Characteristics of the safety climate in teams with world-class safety performance on construction projects in South Africa

Abstract

Accidents and incidents in the construction environment are not reduced or eliminated effectively, despite numerous efforts made to improve health and safety in the industry. An extensive field of research has been conducted on how teams in the construction environment interact to deliver a project successfully in terms of cost, quality and time. Previous research exists on how team dynamics interface with safety, but is found to be of different focus or markets than this study. This study aims to determine the characteristics of the safety climate that exists in construction teams in South Africa in terms of world-class safety performance, when compared to teams with poor safety performance. An adaptation of the modified safety pyramid (Zohar, 2010) provides a useful conceptual model to investigate the link between safety performance and safety climate related to construction teams. By combining observations from literature and predominantly adapting the Safety Climate Questionnaire (SCQ), a number of directly measurable factors are identified that can be correlated with safety performance and utilised in this investigation to identify the unique characteristics of safety climate in construction teams with world-class safety performance. The characteristics of the safety climate in construction teams were divided into eight groups, namely work pressure, incident investigation, adequacy of procedures, communication and training, relationships, personal protective equipment, spares, and safety. The framework developed in previous studies is used for assessing the responses of safety users to that of safety performance observations. It is found that relationships within an organisation are a major contributory factor in safety performance, but also the way in which the safety climate is enforced in an inclusive management style through proper procedure, training and communication. This also supports the results of Cohen (1977).

Ongelukke en voorvalle in die konstruksie-omgewing word nie verminder of effektief uitgeskakel nie, ten spyte van talle pogings wat reeds aangewend is om die gesondheid en veiligheid in die bedryf te verbeter. ’n Wye spektrum van navorsing is gedoen oor hoe die spandinamika in die konstruksie-omgewing werk om ’n projek suksesvol te voltooi ten opsigte van koste, kwaliteit en tyd. Vorige navorsing is ook gedoen oor die invloed van spandinamika op gesondheid, maar daar is gevind dat die fokus of mark op die studies verskillend was. Die doel van hierdie studie is om die eienskappe van die bestaande veiligheidsklimaat in konstruksiespanne in Suid-Afrika te bepaal in terme van wêreldklas veiligheidsprestasie, in vergelyking met spanne wat swak veiligheidsprestasie het. ’n Voorstelling van die gewysigde veiligheidspiramide (Zohar, 2010) verskaf ’n nuttige konsepmodel om sodoende die verband tussen veiligheidsprestasie en veiligheidsklimaat wat verwant kan wees aan konstruksiespanne, te ondersoek. Deur gewaarwordings van literatuur te kombineer met die hoofsaaklik aanpassende Veiligheidsklimaat Vraelys (VV) kan ’n aantal direk meetbare faktore geïdentifiseer word wat met veiligheidsprestasie gekorreleer word en in hierdie ondersoek gebruik word om unieke karaktereienskappe van veiligheidsklimaat in konstruksiespanne met wêreldklas veiligheidsprestasie te identifiseer. Die eienskappe van die veiligheidsklimaat in konstruksiespanne is in agt groepe verdeel, naamlik werkslading, voorvalondersoek, geskiktheid van prosedures, kommunikasie en opleiding, verhoudings, persoonlike beskermende toerusting, onderdele, en veiligheid. Die raamwerk wat ontwikkel was in vorige studies is gebruik vir assessering deur die terugvoering van veiligheidsgebruikers te vergelyk met fisiese veiligheidsprestasie-waarnemings. Die bevindings dui daarop dat verhoudings ’n groot bydraende faktor is tot veiligheidsprestasie, maar die manier waarop dit afgedwing word in ’n inklusiewe bestuurstyl deur middel van behoorlike prosedures, opleiding en kommunikasie speel ook ’n belangrike rol. Hierdie bevestig dan ook die resultate soos bevind deur Cohen (1977).