An investigation of safety climate in Chinese major construction projects

Abstract

Safety performance in the Chinese construction projects remains poor in comparison to other developed countries. While a considerable body of research has accumulated to explain why accident and incident rates remain high in China, research into safety climate in Chinese major construction projects remains scant. To address this gap in knowledge, a survey of 189 construction professionals across five major construction projects in China was undertaken using a validated safety climate framework. Follow-up interviews were also conducted with nine senior construction safety professionals to verify the survey analysis results. The findings indicate that safety climate in major construction projects in China is perceived to be strong, and management commitment appears to be the underlying factor to promote this positive result. Safety rules and procedures is a dimension that requires attention because of their complexity and competing interests during their implementation. All the dimensions of the safety climate are strongly interrelated, indicating that multidimensional and holistic strategies should be employed to improve safety climate in major construction projects. This research enriches the understanding about the characteristics of safety climate in Chinese major construction projects and the effective measures which can be taken to further enhance the safety performance on these projects.