Critical Review: Safety Management and Maximize Efficiency on Site

This report critically reviews the impact of safety management on construction sites, particularly in Hong Kong, where despite advancements, accident rates remain high. It discusses the background of safety management policies, including the 14 key elements, and the shift from government-led inspections to self-regulation. The report outlines the aims and objectives, focusing on investigating safety management methods, evaluating the need for safety measures, analyzing challenges in the construction sector, and recommending strategies for increasing efficiency. Research questions address these areas, aiming to identify effective safety practices and improve construction site management. The literature review section promises a detailed analysis of relevant topics.

CRITICAL REVIEW ON SAFETY
MANAGEMENT AND MAXIMIZE
EFFICIENCY ON CONSTRUCTION SITE
MANAGEMENT
Insert your name here
Abstract
This research focuses
on the concepts of
safety management
procedures and how it
must be integrated in
the normal
functioning of the
construction
management system.
For this reason, the
use of safety
management is
strongly been
analyzed in the
construction
management sectors.
Moreover, various
construction firms are
also utilizing the need
for an effective safety
management in the
construction areas.
The aim of the
research paper is to
critically review the
impact of safety
management in
construction sites.
This paper includes a
general discussion
about the associated
literature of the
study. In addition, this
paper also lists the
various
methodological
approaches that will
be utilized for making
an analysis on this
paper. By considering
the valid points of
research, this paper
will critically evaluate
the impact of safety
management
processes on the
construction
management.
Key Words: Safety
management,
efficiency increases,
construction
management, impacts
of safety in
constructional site
INTRODUCTION
In the year 1995, the government of Hong
Kong was responsible in conducting a review
based on industrial safety levels which must
be consisted in the mapping process of Hong
Kong constructional sectors. The main
requirement that was consisted in the review
is that the industries involved in this sector
must utilize their own compliance policies and
self-regulatory policies for checking their own
safety management processes. Additionally,
this review was also based on the requirement
which demonstrated that the need for self-
regulation in the safety procedures must be
done by utilizing a framework for
management. Moreover, the government of
Hong Kong has also developed a safety
management standard system which included
all the fourteen elements of a safety
management system. The promotions
required for such activities included launching
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of pilot based schemes, publishing a project
charter, seminar organizations and safety
management guide development. Due to such
activities, these actions have been included in
the industrial undertakings as the Safety
Management Regulation which has been
passed on 1999. Furthermore, with regards to
the safety management regulations,
contractors involved with the industrial
undertakings must also develop, strategize
and maintain various strategies for safety
management systems which must also include
the key elements of the strategy. Lastly, the
need for auditing and reviewing of the system
is necessary.
This section of the research paper discusses
about the main topic of this paper. Firstly, the
background of the study is included in this
paper. In this section, the discussions
regarding the background of the topic are
included here. Additionally, the paper also
discusses about some statistical data of the
government concerned which will help in
making a solid statement of the literature
concerned. Secondly, this paper includes an
aims and objectives section which is mostly
responsible in assigning the aims and
objectives of the paper. This will be the main
points which will be followed in covering the
topics involved in this study. Thirdly, this paper
also includes some research questions which
will be answered by the analysis to be made.
These questions are in correspondence to the
aims and objectives of this topic. Fourthly, the
problem statement in this section includes a
discussion of the main problems associated to
this topic. In addition, a rationale of the study
has also been presented which denotes the
overview of the topic. Lastly, this section also
includes a summary in this paper which
highlights the main contributions.
Background of the study
In the modern times, the adoption of
constructional management practices are
being utilized which is the main reason for the
increase in constructional sector around the
world. In a similar manner, the use of
technologies for the constructional aspects
along with the use of other related tools and
frameworks have also been changed due to it.
However, the use of various other tools and
techniques has increased the complexity in
the system (Hardin and McCool 2015). The
occurrence of accidents due to the adoption of
such techniques and tools are the main
reason for the utilization of safety
management practices in construction sectors.
According to the safety management policies,
there are 14 elements which must be
considered in considering and abiding with it.
The first element is the employee participation
which ensures that all the employees including
the production and the maintenance staff must
be present in case of any important mandates.
