A Proposal for Integrated Safety and Quality Management System Framework in Construction Companies

摘要

Canadian construction companies experience unacceptable rates of worker injury compared to other Canadian companies and construction companies in other developed countries. This highlights potential room for improvement in their occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). In parallel to the OHSMS, most construction companies have their quality management systems (QMSs) to help manage the flow of information, maintaining high quality construction standards and achieving continuous improvement. The OHMS and QMS impact nearly all aspects of the companies' jobs; considerable resources are devoted to the development and maintenance of these two systems. To improve the level of safety as well as quality demonstrated by Canadian construction companies and to reduce the development and maintenance costs of safety and quality management systems in these companies, a research project is proposed for development of an integrated safety and quality management system (ISQMS) framework customized for use by Canadian construction companies. The proposed research will be done through studying different aspects of the prevalent OHSMS and QMS models and exploring the potential room for improvement in OHSMS and QMS models. Then, a comprehensive assessment on the similarities and dissimilarities between OHSMS and QMS and possible integration methods will be conducted. This paper elaborates on different aspects of the proposed research project.