Understanding the role of local safety groups in managing safety practices between micro construction firms and principal contractors

Construction projects incorporate the input of a range of tradesmen and different sized firms, ranging from micro to large organisations. Working practices of micro construction firms are carried out in an informal manner while larger organisations tend to adopt more formal on-site management techniques. Many micro firms seek to develop long-term relationships with large principal contractors and a major strain on their relationships stem from the difference in safety management techniques they employ. Faced with a fundamental shift in their style of safety management, workers of micro construction firms must successfully negotiate this challenge. Against this background, records from the Health and Safety Executives show year on year reductions in accident and incident rates in the East Midlands, an indication that the safety practices on projects are being implemented more effectively. Some of this success has been attributed to the efforts of local safety groups, such as Nottinghamshire Occupational Safety and Health Association (NOSHA). As such, it is important that the interdependencies between large principal contractors and micro firms, and the role that safety groups such as NOSHA play in managing this relationship are better understood. This paper presents interviews conducted with some members of NOSHA. This is the first of two phases of empirical work. The roles that the members of the local safety group perform have been found to go beyond simply promoting safety awareness and safety knowledge on site. They have been found to help in conflict resolution among the various construction parties. Such practices help create a harmonious working environment and subsequently lead to long-term working relations

Attitudes of Basic School Teachers in the Cape Coast Municipality Towards Staff Development Activities

Continuing education through Staff development activities meant to enhance skills, knowledge, abilities, and beliefs are inextricably linked to effective teaching and learning. This study sought to determine the attitude of basic education teachers in Ghana toward staff development programmes. Two hundred and twenty-two (222) basic school teachers from Upper Primary and Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in the Central Region were selected using stratified random sampling methods for the study. The main instrument used for the collection of data was a researcher-designed questionnaire following the principles of the Likert Scale to ascertain teachers' personal characteristics and attitudes towards staff development programmes. The data obtained was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The study showed that Basic school teachers in the Cape Coast Municipality have a positive attitude towards staff development programmes. However, a more positive attitude is possible if staff development programmes are organised on regular basis and teachers are encouraged to appreciate the importance of staff development activities to the teacher and the school as a whole. The study also revealed that there is no systematic evaluation of the impact of staff development activities on the teaching practices of the individual teachers as well as the gains in students learning. There is, therefore, the need for organizers of staff development activities especially the Ghana Education Service (GES) to enforce proper supervision and evaluation of the impact of such programmes. Some recommendations are suggested on the basis of the findings. International Journal of Educational Research Vol. 3 (2) 2007 pp. 161-17

What does 'common sense' really mean in health and safety?

Extensive literature search has revealed that construction workers refer to the use of 'common sense' in site safety. This was also discovered in a recently completed PhD project where workers openly discussed a common sense approach to health and safety on site. The use of this term can be problematic. Different workers labelled different behaviours under this generic term. Also, some used it to refer to positive experiences and application of knowledge based on experience. Others employed the term negatively, or dismissively: "It's just common sense…" general use of the term puts emphasis on 'basic knowledge' required for attaining minimal or satisfactory achievement of a given task or activity. This is in conflict with some workers' interpretation of skilled and experience based action. In academic language ideas in this field are more substantially and in depth explored under 'communities of practice' and 'local knowledge'. These concepts offer an avenue for analysis not tied to specific wording employed by respondents but interpreting broader sets of data particularly for this study (i.e. observation material and text around specific extracts of text). This paper presents findings from five micro construction firms regarding the concept of common sense and site safety. Practical constraints, such as a researcher's stage of development and skill in qualitative analysis, potentially hinder the development of argumentation. The interpretative school of thought accepts researchers' influence on the processes; and we add depth and nuanced understanding to this discussion via practical examples of such issues. Interpretation of the data collected through ethnographic case studies indicates although workers interpret common sense differently, although it is essentially a means of working safely. However, common sense safety techniques tend to fall outside strict site rules which are often bureaucratic

Introducing site sense: comparing situated knowledge in construction to coalmining

The acknowledgment of the use of tacit knowledge as a safety praxis in the mining industry has been in existence for over half a century. This is referred to as pit sense. On the contrary, the use of tacit knowledge for site safety is only gathering steam in the construction industry. Research on common sense in construction suggests that the conflicts with official practices and policies, and resistance from individuals in managerial roles, hold back advancements in employing tacit knowledge. Common sense in construction and pit sense in coalmining substantial similarities including their heavy dependence on self-preservation and the use of a bottom-up approach i.e. both focusing on the discretion of the workers. We introduce the concept of 'site sense' as an approach to site safety which is based on tacit knowledge and reflects situatedness of knowledge. Non-participant observations and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data on the practices of workers of micro construction firms in relation to site safety. The research findings indicate that unlike site sense, pit sense has evolved from first being regarded as a mere informal practice to then being acknowledged by managers as a way of workers taking responsibility and accountability for their own safety. Site sense and pit sense are both recognised as safety practices that are not formally taught but acquired through continuous practice. They are both situational knowledge gained through informal techniques and close interactions among team members. In both schools of thought, it is widely known that experienced workers are proud to possess and demonstrate pit sense and site sense respectively whereas newcomers do not yet possess this tacit and situated knowledge