The next step involves the requirement of
processing safety information which requires
manual compilation of the process. The third
element includes processing of hazard
analysis which includes analysis of system
failures. The fourth element requires
companies to process operating risks. The fifth
element involves providing training to the
employees (Mäki and Kerosuo 2015). Sixth
element involves providing information to the
contractors involved so that an analysis of the
hazards faced can be removed. The seventh
element includes the pre-startup safety review
which involves analyzing the safety systems
which in turn will analyze the safety related
concerns present before starting. The eight
elements include checking the mechanical
integrity which is mainly utilized for
inspections. The ninth element involves
acquiring permits for the process. The next
element involved is change management
which is mainly in place for adopting changes
to the system. The eleventh and twelfth
element involves incident investigation and
emergency planning which is concerned with
investigating incidents and planning responses
for the system. The thirteenth element
involved in this process is the requirement for
compliance based audits. This must be
followed by the employees so that a
certification is always in process to denote the
structure. Lastly, protection of trade secrets is
also to be added to the security management
system where companies must protect their
assets in terms of business perspectives.
The count of occurrence of accidents in the
construction sites of Hong Kong has been
elevated despite of the fact that the
construction industry has made many efficient

changes. Although the employment status of
the construction industry can be termed close
to 8%, its accountability to accidents covers
0ne-third of the total number of accidents in
the past many years (Zhan et al. 2018). For
the many number of accidents in the industrial
sectors, the bulk of it is due to the presence of
construction industry. This level of un-
satisfaction in the construction industry of
Hong Kong is termed as a matter of great
concerns which must be addressed by the
government and the associated personnel.
Since the past decades, the utilization of
safety management procedures in the
construction industries by the government
included enforcing the safety ordinances. The
construction industries were supposed to
follow them and address any difficulties
imposed. The associated labor department of
the government was supposed to send safety
inspectors to the site for carrying out
successful analysis and checks (Hong et al.
2015). This type of measurement standards
was effective and addressed all the
possibilities of errors which in turn led to the
industrial heads to address their concerns.
After the year 1995, the government of Hong
Kong implemented a self-regulatory rule for
the industry which led to the adoption of
changes. Inspection was not being done in the
way needed and this in turn led to negligence
in safety management adoptions.
Research aims and objectives
Aims
The aims of this research are to find out the
impact of efficiency increase due to the
adoption of effective safety management
processes in construction sectors. This paper
will also illustrate the deficiencies of
construction management in Hong Kong. This
will help in making a successful adoption of
safety management practices. Furthermore,
the investigation and analysis of safety
management practices will also be included in
this paper. This paper will investigate the need
for safety management in the construction
sector and critically analyze the challenges
faced in the construction sectors. Lastly, this
paper also includes some strategies which can
be used for increasing the efficiency of
construction management and will make an
evaluation of the required safety management
procedures in construction sectors.
Objectives
This section of the chapter discusses about
the main objectives that will be followed by the
analysis made in this paper. This paper has
listed four important objectives that are related
to the study. These objectives will be
considered for completing the analysis
required in this paper.
The first objective is to investigate the
methods of safety management in
construction industry which will help in
determining the current practices involved for
ensuring safety. As the current practices which
are involved in the construction sector of Hong
Kong have been providing risks to the sector,
the need for an efficient practice is necessary.
This will help in reducing the risks and threats
involved in this sector. As a result, the growth
of the industrial sector will also be evident due
to such adoptions.
The second objective is to evaluate the need
for safety management in construction sectors
which will help in knowing the demands of the
sector. Safety is a growing concern in the
industrial sector which must be addressed by
the government of the country involved. Even
the government of Hong Kong is concerned
with the growing needs of addressing safety
management in construction sectors. This
provides the required need for considering the
evaluation of the safety management
necessities in industrial sectors.
The third objective of this paper is critically
analyzing the challenges faced in the
construction sectors so that an efficient
analysis can be made. As the construction
sectors are subjected to various threats and
risks, it poses several challenges. These
challenges are to be mitigated if the
development of an effective safety
management processes can be involved in the
construction sectors. For this reason, the pre-
requisite for considering the challenges and
making a successful analysis is required for
the construction sectors in Hong Kong.
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The fourth objective is recommending
strategies for increasing the efficiency on
safety management in construction sector for
maximizing the efficiency involved. As the
involvement of the construction sectors in the
industries are associated to various threats
and risks, the need for an effective
construction sector strategy is required. This
will improve the efficiency of the system which
in turn will lead to the betterment of the
industrial standards. For this reason, the
increase in the efficiency of the processes are
required which will help in industrial
betterment and even in the lives of the
employers and contractors.
Research questions
The following are the research questions
1. What are the various methods of
safety management that can be used
in construction sectors?
