Safety Activity Analysis Framework to Evaluate Safety Performance in Construction


Book Description

The construction work environment remains one of the most hazardous worldwide. As a result of dangerous working environments, construction workers often face safety and health risks throughout the construction process. However, it is worth noting that an emphasis on construction safety has increased mainly in the aspect of safety performance, and efforts are required to not only monitor but also seek to improve safety performance. The main objective of this research is to assess safety performance on construction sites using safety activity analysis technique. A safety activity analysis framework as well as a safety activity analysis tool are developed to facilitate the collection and analysis of the safety activity data for continuous evaluation of safety performance. Additionally, a case study is carried out to implement the framework and tool on an active construction project. Activity observation is used to continuously collect data of safe behaviors and conditions, along with unsafe behaviors and conditions on construction sites for analysis and decision making. It is expected that the observation results can be used to set improvement targets and provide continuous feedback so that construction workers can adjust their performance accordingly. The findings of the case study show that the safety index of the construction site ranged from 37.0% to 62.8% with an average of 53.8%. Results obtained also indicate that the stage of a construction process can affect the safety performance of a project. It was recommended that well-informed decisions and far-reaching efforts have to be made to ensure the safety index is brought as close as possible to 100% by reducing the unsafe behaviors and conditions on the construction site.




Strategic Safety Management in Construction and Engineering


Book Description

Although the construction and engineering sector makes important contributions to the economic, social, and environmental objectives of a nation, it has a notorious reputation for being an unsafe industry in which to work. Despite the fact that safety performance in the industry has improved, injuries and fatalities still occur frequently. To address this, the industry needs to evolve further by integrating safety into all decision making processes. Strategic Safety Management in Construction and Engineering takes a broad view of safety from a strategic decision making and management perspective with a particular focus on the need to balance and integrate ‘science’ and ‘art’ when implementing safety management. The principles covered here include the economics of safety, safety climate and culture, skills for safety, safety training and learning, safety in design, risk management, building information modelling, and safety research methods and the research-practice nexus. They are integrated into a strategic safety management framework which comprises strategy development, implementation, and evaluation. Practical techniques are included to apply the principles in the context of the construction and engineering industry and projects. Case studies are also provided to demonstrate the localised context and applications of the principles and techniques in practice.




Active Construction Safety Leading Indicator Data Collection and Evaluation


Book Description

The construction industry continues to experience an increased rate of workplace injuries and fatalities when compared to other U.S. industrial sectors. Construction workers often face safety and health risks throughout the construction process because of these dangerous working environments. Current safety practices, which are largely passive in nature, have not yielded the desired optimum results. Further improvements are necessary to enhance construction safety through the implementation of proactive safety strategies. This research seeks to evaluate how construction safety performance can be enhanced during the construction phase through the application of active construction safety leading indicators and sensing technologies. A near miss data collection and analysis framework is created and implemented for the management of safety leading indicator information. An objective evaluation of wearable technology systems for personalized construction safety monitoring is presented together with a model for integrating wearable sensors for multi-parameter safety performance monitoring. The characteristics of wearable devices and safety metrics capable of predicting safety performance and management practices are identified and analyzed. Strategies for the evaluation, selection, and implementation of vehicle intrusion sensing technologies for highway work zone safety are provided. The major contributions of this research involve the scientific data for collecting and evaluating safety leading indicators and innovative technologies, as well as an implementation guide for their application in construction. This research also provides best practices for construction management personnel that allows for the implementation of innovative safety technologies, as well as the use of collected data and information in operational procedures, safety training, and education.




Occupational Health and Safety in Construction Project Management


Book Description

This book addresses an increasingly important area in the construction industry. Case studies are used extensively to illustrate important points and refer to current successful safety management techniques.




Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health II


Book Description

This book explores a number of important issues in the area of occupational safety and hygiene. Presenting both research and best practices for the evaluation of occupational risk, safety and health in various types of industry, it particularly focuses on occupational safety in automated environments, innovative management systems and occupational safety in a global context. The different chapters examine the perspectives of all those involved, such as managers, workers and OSH professionals. Based on selected contributions presented at the 16th International Symposium on Occupational Safety and Hygiene (SHO 2020), held on 6–7 April, 2020, in Porto, Portugal, the book serves as a timely reference guide and source of inspiration to OSH researchers, practitioners and organizations operating in a global context.




Construction Health and Safety in Developing Countries


Book Description

The global construction sector is infamous for high levels of injuries, accidents and fatalities, and poor health and well-being of its workforce. While this record appears in both developed and developing countries, the situation is worse in developing countries, where major spending on infrastructure development is expected. There is an urgent need to improve construction health and safety (H&S) in developing countries. The improvement calls for the development of context-specific solutions underpinned by research into challenges and related solutions. This edited volume advances the current understanding of construction H&S in developing countries by revealing context-specific issues and challenges that have hitherto not been well explored in the literature, and applying emergent H&S management approaches and practices in developing countries. Coverage includes countries from the regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. This book, which is the first compendium of research into construction H&S issues in developing countries, adds considerable insight into the field and presents innovative solutions to help address poor H&S in construction in developing nations. It is a must read for all construction professionals, researchers and practitioners interested in construction and occupational H&S, safety management, engineering management and development studies.




