering the adoption of new technologies for safety science and management in construction. Then, a questionnaire survey of Malaysian construction practitioners was used to prioritize these barriers. A factor analysis further identified six major dimensions underlying the barriers, relating to the lack of OSH regulations and legislation, technological limitations, lack of genuine organizational commitment, prohibitive costs, poor safety culture within the construction industry, and privacy and data security concerns. Taken together, the findings provide a valuable reference to assist industry practitioners and researchers regarding the critical barriers to the adoption of new technologies for construction safety management in Malaysia and other similar developing countries, and bridge the identified knowledge gap concerning the dimensionality of the barriers.

Download Full-text

Identification of Stakeholders to Establishing Construction Safety Culture in Indonesia

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201925802005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 258 ◽

pp. 02005

Author(s):

Yusuf Latief ◽

Akhmad Suraji ◽

Leni Sagita ◽

Rossy Armyn Machfudiyanto

Keyword(s):

Construction Industry ◽

Safety Culture ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

Occupational Safety And Health ◽

Director General ◽

Construction Sector ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Expected Performance ◽

The Government ◽

Laws And Regulations

The involvement of the government in terms of occupational safety and health through the laws and regulations issued, it is a reference for the stakeholders in the construction industry in carrying out its role and expected performance of safety and health will be better with the existing laws and regulations. these laws and regulations. However, the reality is not in accordance with expectations. The level of work accidents occurring in the construction industry is still relatively high. This study aims to identify stakeholders in building a safety culture in the construction sector. The method used in this research is using survey questionnaire and interview to safety expert. The result of this research is to build safety culture in construction sector is divided into two external and internal stakeholders where the Minister of Manpower, Director General of Supervision of Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Supervisory Supervisory Director is a stakeholder who has the power and interest that most influence in establishing safety culture in the construction sector

Download Full-text

Study on the Adoption of Safety Culture in Construction Project in Klang Valley

International Journal of Real Estate Studies ◽

10.11113/intrest.v15ns1.121 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (S1) ◽

pp. 96-102

Author(s):

Nurul Amira Mian ◽

Zarina Alias ◽

Ezlina Mohd Ahnuar

Keyword(s):

Construction Industry ◽

Safety Culture ◽

Success Factors ◽

Construction Project ◽

Working Environment ◽

High Rate ◽

Past Performance ◽

Index Method ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Klang Valley

The high rate of accidents and injuries in the construction industry globally enables us to evaluate our priority from the past performance to the major determinants of safety and health. By giving attention to human factors, organisations can identify and differentiate potential hazards of reckless behaviour prior to the incidents of accidents or illness. One way to achieve this is to measure 'leading' safety factors, such as safety culture. The objectives of this research are identifying the ways to adopt and implement the suitable and efficiency safety culture for the construction project in Klang Valley to prevent the accidents and injuries in construction industry as well as to provide a safe working environment. We use quantitative method with close-ended questionnaire and descriptive design for this study. The questionnaires inquired on the issues and problems and success factors in implementing safety culture in construction project. The company selected for this study was limited and only focus on 10 construction companies in Klang Valley. The total of the respondents was 40. The quantitative analysis of data was done using Average Index Method and the data were analysed using descriptive analysis. From the study, the most popular problems to adapt and implementing safety culture are the poor safety culture. The success factors in implementing safety culture were safety rules and procedures that are provided and easy to understand. Overall, the workers perception of the safety culture around Klang Valley construction site was fairly low with need for improvement such as safety practices from management, encourage of safety motivation and training on safety and health. The results and outcomes of the research can be used to guide construction management in establishing a positive safety culture and provide workers with the opportunity to have a platform to reflect on their motivations and choices for safety at work.

Download Full-text