2. Why safety management is required in
construction management sector?
3. What are the challenges faced in the
construction sectors?
4. What are the strategies for increasing
the efficiencies in construction site
management?
Problem statement
This research paper discusses about the
adoption of safety management practices in
the existing construction management
policies. The problems that exist due to the
absence of safety regarding procedures will be
discussed in this paper and analyzed.
The major problems of the construction
industry are that the security and safety
parameters are not being solved. This leads to
a necessity for acquiring these in the
construction sites of Hong Kong. In addition,
the presence of negligence from the
government towards the construction industry
is also another problem.
Rationale
This study will discuss the need for increasing
the efficiency of the construction management
practices. This in turn will lead to effective
increase in the business related aspects. In
addition, this research paper will also identify
the needs of safety management practices
through the analysis made on this paper. This
paper will show the effectiveness of safety
management aspects in the construction sites
of Hong Kong. Moreover, the associated
stakeholders of the construction industry in
Hong Kong will also follow the set standards of
safety management.
Summary
This section of the research paper includes a
discussion of the main adoptions of this paper.
The research background has successfully
made an impact which will be utilized for
considering the analysis regarding
construction management to be done on this
paper. The various aims and objectives have
also been discussed in this paper. This paper
also lists a rationale which will be considered
while making the analysis needed for
construction sites.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This section of the research paper includes
the relevant discussion of the associated
literature of this context. The various topics
related to the paper will be analyzed
successfully in this section of the paper.
Construction management
The concept of construction management
utilizes the main techniques of managing a
project from the start to the finish. The sole
adoption of this concept is basically utilized in
the constructional industry (Mäki and Kerosuo
2015). In addition, the various construction
industry professionals, engineers, and
architects are mainly utilizing the concepts of
the construction management. There is a very
high rate of accidents in the construction
industry despite of the fact that there are major
improvements accepted in that sector. This
presents a pre-requisite for accepting various
other improvement based standards which
must be able to resolve the accidents based
activities included in the construction based
projects. As commented by Li et al. (2015),
there is much risk involved in any kind of
construction based activities especially the
ones which involve performing tasks on
heights. In the year 2006, the involvement of

workers on heights was responsible in
claiming the lives of 10 people. However,
although there are various involvements of
safety based training which are given to the
workers and labors before starting their job,
the involvement of new conditions in the job
location can lead to various other problems.
As clarified by Sousa, Almeida and Dias
(2014), these conditions include unsafe
behavioral problems and unsafe conditions
which can lead to the presence of various
problems. The study presented in this paper
will be aimed towards the betterment of the
safety based activities on the constructional
projects such that they can be properly
mitigated.
The utilization of construction management
concepts includes planning, coordinating and
controlling the project progress from the
beginning to the completion of the project. As
commented by Zhou, Goh and Li (2015), the
utilization of construction management is
mainly aimed at survey the needs of the
clients involved for the production of a
financially efficient project scope.
The first step involved here is analyzing the
market demands of the project. This will helps
in defining the scope and objectives of the
project. The next step involved is conceptual
planning which helps in gathering a
preliminary design of the project. The third
step involved is design and engineering
systems which specifies the construction
based plans. As explained by Chan et al.
(2014), the fourth step involved is the
procurements and construction based
activities. This is accompanied by the
completion of the construction phase. The fifth
step involved in the construction management
plan is increase in the occupancy rate. These
results in the facilities and the employees
responsible to utilize the services made. The
next step involved is adoption of operations
and maintenance sections in the project. As
commented by Ju and Rowlinson (2014), this
helps in addressing to the effective life of the
project and also helps it to stay active for a
long time. The last step involved is the
disposal of the facility which denotes the
closing phase.
Resource management
The resources that are required in any case of
constructional activities involve allotting and
managing them. This helps in utilizing the
required resources such that the risks and
threats involved in the area are removed. This
also helps in giving a general idea of the
requirements of the site. As a result, the need
to manage the resources in hand is also a pre-
requisite which is involved in this case. The
resource management processes involves
using planning and designing the parameters
involved. In case of planning stage, the
various parameters are analyzed and
estimated before the commencement of the
project.
The design stage involved in case of a
construction project consists of various steps.