Construction Safety Management, A Systems Approach


Book Description

The few models on safety management that are available tend to explain a procedure to manage safety rather than a safety management system. The research carried out here, however, models safety management by transforming a common procedural model (i.e. the HSE's model, 1997) into a functional systems representation. The overall goal of the model is to offer clear graphic lines of influence of its different components on organisational safety. The model is innovative not in the components that it considers but in the representation of those components, which details relative distances between elements and, therefore, opens doors to model-driven hypotheses which account for those distances. Therefore, hypotheses are more accurate in their predictions. This model is firstly explored in the construction sector. Results from this exploratory research support the adequacy of the model to understanding safety management and encourage future research of a more confirmatory nature.




Construction Safety Management Systems


Book Description

The construction industry has a distressingly poor safety record, whether measured in absolute terms or alongside other industries. The level of construction safety in a country is influenced by factors such as variations in the labour forces, shifting economies, insurance rates, legal ramifications and the stage of technological development. Yet the problem is a world-wide one, and many of the ways of tackling it can be applied across countries. Effective tools include designing, preplanning, training, management commitment and the development of a safety culture. The introduction and operation of effective safety management systems represents a viable way forwards, but these systems are all too rarely implemented. How can this be done? Should we go back to prescriptive legislation? This book considers these questions by drawing together leading-edge research papers from the proceedings of an international conference conducted by a commission (W099) on Safety and Health on Construction Sites of CIB, the international council of building research organisations.




Handbook of Construction Safety, Health and Well-being in the Industry 4.0 Era


Book Description

This Handbook seeks to examine and advance current understanding of the confluence of construction health, safety and well-being and the broad range of Industry 4.0 technologies in use in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Globally, the construction sector accounts for more than 100,000 occupational fatalities annually. In many countries, reports of work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses are commonplace, and there is an urgent need to improve the occupational safety and health (OSH) outlook of the construction sector. The fourth industrial revolution presents opportunities to leverage modern technologies (e.g., big data, artificial intelligence, automation, sensors, AR, VR and robotics) to improve the poor OSH performance of the construction industry. However, embracing such technologies could also induce unintended adverse consequences for the safety, health and well-being of construction workers. Therefore, the realisation of the opportunities as well as the mitigation of potentially adverse consequences requires research-informed holistic insights around the union of Industry 4.0 and construction occupational safety and health management. This cutting-edge volume addresses a significant gap in literature by bringing together experienced academics and researchers to highlight the drivers, opportunities and drawbacks of the merging of Industry 4.0 with construction health, safety and well-being. After a detailed introductory section which highlights key issues and challenges, section one covers the application of a broad range of digital technologies; then section two discusses the application of industrial production and cyber physical systems in the context of construction safety and health management. Readers from a broad range of AEC backgrounds as well as safety professionals and technologists will come to understand how the technologies are applied and the resulting OSH benefits as well as potential drawbacks.




Integrating Work Health and Safety into Construction Project Management


Book Description

Provides insights into how health and safety can be more effectively integrated into the procurement, design, and management of construction projects This book aims to explore the ways in which technological, organizational, and cultural strategies can be combined and integrated into construction project management to produce sustained and significant health and safety (H&S) improvements. It looks at design and safety practices, work organization, workforce engagement and learning, and offers ideas for producing systemic change. Integrating Work Health and Safety into Construction Project Management addresses how best to achieve safety in design through the adoption of a stakeholder management approach. It instructs on how to drive H&S improvements through supply chain integration and responsible procurement and project management practices. It examines the components of a culture for health and safety and the development of a cultural maturity model. The book discusses the potential to improve H&S through the provision of conditions of work that afford workers a positive work-life balance. It also covers how advanced technologies and the application of techniques developed from health informatics can support real time analysis and improvement of H&S in construction. Lastly, it looks at the benefits associated with engaging workers and using their tacit H&S knowledge to inform work process improvements. This text also: Provides new and non-traditional ways of thinking about H&S Focuses on technological, organizational, and cultural integration Offers a multi-disciplinary perspective provided by an internationally recognized research team from the social sciences, engineering, construction/project management, and psychology Presents, in detail, the collective analysis from a broad-ranging ten year program of collaborative research Contains a rich range of industry case studies Integrating Work Health and Safety into Construction Project Management is an excellent resource for academics and researchers engaged in research in construction H&S, as well as for postgraduates taking construction project management and H&S courses. It will also be beneficial to consultants, policy advisors, construction project managers and H&S professionals.