Decision support for incorporating counter-terrorism design innovations into public places

Due to the prevailing threat of terrorism both internationally and within the UK, the British government has recently redeveloped the CONTEST strategy for countering international terrorism into a new and robust form known as CONTEST2. As part of this strategy, the UK government is encouraging those responsible for the protection of the public and ensuring the resilience of public buildings and crowded public areas to incorporate Counter-Terrorism (CT) measures where appropriate. However, it is apparent that there has been a lack of investment and ‘buy in’ from some key stakeholders. This is due largely to: client scepticism about the use of obtrusive, highly visible and unattractive solutions; a lack of informed guidance; differing opinions on the severity of the perceived threat from terrorism; and poor awareness of the cost-benefits of such measures. The outputs from a two year project, that has utilised a pluralistic methodology, are presented in the form of a web-based Decision Support Framework (DSF). The DSF has been developed by three English universities in collaboration with the British security services. The main purpose is to ensure that good practice in the design of effective and acceptable resilient public places can be more widely adopted. The DSF achieves this by providing individuals involved with the planning, design, construction, operation and management of public places with informed guidance on the necessity and use of CT measures; and supporting their operational activities towards the structured and proportionate integration of CT solutions into the varied design, build, operation and management processes. An evaluation of the DSF suggests that it promotes the innovation of passive and more acceptable CT measures, whilst simultaneously maintaining public safety. This greatly promotes the equal weighing of total expected benefits of CT measures against the total expected costs

An assessment of construction craft trainee career priorities through the Analytical Hierarchy Process

New Entrant Trainees (NET) to construction trades have a number of concerns, motivations and interests surrounding the nature of their employment. However, it has been suggested that some of these trainees subordinate their consideration of career development in favour of satisfying hygiene factors such as work conditions and pecuniary concerns such as basic pay and bonus incentives. This may not lead to an appropriate career choice, and in the long term may contribute to the industry's high attrition rates. Using the psychometric technique known as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the primary career choice motivations and perspectives of 563 trainees were profiled. AHP was used to evaluate and empirically test the relative importance of career development against five other career related stimuli: financial incentives; work conditions; social relations; job content; and job security. The results reveal the central importance of career development in retaining new entrant trainees to the construction industry. Indeed, it suggests a more sophisticated set of career priorities amongst the craft group than was expected. It is therefore recommended that the industry devotes more attention to the career development of these often overlooked employees in order to redress the high attrition rates and skills imbalances throughout the industry

A theoretical and contextual framework for investigating trade and craft careers

Recruiting and retaining an adequate share of the UK workforce is vital to meeting the construction industry’s demands and sustaining its current growth. This requires the attraction of new employees, developing proactive approaches to Human Resource Development (HRD), and developing retention strategies. Career development programmes are required which can align the industry’s needs with the career expectations of the individual. However, despite the importance of such schemes to the trade and craft occupations, most research devoted to career development has a professional and managerial focus. A need to redress this imbalance is compounded by a variety of negative factors such as the scarcity of skilled people, falling recruitment levels and high employee turnover rates. The overall aim of the work reported in this paper is to develop a typology of trade and craft careers, to be used as a framework for supporting specific career development initiatives. The paper presents the theoretical framework to be used in analysing the career perspectives of a stratified sample of trade and craft employees. This will facilitate an examination of career development expectations, reconciled against the realities of working life and career development opportunity. The relevant literature is introduced, along with the direction of the future research

Using qualitative methods to explore career development for construction operatives

Trade and craft employees are an instrumental part of the project delivery process. Recruiting and retaining an adequate share of the UK workforce is vital to meeting the construction industry's demands and sustaining its current growth. This requires attracting new employees and adopting a proactive approach to Human Resource Development (HRD). Career development programmes are capable of aligning the industry's needs with the career expectations of individual employees. However little is understood about the careers and career development of these key employees. Previous research into trade and craft populations have used quantitative methods to document labour market process and behaviour patterns, rather than using qualitative methods to explain factors which shape and influence careers. The conceptual understanding of careers and career development should be enhanced using qualitative methods to direct research as this would serve to uncover any unique factors associated with trade and craft populations and influence suitable strategies in response to them. This paper presents a rationale for the application of qualitative methods and the implications of this approach to future research

