Developing an Assessment Framework for Evaluating Knowledge-Based Safety Culture in Construction Organizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many studies on safety in construction projects have indicated that positive safety culture in the workplace environment would reduce accidents. The inherent project-based characteristic of construction organizations means knowledge and experience are generally lost when a project is completed. This transitory nature hinders an organization’s attempt to develop and maintain a knowledge-based positive safety culture. Also, this can be overcome by continuous monitoring and reviewing of the knowledge-based safety culture required to enforce safety standards and regulations required for construction organizations. In order to achieve this, a quantitative assessment framework for knowledge-based safety culture is a prerequisite. Therefore, this study aims to develop a measurable quantitative framework based on the importance of factors pertaining to psychological, behavioral, organizational, and knowledge dimensions of knowledge-based safety culture. A survey questionnaire is employed to examine the importance of these factors. The survey findings are used to formulate a framework suitable for use in the construction industry. Furthermore, this framework is validated by considering case scenarios among safety-certified and non-certified construction organizations. The proposed analytical framework can be used for assessing the knowledge-based safety culture scores of construction organizations.