Civil Engineering: Construction Safety Climate and Culture Report

This report delves into the critical aspects of construction safety, emphasizing the significance of safety culture and safety climate in minimizing workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. It addresses the challenges in defining, measuring, and improving these factors, reviewing existing literature and proposing interventions. The report explores the meaning of safety culture and safety climate, and their impact on safety outcomes. It highlights various factors affecting construction safety climate, including management safety priority, administration, communication, and workgroup participation. Furthermore, the report provides a detailed overview of interventions to improve safety climate, such as enhancing site safety leadership, aligning safety as a value, optimizing management commitment, empowering workers, ensuring accountability, providing training, and encouraging owner/client involvement. It also discusses the barriers to implementing these interventions. The report utilizes academic sources to support the findings, and provides a comprehensive understanding of construction safety practices.

Running head: CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 1
Civil Construction and Building Procurement
First Name Last Name
Institution

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 2
Safety culture and safety climate has been identified as crucial in minimizing and eliminating
fatalities, injuries and illnesses occurring on construction worksites. A notable number of
contractors have taken initiatives to reduce fatalities, injuries and illnesses occurring on
construction worksites with an objective of realizing zero injury worksites. However, there exists
no scientific or industry literature on how such concepts are to be defined, way of measurement
as well as which intervention have been designed to make the initiatives considered more
effective. Related industry and scientific literature that exist so far has achieved no consensus
even if they are likely to succeed (Alruqi, Hallowell, & Techera, 2018).
To adequately comprehend the level of impact through safety culture and safety climate in
realizing safety outcomes, there is need to:
a) Agree on what safety culture and safety climate mean,
b) Develop legitimate and dependable approaches to gauge them in order to have the
capacity to recognize targets destinations requiring enhancement,
c) Design, actualize, and assess intercessions that, in light of the exploration
measurements, really enhance them.
Safety culture is considered as shared qualities and convictions on how things function in an
organization’s hierarchical structures and control frameworks so as to deliver conduct standards
(Dedobbeleer & Béland, 2013). Safety culture along these lines mirrors the convictions,
dispositions, observations, and qualities that authority and workers share in connection to
security.
Safety climate has been characterized as a main indicator thinking about how well the advocated
safety program is eventually coordinated into the association to support safe effective practices at
the purpose of task. It mirrors the common impression of the overall need of security contrasted
with other contending organizational needs (Fang & Wu, 2013).
Project Safety Climate refers to perceptions of occupational safety and wellbeing on a specific
construction task at a given point in time. It is a result of the various wellbeing climates from the
distinctive associations engaged with the undertaking including the owner of the project,
development administrator/general contractual worker, and subcontractors (Feng, Wu, & Jin,
2013). Project safety climate might be vigorously impacted by nearby conditions, for example,
project conveyance strategy, timetable and arranging, and incentives.

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 3
Safety climate related factors that affect construction safety climate include; Management safety
priority, safety administration, safety communication, and workgroup safety participation. Albeit
general safety climate reviews are the prevailing technique for gathering information to quantify
security atmosphere, they may not be perfect for realizing where change is expected to enhance
security atmosphere and to check whether it enhances after a change is made (Goldenhar, et al.,
and 2015).
A straightforward review instrument could be utilized to registration regardless of whether an
association is implementing safety related programs and strategies. Be that as it may, such a
device would not enable one to quantify organizational part's view of how well these projects are
being instituted and how much they enhance the safety climate on site("How to Improve the
Safety Climate on Your Construction Site", p. 5).
The primary basic strides to estimating safety climate are to distinguish the most vital factors or
driving indicators that involve it, and furthermore the particular qualities or parts of those
indicators. Extra work still should be done by specialists in association with construction
industry experts to decide and concede to the most basic factors and related angles for a perfect
or praiseworthy safety climate, and after that to create solid and legitimate overview items to
estimate them. Basically evaluating safety climate isn't sufficient. When an issue identified with
at least one of the components is recognized, it should be tended to and progressed. By
incorporating safety right early in the planning procedure, safety climate and safety related
results are probably going to make strides (Mangiring & Lestari, 2018 p. 151).
Safety and health experts or others in charge of enhancing safety climate may wish to use outside
scholastics/specialists or advisors to help with creating or directing the assessment approach that
will work best for their organization. Outside evaluation might be more trusted by specialists and
accordingly get a more exact reaction. Usually the case, in any case, that insufficient time or cash
is apportioned for mediation assessment. In this manner, there is need to unequivocally energize
safety and health experts and construction organization managers to give sufficient assets to
directing all around structured assessments of their intervention undertakings ("Safety Climate
and Culture", 2015). Assessment discoveries can profit both the organization and the business in
general.
Interventions to improve safety climate factors (Leading indicators)

