Safety and health practices in construction: an investigation among construction workers

Transcription

1 Safety and health practices in construction: an investigation among construction workers Gokhan Arslan 1 and Serkan Kivrak 1 1 Civil Engineering Department, Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract: The construction industry has been recognized as one of the most hazardous industries. It has a poor safety record when compared to many other industries. Although there is an improvement of the safety performance and increase in safety awareness in this industry, the injury rate is still one of the highest across all sectors. Besides causing human tragedy and economic losses, construction accidents also affect the productivity and reputation of the construction industry. The specific objectives of this research are to find out the opinions of construction workers about safety and health practices in construction projects; the factors causing construction accidents; and their knowledge about safety and health regulations. Within this context, semi-structured interviews were carried out among 35 Turkish construction workers. The companies they work for have been operating in the North-West region of Turkey. The interviews took place over a 3 month period between January and March 2008 and each lasted approximately 1 hr. The survey questionnaire was administered during face-to-face interviews. Based on the results, more than half of these workers experienced an accident in the past and the majority of them had never received any safety training. Keywords: Construction accidents, Construction workers, Safety, Turkey. 1 Introduction The construction industry has been recognized as one of the most hazardous industries in which to work (Carter and Smith, 2001). It has a poor safety record when compared to other industries. Accidents on construction sites are still a major problem in this industry. According to the U.S. Department of Labour, Bureau of Labour Statistics, the incidence rate of injuries and illnesses in the construction industry was 6.3 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2005 (U.S. Department of Labour, 2005). For 2002, this rate was reported as 7.1. In Table 1, incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by some selected industries are illustrated (U.S. Department of Labour, 2005). Moreover, the distribution of accident rates according to selected industries in Turkey is illustrated in Table 2 (Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 2005). As seen from this table, the construction industry has also a high accident rate in this country. Although there is an improvement of the safety performance, injury rates in this industry are still 50% higher than that of all industries (Huang and Hinze, 2006). Davies and Tomasin (1990) indicated that the risk of a fatality in the construction industry is five times more likely than in a manufacturing based industry.

2 Table 1. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by selected industries and case types (USA, 2005) (Source: U.S. Department of Labour, 2005) Industry Total recordable cases Cases with days away from work Cases with job transfer or restriction (per 100 full-time workers) (per 100 full-time workers) (per 100 full-time workers) Mining Oil and gas extraction Mining (except oil and gas) Support activities for mining Construction Construction of buildings Heavy & civil eng. construction Specialty trade contractors Manufacturing Food manufacturing Wood product manufacturing Primary metal manufacturing Transportation and warehousing Air transportation Rail transportation Water transportation Table 2. Distribution of accident rates according to selected industries in Turkey (2005) (Source: Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 2005) Industry Accident rate (%) Industry Accident rate (%) Mining 8.0 Textile 8.0 Construction 8.7 Primary metal 6.7 Machinery manufacturing 6.6 Food 3.2 Transportation 5.3 Metal products 14.0

3 2 Literature Review The safety performance of the construction industry has been improving and health and safety has been recognized as an important business performance subject (Myers, 2003; Wilson and Koehn, 2000). The factors causing construction site accidents have been addressed by several researchers. Toole (2002) listed the main causes of construction accidents. These are lack of proper training, deficient enforcement of safety, lack of safety equipment, unsafe methods or sequencing, unsafe site conditions, not using provided safety equipment, poor attitude toward safety, and isolated, sudden deviation from prescribed behaviour. Researches also show that the main causes of the fatalities in construction are due to falls, struck-by incidents, caught in/between incidents and electrocutions. It has been also indicated that the most significant factor in construction site accidents is the unsafe behaviour (Dester and Blockley, 1995; Sawacha et al., 1999). Construction accidents result in great economic losses. In their study, Everett and Frank (1996) found that the total costs of accidents lies between 7.9% and 15% of the total costs of non-residential, new construction. Furthermore, Coble and Hinze (2000) showed that the average workers compensation insurance costs could be estimated approximately 3.5% of the total project costs. Besides causing human tragedy and economic losses, construction accidents also affect the productivity and reputation of the construction industry (Kartam, 1997). Some examples are demotivated construction workers, delay of project progress, training of replacement personnel and equipment damage. Hinze et al. (2006) examined 136,000 construction worker injuries. They examined the potential impact of minor injuries in terms of numbers of workers affected and average cost per injury. They found that over half of the injuries were associated with lacerations and injuries sustained by the lumbar spine, upper extremities, or eyes. In the last years, many software applications have been developed to facilitate health and safety management in construction. One of the common aims of these systems is to improve health and safety management applications during the project. These systems rely mostly on safety database systems. There has been also some safety systems developed to address the health and safety training issue. An example of improving safety on-site is the study of Oloufa et al. (2003) who developed and implemented technologies for vehicle tracking and collision detection. In their study, they used Global Positioning System (GPS), wireless and web-based technologies. They demonstrated the use of Fujita tele-earthwork system; consisting of dozers, backhoes, trucks, and other vehicles and equipment which all operates without on-board drivers. The importance of safety training to improve the safety performance in the construction industry has been addressed by many researchers (Huang and Hinze, 2003; Aksorn and Hadikusumo, 2008). Effective training of construction workers can be one of the best ways in improving site safety performance (Hislop, 1991; Tam et al., 2004). In the study of Zeng et al. (2008), it has been pointed out that some accidents such as falling from height and hit by falling materials in construction could easily be prevented from implementing training programs to employees. In the same study, it has also been found that many workers in the Chinese construction industry had received limited education about safety issues (Zeng et al., 2008). Similarly, in the study of Dingsdag et al. (2008) construction workers identified training as a necessary element of safety performance.

