A knowledge framework of participation supportive of resilient and safe construction projects: A systematic review

Abstract

Workers’ participation has long been acknowledged as a means for the harmonization of the technical and social components of socio-technical systems. However, guidance to designers of participatory practices is often implicit in the literature, which also does not jointly address safety and resilient performance, two key business aspects in construction projects. This paper addresses these gaps by proposing a knowledge framework for the design of participatory practices that contribute to safe and resilient construction projects. To this end, a systematic literature review of 33 papers on participation in construction was carried out. Based on a thematic analysis, this review gave rise to a framework composed of seven design meta-principles, seven design principles, and 17 design prescriptions. The seven principles mediate the relationships between the more abstract meta-principles and the more operational prescriptions. The framework encompasses dimensions of participatory practices that can contribute for the design of resilient systems and for the operationalization of both safety-I and safety-II in construction.