Abstract
Occupational safety and health (OSH) in construction work continues to be a problematic issue, and OSH coordinators are a pivotal initiative for improving this in the EU. However, no studies on the impact of (OSH) coordinators in construction exists. This study conceptualizes the hierarchy of controls (HOC) as a means for visualizing and evaluating the impact of OSH coordinators’ work. The study engages with a large observational material based on fieldwork notes from 107 days of observations with 12 successful OSH coordinators. The analysis shows that during the 107 observation days, the coordinators implemented 280 OSH measures and were prevented 71 times from implementing measures. Most of the implemented measures were in the administrative (53.6%) and engineering (35%) controls. This may provide part of the explanation of why an increasing focus on OSH coordination has not translated into improved OSH outcomes in construction. The study contributes with insights for OSH coordinators and professionals seeking to improve the visibility and legitimacy of their work. In addition, it may be beneficial to organizations interested in ensuring the effectiveness of their organizational OSH practices. The study also creates foundations for more research-based practices, education, and professionalization of OSH coordinators as a profession.
Highlights
Occupational illness and accidents in the European Union cost more than EUR475 billion each year [1]
One important political initiative in seeking to improve Occupational safety and health (OSH) in the construction industry is health and safety coordination (OSH coordination), which is undertaken by the OSH coordinators—a particular type of OSH professional [10,11] who represents the client in matters of OSH throughout the project
We found that evaluating each attempt by the OSH coordinators to implement OSH measures and placing it on the hierarchy of controls (HOC) for safety prevention showed promise as a way of visualizing the impact of their work
Summary
Occupational illness and accidents in the European Union cost more than EUR475 billion each year [1]. Occupational safety and health (OSH) threats, such as accidents and physically exerting work, still challenge management and OSH initiatives today [3–5]. These observations are emphasized by Eurostat, showing that 716 fatalities and 371,732 nonfatal accidents were registered in construction in 2016, and that the fatality rate in construction was 3.4 times higher than the EU average for 2016, and 1.9 times higher for nonfatal accidents [6]. One important political initiative in seeking to improve OSH in the construction industry is health and safety coordination (OSH coordination), which is undertaken by the OSH coordinators—a particular type of OSH professional [10,11] who represents the client in matters of OSH throughout the project. Since its introduction in EU legislation through directive 92/57/EEC in 1992, OSH coordination has been pivotal for
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