Safety Management Practices in the Bhutanese Construction Industry

The construction industry is considered as one of the most hazardous industrial sectors wherein the construction workers are more prone to accidents. In developed countries such as United Kingdom and United States of America, there is strict legal enforcement of safety in the construction industry and also in the implementation of safety management systems which are designed to minimize or eliminate accidents at work places. However, occupational safety in construction industry is very poor in developing countries such as Bhutan. This study investigates the prevalent safety management practices and perceptions in the construction industry in Bhutan. The study was conducted among 40 construction contractors and 14 government officials through method of questionnaire survey, interview and discussion. The results of the study revealed that there are many occupational safety problems in the construction industry in Bhutan, problems such as lack of safety regulations and standards, low priority of safety, lack of data on safety at construction sites, lack of competent manpower, lack of safety training, lack of safety promotion, and lack of documented and organized safety management systems. Furthermore, the study also proposes some recommendations for safe construction in Bhutan

Risk assessment in non-standard forms of civil engineering consulting services

Although a large body of research exists on risk assessment in civil engineering projects and of owners, contractors, concessionaires and financiers of such projects, there is a lacuna in such research on engineering consultants, particularly those associated with non-standard forms of consulting services. This paper seeks to explore the genesis of the underlying risks in non-standard forms of engineering consulting services, systematically classify the risks, and develop a Risk Breakdown Structure and a generic Framework for efficient assessment of these risks, which is a prerequisite for sound risk management in the engineering consulting industry. The research adopts a mixed method approach, synthesising exploratory type multiple-case studies and questionnaire surveys, carried out in 14 engineering consulting firms having extensive experience in the delivery of non-standard consulting services. This paper provides empirical insights of the genetic makeup of risks associated with non-standard forms of consulting services. Such risks are found to be predominantly linked to design office based activities that underline the importance of design function in engineering consulting practice. Loss of reputation and/or goodwill is rated as the most severe potential impact on consultants. Proposed Risk Assessment Framework provides the engineering consulting industry with a functional tool for efficient risk management

What Are the Factors Influence on Construction Safety? A Review

Because of resource constraints, construction safety management is more difficult in underdeveloped nations. The aim of this paper is to explore and identify the key factors affecting construction site safety performance.  The first step in this study was a systematic assessment of 98 papers using a content qualitative approach. From this review, 12 influential factors for safety performance in construction projects were identified. Second, a framework was developed to illustrate the interactions between the identified factors at various project management levels. Furthermore, expert interviews were used to validate the framework. The findings of this study will help project managers better understand how different important safety issues at different construction project hierarchies affect the safety performance of the sites

Virtually real construction sfite processes: hazard identification and accident precaution planning using design-for-safety-process (DFSP) tool

published_or_final_versionReal Estate and ConstructionDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph

Identification of important organisational factors influencing safety work behaviours in construction projects / Saugią elgseną statybose veikiančių organizacinių veiksnių nustatymas

Although the importance of organisational factors in human error has been acknowledged, the influence of organisational factors in the area of work behaviour in construction industry has rarely been examined. The first step of investigation should begin with identifying the relevant contributing factors affecting at-risk work behaviours. Thus, the aim of this research is to identify important organisational factors that will reduce at-risk work behaviours. The implications of these findings are further used to quantify and investigate the role of organisational factors as an integral feature of safety intervention. Case studies are used to identify and categorize organisational factors. This identification process begins with literature reviews as commonly performed. The literature related with organisational factors was used as a primary source to investigate the influences of organisational factors on at-risk work behaviours. Hence, semi-structured interviews and reviews of the company's documents were conducted involving safety experts and workers to gain experiential and practical knowledge. The obtained results identified seven important factors of Thailand construction industry: communication, culture, management commitment, leadership, organisation learning, empowerment, and reward system. The implications of particular applications from these factors are considered as critical features for handling work behaviours. In addition, empirical findings provide particularly insight factors from expertise in a practical way. Validations with previous publications of some factors are also discussed. The identified contributing determinants from empirical findings can be expected to be influential at different levels within an organization. Consequently, the proposed hypothetical casual models enables determination of disparity in their influences of organisational factors when considering interventions to reduce at-risk work behaviour or to promote safe work behaviours. Santrauka Organizacinių veiksnių įtaka žmonių klaidoms buvo pripažįstama ilgą laiką, tačiau tų veiksnių poveikis saugiai elgsenai statybos pramonėje yra mažai ištirtas. Pirmasis tyrimo žingsnis turėtų būti veiksnių, darančių įtaką rizikingai elgsenai, nustatymas. Tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti organizacinius veiksnius, kurie leistų mažinti rizikingą elgseną darbo vietose. Tai leis tirti ir kiekybiškai vertinti organizacinių veiksnių vaidmenį užtikrinant saugą. Organizaciniai veiksniai nustatomi ir skirstomi kategorijomis nagrinėjant pavyzdžius. Apžvelgiama literatūra, kuri naudojama kaip pirminis informacijos apie organizacinius veiksnius šaltinis, atliekama pusiau struktūrinta saugos ekspertų ir darbuotojų apklausa, apžvelgiami įmonės dokumentai. Gauti rezultatai leido nustatyti septynis reikšmingus veiksnius, būdingus Tailando statybos pramonei: komunikacija, kultūra, vadybininkų įsipareigojimai, vadovavimas, organizaciniai mokymai, galių suteikimas, apdovanojimų sistema. Nagrinėjama šių veiksnių reikšmė užtikrinant saugią elgseną darbo vietoje. Teigiama, kad empirinės žinios, sukauptos straipsnyje aprašomame tyrime, leis nustatyti veiksnių įtaką skirtingais organizacijos lygmenimis. Straipsnyje siūlomi modeliai leis vertinti organizacinių veiksnių įtakos rizikingai elgsenai darbe nevienodumą ir skatinti saugią elgseną. Reikšminiai žodžiai: organizaciniai veiksniai, saugaus darbo elgsena, Tailando statybo