These include feasibility and programming,
schematic design concepts, development of
the design and contractual documents. The
personnel responsible for these constructional
design phases must see that each and every
parameter are met and abided with the project
goals and objectives. In addition, the codes
and regulations related to must be met. The
feasibility and programming processes
involves setting up the goals and objectives so
that the general idea of allotting building sizes
and room spaces will be considered. As
discussed by Li et al. (2015), this is mainly
done to commence with the building of the
project. The schematic design considerations
consists of various sketches which will help in
identifying the spaces and patterns involved.
In addition to it, the colors and the material
sizes are also to be considered. Furthermore,
the design development phase involves
investigating and researching about the
various materials that will be used and its
associated costs. Lastly, the contract
documents are the final considerations which
will be signed by both parties. This will be
considered while opting for the project. The
objectives specified in the contracting
document will be followed while constructing
the project.
The next stage involved in the construction
management of Hong Kong is procurement
phase. In this stage, all the associated
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resources which will be required for a project
are to be purchased. As proposed by Zhang et
al. (2017), in case a company has their own
contractors, the project is successfully
commended while in case of the absence of
the general contractor, the sub-contractors are
contacted for commencement of the project
activities. These sub-contractors can be
considered as those personnel who specialize
in only one part of the job. After considering a
contractor or sub-contractor, a purchase order
is given which denotes the requirement for
purchasing the materials needed. As stated by
Li, Fong and Chan (2015), the construction
phase commences with a pre-construction
survey which is usually commenced with the
help of higher officials. In this phase, the
various resources to be required and the
timeline to be set are discussed. Moreover,
the budget related to the project is also to be
discussed in this stage.
For making a constructional project, the role of
a contractor is very essential who is assigned
to the project either by low-bid selection
technique, best-value selection technique or
the qualification based selection technique.
Risk management
In the year 2001, the Construction Industry
Review Committee (CIRC) which was
appointed by the Chief Executive of the
administrative region of Hong Kong, gave
emphasis regarding the need for safety
measurements on the site. This is to be
shared among the employers, regulators and
the employees. In addition, for achieving
better safety management aspects in the
constructional project, the need to indentify the
threats and hazards related to it and mitigate
them for survey the set criteria. As explained
by Arslan et al. (2017), the utilization of such
concepts must be started from the project
commencement which comprises of the
planning phase. The regulations involved in
this process are to be followed for achieving
the set objectives of the project. Moreover, the
stakeholders related to the project including
the designers, clients and the contractors must
play a beneficial role in contributing towards
the reduction of safety based risks among all
the stages of the project cycle.
According to Seo et al. (2015), the objectives
of the risk management principles in the
constructional sectors are to identify the
hazards and threats associated to the safety
and the health related assets. As commented
by Ding et al. (2014), this is also associated
with the identification of the effective mitigation
strategies which can help in reducing them.
The next objective of the construction sectors
is to provide information sharing among the
various associated stakeholders such that a
co-operation and effective decision making
can be adopted. The third objective involved is
to clearly divide the necessary rules and
responsibilities among the associated
personnel responsible for the project which will
help in reducing any risks and threats
persistent due to it. As a result, the
involvement of risks based mitigation
strategies will be emphasized on the system
such that the risks on the constructional sites
will be reduced.
Based on the government of Hong Kong, the
OSH Ordinance is responsible for protecting
the health and safety of the labors and
workers associated to the constructional
sectors. These are also associated with
reducing the risks involved in the sites. As
stated by Verma and Verma (2017), another
involvement from the legislation is the
Industrial Undertakings Ordinance which is
also in place to protect the health and safety
associated to the people involved. According
to Ahn et al. (2015), the safety regulations
involved in the constructional based works are
mainly involved in undertaking the safety
based systems in the activities associated.