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 4
As with all safety and health suggestions, intercessions/ interventions are best when custom fitted
to particular business and worksite conditions. Additionally, as made reference to above, it is
imperative to assess the viability of interventions to decide how much they fixed the recognized
safety climate issue.
a) Improve site safety leadership
Front line administrators are the linchpin of any safety system and how they lead and impart are
among the most essential factors in deciding safety climate on the jobsite. These people have the
ability to roll out improvements and get perils remedied before anybody gets injured.
Intermediations to enhance safety climate through supervisory initiative incorporate extra
accentuation on choosing and compensating superiors dependent on their safety accomplishment
(not simply on profitability and quality measures), and guaranteeing that supervisors get the best
possible safety training, on risks as well as on the administration and relational abilities expected
to make a positive safety climate on the jobsite ("Safety climate and safety culture -
worksafe.qld.gov.au"). An administrator's capacity to consolidate these kinds of abilities on the
jobsite can be assessed by asking specialists straightforwardly and by observational strategies.
b) Align and integrate safety as a value
At the point when safety is accustomed and coordinated all through an organization it is seen by
hierarchical individuals similar to a center organization esteem as opposed to an extra weight or
preoccupation from "typical" activities. Solid safety and health approaches and systems are a
critical establishment, however except if they are really executed and coordinated all through the
association, important and quantifiable safety enhancement might be subtle. Safety ought to be
coordinated into all reward and acknowledgment programs for laborers, cutting edge
administrators, and furthermore top managers (Teo & Feng, 2009, p. 14).
c) Optimize management commitment
Administration responsibility is the "parenthood and crusty fruit-filled treat" of safety culture and
safety climate, yet characterizing it, showing it, and estimating it are fundamental for moving
culture and climate in a positive heading. At its most essential dimension activities like giving
the best possible individual defensive gear, including safety as a best plan thing at all assemblies,
or necessitating that all laborers are OSHA-10 prepared mirror administration's pledge to
specialist welfare(Zou & Sunindijo, 2013, p. 36).
d) Empower and involve workers

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 5
Underlying the different components of safety climate is the requirement for shared trust among
workers and administration about safety. Workers need to believe that administration will make a
safe worksite and not punish the individuals who raise safety concerns. Administration can
exhibit their dimension of trust by including and engaging laborers in worksite safety and
wellbeing and notwithstanding sharing influence and obligation (e.g., joint safety boards).
Effectively tuning in to laborers' proposals and rapidly reacting to their worries further induces
trus(Zou & Sunindijo, 2015)t. Involving specialists in pre-assignment arranging and job hazard
analyses (JHA) are brilliant systems for enabling experts and both have the additional advantage
of being proactive and preventive safety exercises.
e) Ensure accountability
Everybody engaged with a construction undertaking ought to be considered responsible for
safety: proprietors, administration, safety staff, directors, and laborers. Managers' execution
assessments ought to mirror the safety related initiative aptitudes talked about above, and in
addition safety result accomplishment. Directing a root-cause analysis after an episode is basic
for guaranteeing fault free accountability. High reliability organizations (HROs) utilize
occurrences and close misses as prospects for learning and deterrence (Zou & Sunindijo, 2015).
Most occurrences are assortments of natural, authoritative, and human elements.
f) Train to improve safety climate
Safety provisions to supervisors, correspondence, and administration aptitudes preparation is
basic for enhancing worksite safety climate. Some construction organizations have arrangements
that require OSHA 30-hour training for chiefs and directors, and some go past this by expecting
them to end up ensured as "Safety-trained Supervisors". Safety preparing for representatives in
offices, for example, arranging and structure and for senior chiefs gives essential chances to
adjust and coordinate safety into the association and in this way enhance safety
climate(Goldenhar, et al., 2015).
g) Encourage owner/client involvement
Proprietors can drive construction project safety execution for better or in negative ways.
Somewhat it's what they will pay for, yet more particularly it incorporates what they esteem in
offered choices, how they reward and track project advance after offers are let, and what they
request of temporary workers and specialists. One thought is to have proprietors take an interest
in Owner Controlled Insurance Programs (OCIPs). An OCIP is a self-protection program where

