Site Worker Perceptions of Safety Critical Roles and their Actions: Implications for Culture Change in Construction Organisations

摘要

When construction companies seek to improve their safety culture, they often look for a training solution. A barrier to the effective implementation of safety culture and behaviour based safety (BBS) training is the difficulty in establishing who specifically should receive the costly training and what the most appropriate content might be. For the purposes of the research project on which this paper is based, to elucidate which safety roles (positions) within the 'industry have the most influence over the behaviour and attitudes of frontline workers, a survey was administered to the frontline workforce of large Australian contractors. Analysis of the 107 responses returned revealed that workers saw the three most influential roles in driving safety on site to be: a) Site based Occupational Health and Safety Advisors ; b) Foremen/ Supervisors; c) Union Representatives / Stewards and d) the workforce themselves. The most important characteristics required by these positions to promote and drive safety culture are: i) a strong knowledge of rules and regulations; ii) good communication and interpersonal skills; and iii) behaviour and actions that enforce and monitor safety. Hence, when companies are seeking to initiate cultural change, according to the survey data, the three management roles identified above should be the first targeted for training, with a particular focus on increasing the level of safety knowledge and the interpersonal skills of the occupant of the role.