There are various other regulations which are
listed under these ordinances. These are:
1. Factories and Industrial Undertakings
Ordinance (Chapter 59)
2. Construction Sites (Safety)
Regulations
3. Factories and Industrial Undertakings
Regulations
4. Factories and Industrial Undertakings
(Asbestos) Regulations
5. Factories and Industrial Undertakings
(Asbestos) Special Regulations
6. Factories and Industrial Undertakings
(Abrasive Wheel) Regulations

7. Factories and Industrial Undertakings
(Suspended Working Platform)
Regulations
8. Factories and Industrial Undertakings
(Woodworking Machinery)
Regulations
9. Factories and Industrial Undertakings
(Work in Compressed Air) Regulations
10. Quarries (Safety) Regulations
11. Occupational Safety and Health
Ordinance (Chapter 509)
12. Occupational Safety and Health
Regulation
13. Occupational Safety and Health
(Display Screen Equipment)
Regulation
In accordance to the above mentioned
ordinances, the proprietor associated to any
kinds of constructional activities and the
employee must be subjected to various duties
which will reduce risks from the system. As
explained by Sunindijo, Zou and Dainty
(2017), according to the Section 6A of the
legislative framework of Hong Kong, duty of an
employer must include the maintenance of the
work place so that the safety of that place is
maintained for the employees. Similarly, the
employer must also maintain safety in terms of
constructional practices in the places which
involves storage, processing and handling. In
this way the threats pertaining to that place will
be minimized. As stated by Park, Park and Oh
(2015), the next duty of the employer is to
assign various safety based standards to the
employees associated which will help in
making them aware of the risks and threats
associated in constructional places. Lastly, the
employer must also maintain the safety of the
working conditions involved with an employee
under the industrial regulations so that all the
employees under the employer must work in a
safe environment.
As mentioned by Cheung, Lin and Lin (2018),
in accordance to the legislative framework
associated to the Section 6B, there are
various other duties and responsibilities that
must be followed by each and every employee
working under constructional activities. The
first duty associates the employees to
undertake care and safety so that no problems
will arise in the workplace due to their actions.
This will also help other workers to
successfully perform their work. As stated by
Dale and Evanoff (2017), the next duty
involved with an employee is to comply with
the employer in such a manner such that the
threats and risks pertaining to the workplace
are reduced and on the same time, the
activities are performed effectively. This must
also be followed by the employees towards
the personnel responsible for the industrial
undertakings too.
Construction projects are involved with various
activities which basically adopts site clearance
based works. These clearances are involved
with clarifying the involvement of the
constructional activities so that any further
works can be processed. These include
manual handling, excavations and risks
deduction. As commented by Bates et al.
(2017), these works are associated to the
handling of the goods and equipments such
that effective analysis can be formed. The
utilization of excavation works are also
involved in considering any construction
projects. However, the utilization of excavation
jobs are mainly associated with a lot of risks
which in turn leads to endangering the lives of
people associated. It is required to associate
safety based activities in the constructional
works. Alongside the roads of Hong Kong,
there are various utility based construction
activities that are in constant need of servicing
and maintenance. As talked about by Wehbe,
Hattab and Hamzeh (2016), these are
basically comprised of the pipeline systems,
tunnel works, subway stations and many new
kinds of activities. For these reasons, the
utilization of excavations activities in the
constructional sectors is required in a constant
basis. There are basically three different
processes of excavation which comprises of
open end excavation, micro-tunneling and
trenchless excavation. As stated by Zou,
Sunindijo and Dainty (2014), for addressing
the associated threat and risks in the
constructional sectors, the route of the
construction are to be analyzed. This must be
done in accordance to the excavation that is to
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be followed in this route. As mentioned by
Hollnagel (2014), with reference to the
constructional works involved, the need to
check the presence of any such utility based
systems are also required in case of any new
project. Moreover, the involvement of the
passive and active detection are necessary for
detecting the presence of any such utilities
which in turn will lead to reduction of risks
involved and increase the safety management
processes utilized here.
The utilization of the safety management
processes are mainly adopted for the
enhancement of safety aspects in the
workplace. It includes the development of
various objectives, rules and policies which
will be used to set a standard (Ameyaw et al.
2016). This standard will be followed by the all
the staffs who are responsible for the activities
which will help in increasing the security base
standards.
Construction safety management
The growth of the infrastructure in Hong Kong
is mainly due to its reliability in the
infrastructure projects development. Due to
the adoption of such infrastructure related
projects, the economy of Hong Kong has been
fast-tracked which helped it to get listed
among the International Financial Centers
across the world. The major development of
railway system across the various connected
sectors lets people travel very easily which in
turn has led to rapid development in the rural
and the urban areas.
The need for safety management in the
constructional sectors of Hong Kong is a much
needed necessity. This must be done by
increasing the compliance of the activities
involved with constructions with safety
management. As commented by Ahn and
Kang (2015), the implementation of safety
management in the constructional sectors
must be done by all the associated
stakeholders who are currently involved with
the project. These includes the clients, project
supervisors who is the lead of the project, the
designers who are responsible for the
designer based works, contractors and the
sub-contractors who will take up the
constructional works and the maintenance
supervisors who are in place for monitoring.
