Safety Performance Of Contractors Research Articles

BUILDING DEVELOPER`S APPROACH TO SAFETY IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The health and well-being of construction project workers are being threatened by the increasing cases of injuries and casualties recorded at construction sites. Much research has established numerous approach in order to reduce the frequency of accident. Only a few studies focus on building developers. The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate building developer approaches to safety performance in the construction industry of Nigeria. Data was collected from building developers in the northern part of Nigeria through the aid of questionnaire surveys and interview. The results of the study showed that 58% of the respondent do not address safety at the conceptual project phase. In addition, contractor selection is not influenced by the contractor safety performance. The result of the study may be of potential benefit to the administrators of building developer, designers and policy makers.

Logistic regression modeling of implementation of corporate safety policy in international infrastructures

PurposeThis study aims to determine the influences of explanatory factors on the efficacy of the implementation of corporate safety policy (CSP) in international projects from the perspective of international contractors.Design/methodology/approachFour explanatory factors were identified for the implementation of CSP in international projects based on literature review. A questionnaire survey was then conducted among Chinese organizations that have been involved in international projects. In total, 121 valid responses were received from the questionnaire survey and were modeled using logistic regression to examine the impact of each factor on the observed event of interest.FindingsThe factors related to the effectiveness of implementing CSP, including “attitudes toward safety management measures (ASMM),” “operational mechanism for safety regulations (OM),” “safety knowledge management system (SKMS)” and “systematic safety training scheme (STS),” were selected. The results revealed that OM and SKMS were significant predictors (p < 0.05) of the odds of implementation satisfaction of CSP, but ASMM and STS were not. The probability of satisfactory CSP implementation increased as the value of SKMS increased, whereas the probability of unsatisfactory implementation improved as the value of OM increased.Research limitations/implicationsThe questionnaire was distributed to respondents in international contractors headquartered in China. Other types of international organizations can be covered in future research. Furthermore, other factors, such as the local construction environment, should be considered in future studies.Practical implicationsThe results provide new insights on CSP implementation overseas. Effective implementation of CSP contributes to the improvement of the safety performance of contractors. The practical significance of interpreting the influence factors is that the contractors can implement more efficient and targeted approaches and tools in the execution of their CSP. The impact of OM reminds safety managers of the synchronization of CSP as well as its implementation environment and characteristics. The effect of ASMM encourages contractors to adopt Web-based and digital knowledge management systems to improve the implementation efficiency of CSP.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study lies in the selection of factors and their impacts on CSP implementation in international projects. This study has also extended knowledge on normative safety in international projects based on quantitative modeling.

Evaluating Fatigue, Stress, Workload and Situation Awareness Among Electrical Substation Construction Workers

Many accidents occur due to various factors when undertaking construction projects. One of the most important achievements when undertaking a construction project is to accomplish the project without major accidents. This paper studies the effect of stress, fatigue and workload on construction contract worker in term of their safety performance results using the Situation Awareness Rating Technique (SART), with reference to how it relates to the root causes of accidents. Investigating the factors associated with accidents helps to identify and minimize the associated mistakes or causes and reduce or avoid accidents and improve safety performance in construction projects. Data were collected using a SART survey of employee of 18 contractors working on construction of electrical substations in the western area of Saudi Arabia. It was found that most accidents occurred at the worker level because of their lack of awareness and training. It is apparent that SART affects the safety performance of contractors and it varies with the position, age and experience of workers. To implement a safe working environment free of accidents, it is necessary to improve all job levels according to their insufficient area and activate a full safety management system with periodic reviews to improve it and make it more effective.