The acceptability of counter-terrorism measures on urban mass transit in the UK

The security and safety of urban mass transit systems continues to draw a great deal of government, media and public attention. The bombings in Madrid, London and Mumbai, suggest that new and “acceptable” approaches to counterterrorism may become important components of how urban mass transit systems are designed and operated in the future. Technical developments in security and counter-terrorism can provide a wide range of non-intrusive or overt design solutions to counter-terrorism. However, in implementing these design solutions the whole system performance needs to be considered. Undertaking qualitative research with a wide range of stakeholders (including the public, transit system designers and operators) the potential acceptability of certain technological approaches is assessed. Analysis of the findings suggests five broad acceptability factors governed by five influence variables. The acceptability factors include that counter-terrorism measures are more acceptable to transit designers and operators if they are tied in with complementary personal security and safety features, and are more acceptable to transit operators and the general public if they do not restrict the free flow of passengers through the transit network. These perspectives are dependent upon influence variables including whether there was a recent attack on a UK transit system and the Government’s present ‘level of threat’ from terrorist attack. The impact of these findings is discussed along with suggestions for future research into acceptable counter-terrorism measures for transport

Preventing catastrophic events in construction

The construction industry recognises the hazardous nature of its activities, which can be seen in the high toll of accidents its workers suffer compared with other industries - ranging from lost time injuries to fatalities. There is also a high incidence of ill-health among construction workers, including fatal diseases such as cancer arising from asbestos exposure. However, the industry may not be sufficiently aware of the potential for it to be associated with more major or catastrophic events (those involving multiple deaths and/or significant damage to property and infrastructure). Larger construction organisations have been applying ‘holistic’ risk management techniques to manage project risk. Low probability but high-consequence issues have often been included in these considerations. Most issues addressed have had purely commercial consequences eg sudden loss of a major contract or customer. However, some issues do have significant health and safety implications. This project has examined these ‘low probability but high-consequence’ safety hazards by looking at: n the types of catastrophic event which have occurred or which might occur during construction; n the reasons for occurrence when there have been (or could have been) catastrophic events during construction, including an examination of the underlying factors; n the controls which should contribute to an avoidance of a catastrophic event; and n where the UK construction industry could improve. This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy

Career dynamics within the construction industry : a trade and craft perspective

Recruiting and retaining an adequate share of the UK workforce is vital to meeting the construction industry's demands and sustaining its current growth. This requires the industry to attract new employees, adopt a proactive approach to Human Resource Development (HRD) and the formulation of effective retention strategies. Career development programmes are required which can align the industry's needs with the career expectations of the individual employee. However, despite the importance of such schemes to the trade and craft occupations, most research devoted to career development has a professional and managerial focus. A need to redress this imbalance has been compounded by a variety of factors such as the scarcity of skilled people, falling recruitment levels and high employee turnover rates. The overall aim of the work reported in this thesis is to develop an understanding of trade and craft career dynamics. The information can be used as a framework for supporting specific career management and career development initiatives, which in turn will serve to actively encourage skill development, attract new employees and retain the services of the current workforce. Drawing on the conceptual languages of extant "Careers" and "Human Resource Management" theory, the research adopted an ethnographic research approach. An iterative multiphase research design framework was utilised, involving a combination of research paradigms. These quantitative and qualitative methods included: a questionnaire of 563 informants; discussions with 54 groups of trainees; and 88 indepth interviews with both New Entrant Trainees (NETs) and Qualified and Experienced (QE) construction workers. By encouraging systematic narrative accounts of the attitudes, behaviours and idea systems of the actors involved a better understanding of the nature of trade and craft employment was developed. Combining and comparing the fmdings of both datasets (NETs and QEs) and relating this to the outlined theoretical perspectives sheds new light on the career dynamics within the industry. The resear_c~-. found that although employees are not comprehensive in their information and search of career options; they do place a high priority on career development. However, career development is limited due to the realities (opportunities and operational conditions) of the industry; which influence attitudes of individuals and their peers. Employees often further encounter a series of career decision errors which affect the employment relationship. The fmdings suggest that good career development practice is capable of helping to attract, recruit and retain a sustainable share of the UK workforce. As such, the fmdings provide a platform from which effective employment strategies can be developed in the future

The career choice influence of new entrant construction craft workers

Concerns abound over the construction industry’s inability to address its poor public image and attract sufficient numbers of new craft workers to overcome skills shortages. This paper reports on research which identifies the key influences on the career choice of craft workers. Career choice influences were examined via a questionnaire study of over 550 craft trainees and a series of focus groups and interviews in which informants discussed the social and psychological antecedents to their decision to embark upon a construction craft career. The results reveal the interplay of influences which shape the decisions of the participants. In particular, they reveal the powerful influence of parents, friends and relations on the choice process. It is suggested that there is a need for a new approach to marketing the industry’s career opportunities which seeks to influence all within society as to the merits of the sector and not just the potential new entrants themselves

Guidance on catastrophic events in construction

This guide is based upon a research project carried out for the HSE by CIRIA, working in partnership with Loughborough University. The research was reported to the HSE and was published by the HSE as Research Report RR834 Preventing catastrophic events in construction. The text in this guide is substantially drawn from RR834