According to the construction safety
management guidelines, there are various
rules and regulations that must be played by
each of the stakeholders associated with a
construction project. As explained by Sousa,
Almeida and Dias (2014), in case of a client
related to the project, the duty involved with
them should present the proper allocation of
time and resources to the employees so that
an effective project can be considered. They
must also provide proper competencies in the
project works so that no rush or work quality is
diminished. In addition, the client must also
appoint a project supervisor who will be
responsible for streamlining the processes
involved in the associated construction project.
The client must also appoint a principal
contractor who will be in charge of assuring
the presence of pre-tender health and safety
system in the project in hand. Moreover, the
client must get proper reporting from the
project supervisor who will report all the
necessary risk based systems that are in
place for mitigating any health based hazards
in the system. As discussed by Haseeb, Lu
and Bibi (2014), the information regarding this
is to be stored in files that can be used later
for processing the risks involved. Lastly, the
client must be responsible for setting up
various safety based standards based on the
perceived performance indicators which will
help in establishing a safety monitoring system
in the constructional sites.
There are various other responsibilities that
must be followed by the project supervisor as
well. They are responsible for helping the
clients and assisting them in fulfilling their
duties. They are also responsible for
managing the communications among the
contractors, clients and the designers such
that communications and safety both are
maintained at the same time. As highlighted
by Guo, Yiu and González (2016), in case a
construction based project is associated with
various other consultants, the utilization of a
lead consultant is required who will address
the project supervisor. Similarly, in case of
building and design based constructional
projects, the contractors and the sub-
contractors must appoint project supervisors
who will help in monitoring the activities
involved and update any health based
systems involved in the project.

The designers are the main engineers and the
architects who are responsible for determining
the designs of the systems. This will be
utilized in knowing the risks involved in the
system. As a result, the effective blueprint of
the system will be made in accordance to the
risks and threats associated to the system. As
discussed by Wehbe, Hattab and Hamzeh
(2016), the main objective of a designer is to
identify the risks associated to a system and
identify the processes which can help in
mitigating the risks involved such that it can be
shared with the project supervisor for
implementing in the general processing of the
activities involved.
The contractor is responsible for following the
guidelines set by the project supervisor. They
must also adhere to the company risk policy
such that any threats associated to the system
can be minimized. As commented by Bates et
al. (2017), the contractor must also check with
their associated employees that the security
guidelines are maintained and ensuring of the
welfare activities related are also provided. For
this reason, a person with good
communication skills is to be appointed in the
position of contractor. This will help in efficient
conversations among the various other
associated aspects of the project.
As stated by Li, Fong and Chan (2015), lastly,
the duties of the contract supervisors are to be
look over the work that the contractor has
received. This will enable them to oversee the
level of adherence to the risk based policies
present. In a similar manner, the maintenance
supervisor must also oversee the various
activities involved in supervising and
maintenance operations. With respect to the
requirement for preparing the specialists and
the works, the related task executive has
appointed the preparation auditor to give
instruction projects to them. Moreover, there is
additionally a security plan which frames a rule
guideline for construction officers to check the
level of security adherence by the works and
the laborers. This is trailed by presenting a
month to month answer to the department of
safety and construction. This will help the
project to successfully adhere to the risks
policies necessary. In addition, the
maintenance supervisor must also look for
various other processes such that the
effectiveness of the system is maintained.
As commented by Bates et al. (2017), there
are various construction based projects that
are being involved in Hong Kong. These
include port based works, tunnel construction,
drainage system development, cable and gas
installation, building of power systems, water
based installations, roads and bridges, slope
making, railway construction activities and
building related construction activities. These
construction based development processes
are done either in trenchless tunnel based
systems under the open air facilities or by
combining all these aspects.
METHODOLOGY
This section of the paper discusses about the
various approaches and the concepts that will
be used for making an analysis of the concept.
This section of the paper lists the various
discussions related to a case study of Hong
Kong. This will be based on the constructional
sectors of Hong Kong and Japan which will be
utilized in considering this research. The data
collected will then be utilized for the analysis
section of this paper.
Two case studies have been collected for
collecting data and making an analysis.
Utilizing these two case studies, the current
level of safety management practices that
have been adopted in the sites are to be
evaluated. This will help in producing
mindfulness among the works included which
thusly will prompt more elevated amount of
adherence to the security programs. The
associated problems and the impacts it poses
on the sites and on the life of the labors are
also discussed in this section of the paper.