Structural Equation Model of Interrelationships Among Constructs Affecting the Contractors’ Poor Safety Performance

The poor safety performance of contractors is considered as one of the underlying roots of a high construction accident rate. The interrelationships among constructs affecting the poor safety performance of contractors have not been identified in most of the previous studies. This study examines the interactions among constructs affecting the poor safety performance of contractors at the same time in a model. A survey questionnaire is designed to gather views from industrial practitioners. Five constructs are extracted by the factor analysis method. A structural equation model is then set up to measure the five constructs through their constituent variables and to explore insights into the interactions among them. The final structural model verifies five relationships and denies five relationships proposed in the hypothetical model. The study provides a greater understanding of the interactions among constructs affecting the poor safety performance of contractors as well as the degree of relationship among the constructs. The results can help managers to easily grasp the origin of causes affecting poor safety performance and then identify key areas for improving them. Moreover, the frameworks proposed in this study can be used to consider and assess the contractors’ safety performance.

Using leading and lagging indicators to select safe contractors at the prequalification stage of construction projects.

The contractor-selection decision at the prequalification stage is critical to the project success. An insufficient prediction of contractors' safety capacities using only lagging indicators may hinder the continuous improvement of safety performance in the construction industry. This research enhanced construction management and practices by proposing a comprehensive safe contractor selection model which integrated both leading and lagging indicators. First, a set of leading and lagging safety indicators were identified based on literature review and expert opinions. Then, the grey correlation analysis (GCA) was utilized to assign weights to individual indicators. We found that management commitment, safety training and education, safety risk management, and safety rules and procedures were four most influential factors to the safety performance of contractors. In addition, the fuzzy technique of ordering preference by similarity to ideal solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) was used to condense individual indicators and create a composite safety performance indicator (c-SPI). Finally, the feasibility of the decision support tool for safe contractor selection was verified using a real-case railway construction project.

Integration of Occupational Safety to Contractors` or Subcontractors` Performance Evaluation in Construction Projects

Abstract Several factors should be considered by the owner and general contractor in the process of contractors` and subcontractors` selection and evaluation. The paper reviews the recent models addressed to guide general contractors in subcontractors’ selection process and in evaluation of different contractors during the execution of the project. Moreover the paper suggests the impact of different contractors’ performance to the overall level of occupational health and safety culture at the sites. It deals with the factors influencing the safety performance of contractors during construction and analyses the methods for assessing the safety performance of construction contractors. The results of contractors’ safety performance evaluation could be a useful tool in motivating contractors to achieve better safety outcomes or could have effect on owners` or general contractors’ decision making about contractors suitability for future contracting works.

Safety Performance in the Egyptian Construction Industry

This study presents the results of a questionnaire survey that was conducted among a selected sample of large-size contractors operating in Egypt, as well as a comparison of the safety approaches in both the United States and Egypt. The results revealed that safety programs applied by large-size contractors in Egypt were less formal than those applied by their American counterparts. Only a few companies out of the surveyed sample had accident records broken down by projects and provided workers with formal safety orientation. Finally, the study recommended that reforms in the way of the employer's contribution to social insurance were necessary; thereby linking accident insurance costs to the contractor's safety performance. This is meant to serve as a strong incentive for safety management.

Factors That Influence Safety Performance of Specialty Contractors

In the construction industry specialty contractors perform most of the construction work. Given their impact on the industry, the safety performance of specialty contractors should be of concern to the construction industry. This paper describes a study conducted to identify factors that significantly influence the safety performance of specialty contractors. The study was composed of separate surveys of three different specialty contractor populations—a variety of trade contractors located primarily in southern Nevada, roofing contractors in the state of Florida, and the regional offices of a large, nationwide mechanical contractor. While there appeared to be contradictions between the surveys in some areas, the study concluded that specialty contractor safety performance was consistently influenced, in part, by a number of factors. The factors shown to positively affect safety performance include minimizing worker turnover, implementing employee drug testing with various factors initiating the testing, and training with the assistance of contractor associations. Safety incentive programs were not necessarily associated with better safety performance. Growth in company size was found to be associated with improved safety performance as well.

Construction Product/Service and Customer Satisfaction

Construction has typically been viewed as a production process, with the product being the completed facility. In addition to providing this product, contractors also provide service. Construction is examined in terms of the service product, service delivery, and service environment. The concept of service encounters is examined in the context of perceived quality and customer satisfaction. Determinants of service quality are analyzed in terms of how they influence perceived quality. The relationship between the criteria used by customers in choosing suppliers and the factors driving satisfaction are examined, and results of two studies of factors involved in contractor selection and satisfaction are reviewed. These factors are the contractor-customer relationship, the contractor's project management skills, the contractor's safety performance, whether the contractor has a prepared/skilled workforce, and the cost of the work.