4 Many studies have shown that there is a close relationship between individual safety behaviour and safety performance (Tarrants, 1980; Sawacha et al., 1999). Effective training of workers can also significantly reduce unsafe behaviour. As Fang et al. (2006) stated, workers with good safety knowledge have a more positive safety climate than those with poor safety knowledge. Langford et al. (2000) identified the critical factors that influence the attitudes of construction workers towards safe behaviour on construction sites. According to the results of their study, training of operatives and safety supervisors is important to safety awareness and improved performance. Moreover, it has also been found that knowledge and competence influence personal safety performance. They also stated that companies must maintain and update their workers skills and knowledge by training, skill updates and effective on site communication (Langford et al., 2000). Besides minimizing construction accidents, successful training can also minimize project delays and damage to company image (Findley et al., 2004). On the other hand, lack of safety training of construction workers has been considered as one of the important causes of construction accidents (Gervais, 2003). As a result, safety training and knowledge of construction workers about safety and health practices are critical issues for improving safety performance in the construction industry. Within this context, one of the specific objectives of this study is to investigate Turkish construction workers' knowledge about safety and health practices. Although there is an increase in safety awareness, there have been few studies in the Turkish construction industry about safety and health management practices (Colak et al., 2004), and workers' safety knowledge which is highly essential for successful safety and health practices. Therefore, this study also aims to contribute to the existing literature by investigating the safety and health practices in Turkish construction industry. Moreover, the opinions of construction workers about safety and health practices in construction projects, and the factors causing construction accidents have also been examined through face-to-face interviews. 3 Research Methodology The research was carried out among 35 Turkish construction workers. Data were collected through a combination of face-to-face interviews and the survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was administered during face-to-face interviews. Questionnaire surveys have been widely used to describe safety climate (Fang et al., 2006). Safety climate is 'a summary concept describing the employees' beliefs about all the safety issues (Guldenmund, 2000). As Ojanen et al. (1988) argued, the only way to measure the safety climate is by surveys. Therefore, this method was selected as the mode of data collection in this study. Moreover, in order to provide enhanced understanding of the concept of safety and health practices and get detailed information from the workers, the interview technique has also been thought as the most appropriate method for this study. The survey questionnaire consisted of 26 questions including both closed and openended questions. It is divided into two main sections. Section 1 covered general information about the worker. Section 2 dealt with safety and health practices in construction projects; the factors causing construction accidents; and worker's knowledge about safety and health regulations. The interviews took place over a 3 month period between January and March 2008 and each lasted approximately 1 hr.

5 There were no criteria established for construction worker selection. The companies they work for have been operating in the North-West region of Turkey. 4 Findings and Discussion A total of 35 construction workers participated in this study, including 14 unskilled (40%) and 21 skilled (60%) workers. Eight of the 35 workers do not have any education degree, whereas eleven workers have a primary school degree, seven workers have a mid-school degree and nine workers have a high school degree. The majority of the participants (77%) have more than 6 years of experience in the construction industry. On the other hand, only 2 out of 35 participants have less than one year experience in this industry. Safety and health training programmes can provide several advantages in preventing possible accidents in construction sites. Within this context, the respondents were asked whether they received any kind of safety training in the past. According to the responses, it was determined that the majority of the participants (26 out of 35) had never received any safety training. On the other hand, nine out of 35 interviewees stated that they had participated in this kind of training in the past. It was interestingly to be noted that only 3 of these workers had received a professional safety training programme provided by their companies. Two participants noted that instead of formal training programmes, mostly informal briefings were used in their companies. According to the given information, it is obvious that there is a lack of safety training programmes in the majority of the companies. The respondents were asked for their opinions about the precautions taken in construction sites regarding safety and health practices. The majority of the participants (25 out of 35) saw the safety and health practices in their sites as sufficient. However, some of these participants also commented that without any safety training these precautions could be meaningless and may result in unsafe behaviour and possible accidents. More than half of the interviewees indicated that they experienced an accident in the past. In Table 3, the list of the reasons of construction site accidents experienced by these workers are illustrated. As shown in this table, falls are the main causes of construction accidents experienced by the participants. Three participants reported that the accidents they experienced resulted in serious injuries and loss of their job positions. The remaining interviewees indicated that although the accidents led to minor injuries, they resulted in loss of motivation and reduction in efficiency. Table 3. Distribution of accident causes Cause of accident (%) Cause of accident (%) Falls from building 21.0 Electrical accident 10.5 Falls from scaffolding 31.7 Faulty machinery 10.5 Object fall 10.5 Lacerations 15.8 Total 100