The two various case studies involved in this
paper are the building project construction
associated to the area 54 in Tuen Mun and a
40 storeyed building consortium project in
Japan. These projects related case studies
are mainly selected due to their involvement
with the topic of this research.
Research design
The utilization of research design processes
are mainly involved in incorporating various
9

frameworks to be used for data collection and
analysis. There are three different types of
research design processes, explanatory,
exploratory and descriptive. The methods
involved in exploratory research are aimed
towards the analysis of new topics which have
not been studied in a proper way. The use of
explanatory research design is involved with
understanding variables involved in the study.
Lastly, the descriptive research design is
involved with analyzing the population of the
research and its associated variables.
For this paper, the author has utilized the
descriptive research design process. This is
mainly due to the fact the use of descriptive
design process is involved with analysis of the
data associated. Moreover, it helps in
considering the qualitative and the quantitative
aspects of data collection in an efficient
manner.
Data collection
This section includes the discussions
associated to the case studies. The data to be
collected will be analyzed for this paper. In
addition to this, an survey is associated for
collecting information related to the project.
These survey questions are made from the
associated literature review of this paper. The
structures of the survey questions were
developed by considering the objectives of this
research.
Case study 1
Safety practices at the site
According to the survey conducted, accidents
are considered to be an issue at a daily basis
with a main emphasis on high-rise buildings.
Basically, it considered that risks are
associated with workers who are working at a
height on these buildings. Lastly, the survey of
the session believed that these safety
requirements can be mitigated by reducing the
risks associated and by properly following the
safety standards of Hong Kong.
In addition, the survey also focused on the
topic that the adoption of safety standards are
to be followed by every worker associated to
the site. For this reason, the safety standards
are to be followed for preventing any accidents
or threats.
Safety policies
There are various safety policies for the
workers involved in the construction sites. The
project director and the project manager are
responsible for formulating the contents of the
safety policy. It can be stated that various
companies have different type of safety
policies in the construction management
plans. According to Fung et al. (2017), the
contents included in any safety policies are
mainly formulated by considering the
stakeholders associated and their best
interests on the activities. This will help in
preventing any further accidents from the site
which will then be emphasized on the workers
and labors associated. The construction site
involves reviewing their safety policies every
two years such that it stays updated according
to the recent market requirements.
The construction site associated has
implemented many safety management plans
in their frameworks. In addition, their safety
plan has been displayed in their notice board
in the front of the construction site. This is a
very important safety procedure which helps
the workers to get an idea of the effectiveness
of the company in terms of the employee
retention and safety performance. The
workers and the labors associated to the
construction site works accordingly to the
notice board, thus maintaining the safety in the
workplace.
Education and safety
With regards to the need for training the
workers and the labors, the associated project
director has commissioned the training
inspector to provide education programs to
them. This will help in generating awareness
among the labors involved which in turn will
lead to higher level of adherence to the safety
programs. In addition, there is also a safety
schedule which forms a guideline principle for
safety officers to check the level of safety
adherence by the labors and the workers. As
stated by Fung et al. (2017), this is followed by
submitting a monthly report to the Department
of Safety and health. There are three different
types of training programs, induction and job
specific training and toolbox talk.
Induction training programs are those which
are conducted on a daily basis. It usually

involves one-two sessions before and after the
commencement of the work. The new workers
and the labors are mainly focused for this type
of training. The need for induction training is
mainly important because it teaches the new
workers regarding the use of the machines
and the personal protective equipment (PPE)
with respect to the safety acts so that
emergency acts can be successfully adhered
to. The safety officers have the responsibility
to check that whether the new workers have
safety permits with them. In addition, these
safety officers are also responsible for
checking whether the new workers have a
green card or not. As discussed by Fung et al.
(2017), A green card is used to allow entry into
the construction site. In case, a worker does
not have a green card, they are not allowed
entry into the site. The survey who was
surveyed for our research stated that a green
card can be obtained after performing an 8-
hour course conducted by the Construction
Industry Development Board (CIDB).
The company is also associated with a job-
specific training which involves providing
training to the workers related to their working
specifics. This is mainly done to provide
training and education pertaining to the task
they will be involved with. In a similar manner,
the workers are also provided another training
method which is termed as the toolbox talk.
This method utilizes a direct session among all
the workers and labors associated. The
session is taken from one of the safety
officers. This will be used for providing a
training class on the safety management
principles involved.
