Publications (6)0 Total impact
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Article: The quality of accident and health data in the construction industry: interviews with senior managers
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ABSTRACT: Despite recent changes in legislation and advances towards an integrated project-wide approach, health and safety management in the construction industry is still a major problem, involving a substantial cost to business, society and individuals. A prerequisite to improving the situation and developing an effective management strategy is monitoring, providing a detailed understanding of the effectiveness of different approaches to intervention. This paper describes a feasibility study using in-depth interviews with senior managers to explore the quality of accident and health data of nine large, high profile companies from the engineering construction sector. The interview dialogue comprised a series of questions and issues to be explored on the organization's accident reporting systems (e.g. what is reported, analysis performed, computerization), unsafe act and near miss auditing (e.g. definition, validity), failure type indicators (e.g. auditing, quantification) and safety culture indicators (e.g. commitment, health). Although safety was a priority for companies, health (i.e. medicals and monitoring systems) had not been given the same consideration, especially with regard to subcontracted labour. This study shows that the validity of accident statistics as a measure of safety remains a limitation, and that there is a requirement for a consistent and integrated approach to the measurement of health and safety performance.Construction Management and Economics 01/1999; 17(2):197-204. -
Article: Causal factors in construction accidents.
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ABSTRACT: This document is also available electronically at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr156.pdf Although the British construction industry is one of the safest in Europe, one third of all work fatalities happen in construction and construction workers are six times more likely to be killed at work than employees in other sectors. A similar situation exists for non-fatal accidents. Although previous research has led to a good understanding of the extent and pattern of accidents in the construction industry, there has been only limited objective analysis of the full range of contributory managerial, site and individual factors. With this background, the study had the following aims: 1. To collect rich, detailed data on the full range of factors involved in a large sample of construction accidents. 2. Using this information, to describe the processes of accident causation, including the contribution of management, project, site and individual factors in construction industry accidents. The research used a combination of focus groups and studies of individual accidents in pursuit of these. -
Article: What causes accidents?
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ABSTRACT: This article was published in the journal, Proceedings of ICE, Civil Engineering [© Institution of Civil Engineers / Thomas Telford] and the definitive version is available at: http://www.thomastelford.com/journals/ This paper describes aspects of the findings of a three-year research project, Construction Accident Causality, funded by the UK Health and Safety Executive. The project developed a causality model, through a combination of focus groups and detailed study of 100 construction accidents, using an ergonomics systems approach, to identify where safety is compromised and why. It concludes that stakeholders responsible for the immediate accident circumstances, shaping factors and originating influences must all work hard to remove flaws in their safety systems to ensure that accidents are reduced. Published -
Article: How can we prevent construction accidents? Outcomes from a stakeholder consultation: societal and industry-wide influences
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ABSTRACT: This paper presents some of the findings from a time-limited, independent research project that reviewed evidence about underlying causes of construction accidents and levers within and beyond health & safety systems to make further improvements. The triangulated method incorporated national and international expert consultations with a total of 72 participants from across the industry, plus a literature review. An initial ‘sounding out’ exercise was also undertaken to gather feedback on the practical strategies developed during the consultation process. Perspectives on the underlying causes identified: broader societal and industry-wide influences (macro); project and process factors (mezzo); and worker/supervisor/workplace causes (micro). A number of improvement strategies were suggested, some of which have been summarised in this paper. This is a conference paper. It was accepted for publication in Contemporary Ergonomics and Human Factors 2010 [© Taylor & Francis]: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415584463/ -
Article: Manual handling of highway kerbs—focus group findings
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ABSTRACT: This article was accepted for publication in the journal, Applied ergonomics [© Elsevier], which is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2004.05.005 The manual handling of concrete highway kerbs remains commonplace in the construction industry despite obvious risks to operatives. A study was commissioned to find out why the operation still includes manual handling, what alternatives exist and how the organisation of the work affects exposure to risk. Although this study involved a literature review and visits to examine manufacture, supply and installation of kerbs, the focus groups which were held with industry professionals to discuss manufacture, installation methods, design and training are reported here. Related published research was very limited and the visits confirmed manual handling to be widespread for installation but eliminated or controlled in other areas of the process. Risks to health of construction workers remained as they were not considered in the design of the product, design of the work or identified and controlled through risk assessments. Focus group findings highlighted manufacturer’s myopia, lack of installation knowledge of designers and shortfalls in training of installation work. Recommendations from the research are that a pro-active approach to health needs to be adopted by the manufacturers of heavy construction products. Designers of work 2 requiring the use of heavy products need to have more experience of site operations, and training of manual handling awareness should be performed at all levels in construction organisations. Accepted for publication -
Article: Construction tools and equipment – their influence on accident causality
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ABSTRACT: This article was published in the Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology [© Emerald]. The definitive version is available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/17260530510815303 This paper presents tools and equipment aspects of the results from a three-year United Kingdom Government-funded research project investigating accident causality (ConCA). The project has used focus groups and studied in detail 100 construction accidents site audits, interviews with involved persons and follow-up along the causal chain. This paper concentrates on the influence of construction tools and equipment which were found to be important contributory factors identified by the research. They have largely been overlooked by previous studies and are not typically acknowledged as accident contributors. This paper argues for further work to confirm these links and for the inclusion of tools and equipment in the list of categories in statutory reporting procedures. This would also require an increased acknowledgement by construction managers of their influence, leading to better design and management of their supply and care on site. Accepted for publication
