Effectiveness of safety management strategies on safety performance in Hong Kong

Abstract

This research describes a study of safety attitudes, practices and characteristics of construction firms in Hong Kong and their relationship to safety performance on construction sites. Forty-five construction companies are compared and studied. Each adopts different safety management strategies. The 45 companies were composed of 11 small, 25 medium and 9 large-scale construction firms. Construction firms' safety performance is measured by site casualty rates. Based upon the information collected from the survey, the accident rates are first derived and compared with the industrial norms. Then the following safety measures, and strategies of contractors in Hong Kong and their associated safety performance, are compared: involvement of top management in safety management; safety orientation programmes for new workers; safety awards or incentive schemes; use of post-accident investigation systems; safety training schemes; safety committees; level of subcontracting. The first part of the research studies the relation between these measures and the safety performance using a number of tables. The results show that these practices have indeed improved site safety. The second part uses a multiple regression analysis to study the combined effect of these schemes and practices on safety performance. The study concludes that the provision of safety training, the use of directly employed labour, the use of post-accident investigation as a feedback, and promoting safety practices by safety award campaigns and incentive schemes, are the most effective tool in mitigating site casualties.