Safety inspection
From the perspective of the survey, a need for
safety inspection is required for effective
monitoring of the construction site. This helps
in reducing any threats and risks present in
the site which may lead to the presence of
various accidents. This will be utilized in
addressing the site safety and the lives of the
concerned laborers. This will be done by the
safety committee of the site who will check the
conditions of the workers and their compliance
level. They also take note for any
requirements and will also check the
equipment related to the site.
Case study 2
The discussion shown in this section of the
paper is used to list the various security
practices of the second construction site.
Safety policy
For effective construction site management,
the company has adopted a safety policy in
accordance to the health act 1994. The
company policy includes various methods
which will help in safety management in the
site. It also helps in preventing risks and
threats to the system by detecting the level of
adherence to laws and safety standards.
Safety education and training
This site has also emphasized the utilization of
safety and health related training programs
which helps in imparting education to the
workers and labors involved.
The workers are provided training in a weekly
basis and they are also checked that whether
they adhere to the training or not. The new
workers will be allotted training sessions
regarding the induction training programs. As
mentioned by Dong and Ng (2015), the safety
officers, who are responsible for the training
program, will show the workers about their
assigned signage that is involved in the site.
While performing the tasks associated with
every workers and labors, the safety officers
are also responsible for reminding them about
their signage tasks to be followed.
As featured by Guo, Yiu and González (2016),
the safety officers of the site are also
responsible for allotting job specific training to
the workers for each month depending on the
required improvement needed. This involves
providing training to the workers regarding the
specific actions they need to follow in their job.
This is very effective for those workers and
laborers who are responsible for activities
which involves height. This is mostly common
in the constructional sectors of Japan.
Lastly, the supervisors and the managers are
also provided safety ‘and health trainings. The
management teams sent by the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) are responsible for organizing
11

training related courses for the supervisors
and the managers of the constructions project
to follow. This will help in increasing the
effectiveness of the supervisors which will be
responsible for increasing the project success.
Safety inspection
The safety inspection practices involved in this
construction site is also aimed at monitoring
the site’s effectiveness. According to the
survey conducted from the security officer of
the site, inspections have been carried out
once in a while but the efficiency of the system
has always been questioned due to the fact
that the risks and threats have not been
mitigated.
For the activity involved in this construction
project, the associated safety officers are
responsible for conducting safety inspection
activities on a weekly basis. As stated by
Dong and Ng (2015), they are also
responsible for taking strict actions regarding
the workers who fail to comply with the
standards of safety management. Lastly, a
safety officer associated to this construction
project will make a checklist of the associated
safety processes which is made up of scores
for indicating the safety implementation level
at the site of construction.
Sampling technique
This paper will involve surveying participants
with questionnaire forms. The sample
respondents of this paper are 3 managers of
different level. This comprises of labors,
managers, contractors and executive level
employees. For collecting the responses, an
survey process will be undertaken. The survey
will help in collecting the information from the
respondents which will be used in making an
analysis for this paper. There will be 6
questions which will be surveyed to the 3
respondents for this paper.
Data analysis
This research paper includes analyzing the
data collected from the case studies. This will
involve the utilization of secondary data
collection. Secondary data collection involves
collection of the data from secondary sources
which are obtained from online journals,
newspapers and websites. As this paper has
utilized information from case studies,
secondary data collection method has been
implemented.
This paper has also utilized the involvement of
research data analysis methods. This is
mainly involved in the analysis of the
information that is collected. There are two
different types of data analysis processes, the
qualitative and the quantitative data analysis.
In case of the quantitative data analysis,
emphasis is given on the quantity of data.
These are usually done by using survey
questionnaires as an analysis tool. On the
other hand, in case of the qualitative data
analysis, the utilization of surveys is adopted
for considering the quality of data.
Limitations
There are various limitations of this research
paper. The information from these sources
posed problems in collecting them. The
collection of case studies provided problems
during data collection. In addition, lack of
budget was also another reason for this paper
to face various limitations. Lastly, the survey
process with the construction site officials
included communication problems.
DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
This section lists the analysis section of the
paper. The results will be listed in this section
which will then be used to denote the outcome
of this paper. In addition, the results will be
analyzed and the discussion will also be
based on the findings of the analysis.
There are 10 questions in the survey
questionnaires that are made by Google forms
and uploaded online to 50 employees of
construction sites.
Question1: What is your gender?
Optio
ns
Number
of
respons
es
Percenta
ge of
respons
es
Total
Responde
nts
Male 25 50% 50
Femal
e
25 50% 50