6 The majority of these workers also reported that they witnessed construction accidents in the past. Like their own experiences, falls (56%) were the main reasons of construction accidents experienced by their colleagues. The distribution of the remaining causes was quite similar with their own experiences. One of the specific objectives of this study was to find out the opinions of the construction workers about the possible factors causing construction accidents. According to the responses, five main factors causing construction accidents were determined. The distribution of these factors is illustrated in Table 4. Many of these causes are similar to those proposed by Abdelhamid and Everett (2000) and Toole (2002). Poor attitude toward safety was considered as the most important factor. This result correlates well with the previous researches in the literature in which unsafe behaviour was also considered as one of the main important factors leading accidents (Sawacha et al., 1999). Unsafe site conditions and lack of knowledge and safety training were the following highlighted factors that can cause construction accidents. Unsafe site conditions, lack of knowledge and training, defective materials and lack of safety equipment can all be attributed to poor safety and health management by the companies. On the other hand, poor attitude toward safety can be attributed to unsafe act by the workers. Table 4. Factors causing construction accidents Factors (%) Factors (%) Poor attitude toward safety 28.6 Defective materials 17.1 Unsafe site conditions 25.7 Lack of safety equipment 5.7 Lack of knowledge and training 22.9 Total As mentioned earlier, having knowledge about safety and health regulations can provide advantages in preventing possible accidents in construction sites. Within this context, the respondents were asked their knowledge about safety and health practices in construction. More than half of the respondents (20 out of 35) stated that they do not have enough knowledge about these practices. The same participants also indicated that there is a need for an education about safety and health issues. Moreover, more than half of the participants reported that they need also training about technical issues, e.g. training about their professional jobs. 5 Conclusion and Further Research This study is based on interviews with construction workers from the Turkish construction industry. The analysis of the interviews showed that construction workers do not have enough knowledge about safety and health practices in construction. The results of the study could be summarized as follows: * There is a lack of safety and health training programmes in the majority of the companies. Informal briefings are generally used instead of formal training programmes. * More than half of the workers experienced an accident in the past. Falls are the main causes of construction accidents.

7 * Poor attitude toward safety, unsafe site conditions and lack of knowledge and safety training are the most important factors causing accidents. * More than half of the workers do not have enough knowledge about safety and health practices. Based on the results, it seems that the companies have to focus more on formal training programmes regarding safety and health practices to minimize construction accidents. Moreover, the companies can interact with the worker's and control their behaviours towards safety and health practices. This action can help to improve their attitudes towards safety issues. Unsafe site conditions can significantly increase the possibility of construction accidents. Thus, companies also have to control site conditions regularly in order to prevent possible accidents. It is obvious that all parties involved in a construction project should be concerned with the safety regulations to obtain a better safety performance. The findings from the study should be interpreted with caution since the research was limited with only 35 workers. However, it is believed that they can give a general idea about the construction workers' knowledge regarding safety and health practices in construction. Future researches that can be carried out among a greater number of workers can provide a comparison of the results with this study and studies conducted in other countries. 6 References Abdelhamid, T.S., and Everett, J.G. (2000), 'Identifying root causes of construction accidents', Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Volume 126(1), pp Aksorn, T., and Hadikusumo, B.H.W. (2008), 'Critical success factors influencing safety program performance in Thai construction projects', Safety Science, Volume 46, pp Carter, G., and Smith, S. (2001), 'IT tool for construction site safety management', CIB W78 Conference, Mpulunga, South Africa. Coble, R.J., and Hinze, J. (2000), 'Analysis of the magnitude of underpayment of 1997 construction industry workers' compensation premiums in the state of Florida', Internal Research Rep., Gainesville, Fla. Colak, B., Etiler, N., and Bicer, U. (2004), 'Fatal occupational injuries in the construction sector in Kocaeli, Turkey, ', Industrial Health, Volume 42(4), pp Davis, V., and Tomasin, K. (1990), Construction site safety, Thomas Telford, London, Internal publication. Dester, I., and Blockley, D. (1995), 'Safety behaviour and culture in construction', Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Volume (1), pp Dingsdag, D.P., Biggs, H.C., and Sheahan, V.L. (2008), 'Understanding and defining OH&S competency for construction site positions: worker perceptions', Safety Science, Volume 46, pp Everett, J.G., and Frank, P.B. (1996), 'Costs of accidents and injuries to the construction industry', Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Volume 122(2), pp

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