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 6
proprietors pay out of pocket for medicinal services and lost time costs, which gives them a
monetary stake in keeping up safety on their construction worksites. In this manner, the
proprietor will set aside some cash if the activity is done safely however will cause costs if not.
Another thought is for proprietors to have a safety agent engaged with all task reviews.
Hindrances to actualizing interventions to enhance safety climate include; Development
schedules, Perceived deficiency of time and assets, Hierarchical silos, size of the Company,
short-range perspective, Lack of administrators knowledge and expertise, Complacency,
Misperception that safety harms profits, and Lack of administration support.

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 7
References
Alruqi, W. M., Hallowell, M. R., & Techera, U. (2018). Safety climate dimensions and their
relationship to construction safety performance: A meta-analytic review. Safety Science,
109, 165-173. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2018.05.019
Dedobbeleer, N., & Béland, F. (2013). A safety climate measure for construction sites. Journal
of Safety Research, 26(2), 97-103. doi: 10.1016/0022-4375(91)90017-p
Fang, D., & Wu, H. (2013). Development of a Safety Culture Interaction (SCI) model for
construction projects. Safety Science, 57, 138-149. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2013.02.003
Feng, Y., Wu, P., & Jin, X. (2013). Safety Investments and Safety Climate in Construction Sites.
Proceedings of the 17th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction
Management and Real Estate, 733-741. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-35548-6_76
Goldenhar, M., L., Paul, Barsotti, Tony, Brown, . . . O'Brien. (2015, January 01). Safety Culture
and Safety Climate in Construction: Bridging Research and Practice. Retrieved
November 18, 2018, from https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/ASSE-15-603
How to Improve the Safety Climate on Your Construction Site. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18,
2018, from
https://www.aiha.org/government-affairs/PositionStatements/HowToImproveTheSafetyC
limateInYourConstructionSite_FINAL.pdf
Mangiring, P., & Lestari, F. (2018). Construction Project Safety Climate in Indonesia. KnE Life
Sciences, 4(5), 250. doi:10.18502/kls.v4i5.2557
Safety Climate and Culture. (2015). Strategic Safety Management in Construction and
Engineering, 53-85. doi:10.1002/9781118839362.ch3
Safety climate and safety culture - worksafe.qld.gov.au. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2018,
from https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/safety-leadership-at-work/tools-and-resources/
safety-climate-and-safety-culture
Teo, E. A., & Feng, Y. (2009). The Role of Safety Climate in Predicting Safety Culture on
Construction Sites. Architectural Science Review, 52(1), 5-16.
doi:10.3763/asre.2008.0037
Zou, P. X., & Sunindijo, R. Y. (2013). Skills for managing safety risk, implementing safety task,
and developing positive safety climate in construction project. Automation in
Construction, 34, 92-100. doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2012.10.018

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY 8
Zou, P., & Sunindijo, R. Y. (2015). Strategic safety management in construction and
engineering. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley, Blackwell.