Criteria for contractor selection

This paper is concerned with identifying universal criteria for prequalification and bid evaluation, and the means by which different emphases can be accommodated to suit the requirements of clients and projects. The information, assessment and evaluation strategies currently used by procurers for screening contractors are considered, and the results are reported of an extensive literature review and a Delphic interview study with a small select sample of construction professionals with extensive experience in prequalification and bid evaluation processes. The findings indicate that the most common criteria considered by procurers during the prequalification and bid process are those pertaining to financial soundness, technical ability, management capability, and the health and safety performance of contractors.

CONTRACTOR SAFETY

This paper deals with the efforts and results of a Management driven campaign to improve contractor safety performance in WAPET's operations.WAPET Management identified Contractor safety performance as one of four key safety focus areas in their 1995 Business Plan. The other focus areas were Hazard Analysis, Training and Audit and Review.Strategies adopted for achieving improvements in contractor safety included:aligning Contractor Goals and Objectives with WAPET's by involving major contractors in 'Best Practices' workshops. The workshops specifically addressed the Business Plan focus areas and the identification and measurement of performance indicators. The workshops provided contractors with an open forum to express their views and efforts in these areas;holding follow-up meetings with individual contractors and contractor groups with common areas of work. Both contractors and WAPET management detailed the status and efforts being put into these areas. These meetings identified improvement opportunities and opened up communication links both with WAPET personnel and between contractors; andimplementing the results of the workshop and meetings by upgrading WAPET's Safety Management System particularly in the areas of pre-qualification, contracting philosophies and contractor management philosophies.Feedback on each stage of the 1995 program was used to determine the strategies for the 1996 program. The workshops and meetings highlighted process improvement opportunities particularly in areas of industry standardisation, development of contractor Safety Management Systems, lines of communication/accountability, employee involvement and performance indicators. These opportunities were documented in a 'Contractor Best Practice* manual of which over 350 have been distributed.Conventional safety measures indicate a 50 per cent improvement in both LTI and Total Reportable frequency rates for WAPET's contractors in the past 12 months. The success of the program was also demonstrated by other indicators such as greater openness in communications, greater participation in safety meetings and a closer working relationship with WAPET.

ESSO/BHPP BASS STRAIT SAFETY-ACHIEVING WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE

This paper describes the key initiatives Esso Australia Ltd (Esso) has undertaken to improve employee and contractor safety performance to world class standards.Esso produces 50M litres of crude oil per day and up to 25 million cubic metres of gas per day (peak winter demand) from 13 manned and three unmanned satellite platforms in Bass Strait, and two onshore oil/gas/LPG processing plants. Esso operates the facilities on behalf of the Esso/BHP Petroleum joint venture. Over 1400 employees and two million contractor work hours per year are involved in the operations.In 1992, Esso employees worked over 2.8 million hours with no Lost Time Injuries (LTI's). As of October 1, 1993, Esso employees have worked over 5.2 million hours LTI free for the first time in over 22 years of operations in Bass Strait. Employee Total Injuries (LTI's plus medical treatment injuries plus restricted work cases) are also significantly down over the period.In 1992, contractors working on Esso managed sites worked 2.2 million hours and sustained nine LTI's, for a frequency per million hours of 4.1. This was about half of the previous year's performance. Eight of these injuries occurred in the first half of 1992. Over the past 15 months, there have been two contractor LTI's equating to a LTI frequency of 0.7. Contractor Total Injuries are also significantly down over the period.In addition to occupational injury performance, the number and severity of operational incidents such as hydrocarbon releases and fires are also down.This improved safety performance and operations integrity is the culmination of a major effort to create a culture where safety is an integral part of our business and where everyone is committed to working safely.