Page 77 - Build 151

Change the safety climate
A study of construction workers found that site safety could be improved by understanding three accident prevention strategies – safe organisations, safe groups and safe workers.
BY BRIAN GUO, PHD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND
Health and safety
MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT TO SAFETY
SOCIAL SUPPORT
PRODUCTION PRESSURE
SAFETY KNOWLEDGE
SAFETY MOTIVATION
SAFETY BEHAVIOUR
safety policies, procedures and practices in the workplace.
Where perceptions are favourable, work- ers are less likely to behave unsafely, and accidents are less likely. The safety climate is often used as a leading indicator of accidents.
Workers surveyed and model tested
Data was collected from three Site Safe training centres and four construction projects to explore and test the relation- ship between the safety climate and safety behaviour of on-site workers. A question- naire was completed by 215 workers.
An integrative model of construction workers’ safety behaviour was developed and tested using structural equation model- ling that looked at key relationships (see Figure 1). These were:
● safety climate factors – management safety commitment, social support and produc- tion pressure
● individual factors – safety knowledge and motivation
● safety behaviour.
Build 151 — December 2015/Janaury 2016 — 75
Figure 1: An integrative model of safety behaviour.
ALTHOUGH THERE HAVE been safety improvements over the past decades, construction remains one of the most dangerous industries in New Zealand. Numerous repetitive accidents and injuries continue to cause huge personal, social and nancial costs.
Safety climate key indicator
One promising approach to reducing accidents is for companies and projects to strengthen their safety climate. The safety climate reflects the current underlying safety culture. The safety climate demon- strates workers’ shared perceptions of the
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