An exploratory study into promoting construction health and safety in Ghana through public works procurement

The construction industry is commonly associated with high or increasing levels of work-related hazards with ensuing injuries and fatalities. Studies have shown that procurement can further promote good construction H&S practice as it occurs throughout the life cycle of a project. However, the use of procurement as an instrument to promote H&S practices in construction has received little attention till date especially in developing countries. For this reason, the research aimed to explore practical measures to improve construction H&S through public works procurement in Ghana. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Seven respondents (procurement managers, consultants and Quantity surveyors), selected through a non-probabilistic purpose sampling from public institutions participated in the survey. In Ghana, the Public Procurement Act, Act 663 which was introduced in 2003 to ensure sanity and value for money in public procurement provides guidelines for the procurement of public works. In view of this, a case study of the H&S management of project procured using the Act 663 was also carried out. This was done to ascertain how public works is carried out in the Ghanaian public sector setting by determining the various stakeholders involved, the processes the project underwent and the various considerations looked at especially under H&S. The results however indicated that the Act 663 has no clause that addresses construction H&S. The paper also finds that, H&S does not form part of the criteria for evaluating tenders. To address the constraints so as to improve upon construction H&S, certain recommendations are offered. These include the inclusion of non- ambiguous H&S requirements as criteria for evaluating tenders and the pricing of H&S items in bills of quantities. Additionally, practical measures to improving construction H&S in Ghana at the key stages of works procurement are also provided. It also includes the specific roles and involvements of other stakeholders in the procurement process

Challenging standardisation by embracing ambiguities of site safety

Streamlining and standardising safety practices in the construction industry has always been the goal of many policymakers and large construction firms. This would understandably ensure that all practices on a wide range of projects adopt and implement similar procedures and regulations. In addition, this idea could possibly reduce the uncertainties and variations associated with interpretations of policies and regulations amongst project teams. Unfortunately, safety issues on construction projects and sites are widely acknowledged to differ from project to project and even activity to activity. For this reason, the implementation of a broad-brush approach has always proven difficult in the industry. Micro firms in the industry operate under the notion that projects and site conditions are always fluid and adapt their safety practices accordingly. The aim of this research is to the experiences and nuances in practices of workers of micro firms as they challenge standardisation by embracing ambiguities in project risks. Ethnographies were carried out on six construction sites in the South East and the East Midlands regions of the UK. Data collection tools adopted included observations, semi-structured interviews and conversations with tradesmen of selected micro firms. Findings from the ethnographic studies indicate that workers from small and micro firms from both regions acknowledge that the risks and hazards associated with various stages of projects change constantly. These changes are attributed to various reasons including site conditions, project changes, workers’ state of mind and overall site culture. Furthermore, the workers believe that standardising approaches for all projects will be ineffective especially if the teams should encounter extenuating circumstances that they have not planned for. The workers thus embrace the uncertainties in safety and adopt an approach the considers the ambiguities associated with construction practices thereby being able to use a dynamic approach to avoid accidents and injuries that could prove costly or fatal

Practising occupational health and safety using social practice theory

Occupational health and safety literature embodies two worlds: one that takes a hard, top-down approach with a view that legislation and organisational policy and procedures are essential to achieving an environment that mitigates risks to workers’ health and/ or safety. This perspective is aligned with rational management and has tended to dominate research and practice in and about organisations, work, workers and the organisation-work-worker relationships, including literature on occupational health and safety. The other takes a social constructionist view and places the worker at the heart of mobilising health and safety at work. Understanding the impact of individual and group characteristics (such as worker behaviour, perception, and safety climate) on occupational health and safety are at the heart of this perspective. As workers are definitive key stakeholders in occupational health and safety, interest and research in this space is growing. However, despite advancements in research and practice in both spaces, accidents still happen at work and worker health and well-being feature at the forefront of management agenda. We employ social practice theory to bring together the discourse of the two worlds in occupational health and safety research and practice. Social practice theory offers a framework for analysis which attempts to synthesise the structural focus of systems, such as legislative frameworks and organisational policy and procedures on occupational health and safety, and the processual and cultural, the socially constructed, approaches. We argue that such integration holds the key to extending work in this important area

A holistic review of off-site construction literature published between 2008 and 2018

Off-site construction (i.e., OSC) has become an emerging research domain in the recent decade. Through a three-step holistic review approach incorporating bibliometric search, scientometric analysis, and in-depth qualitative discussion, this study contributes to the body of knowledge in OSC by critically reviewing and summarizing: 1) the latest research keywords and main research topics in OSC; 2) the performance of OSC compared to that of conventional construction approach; 3) current research gaps in integrating OSC with other emerging construction concepts; and 4) future research directions in OSC. OSC is a domain that can be extended to cross-disciplinary research from the perspectives of engineering, management, and technology. Existing research have been focusing on many research disciplines, such as structural behaviors and joint connections of prefabricated components, scheduling and planning of off-site activities, as well as performance evaluation of OSC. However, further research is needed in integrating the emerging digital construction technology, integrated project delivery method, lean construction, and issues of sustainability of OSC. There are still limited studies linking OSC to the concept of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly. Future research should also adopt a larger database and allow for comprehensive evaluation of OSC performance