Development of a frontline H&S leadership maturity model in the construction industry

Abstract

Construction frontline leaders have a crucial role in ensuring safe and healthy work practices occur where risks of accidents are highest. To create a framework for understanding and monitoring where improvements can be made, a frontline health and safety (H&S) leadership maturity model was developed. The research methods involved conducting over 100 h of participant observation at four construction sites, followed by conducting four one-hour focus groups at these sites, which were all in Australia. Six key areas in which frontline leadership behaviour can have a H&S impact emerged from the data: the foreman and subcontractor supervisor relationship; the leadership styles of the foreman and supervisor; the foreman and workers relationship; the subcontractor supervisor-to-supervisor relationship; the workgroup communication; and the relationship between the frontline leaders and H&S advisors. The three-stage model is the first known construction frontline H&S leadership maturity model, which can be used as a practical tool for industry, as well as providing theoretical insights into the ways in which frontline leaders’ influence H&S performance at the ‘sharp end’ of operations within construction projects.