How did COVID-19 pandemic impact safety performance on a construction project? A case study comparing pre and post COVID-19 influence on safety at an Australian construction site

COVID-19 had a significant impact on construction projects due to labor shortages and COVID-19 restrictions, yet little is known about the impact it had on construction safety. To address this gap, an Australian construction project was selected to study the impact of COVID-19 on safety performance, safety climate and safety leadership. The study collected data from safety climate surveys, leading and lagging safety indicators and used linear regression to compare safety performance pre and post the onset of COVID-19. Our results showed after the onset of COVID-19 there was a significant reduction (Pr \u3e F at 0.05 %) in incident rate, an improvement in supervisor safety leadership and safety climate, and satisfaction with organisational communication. The study identified the increase level of safety awareness due to COVID-19 did not result in an increase in the level of engagement in safety leadership. Interestingly, participation in the safety leadership activities did not improve until a change of Project Manager occurred. The study determined leaders who establish a positive safety climate within a project could negate the safety performance impact of COVID-19. The study confirms the importance of site safety leadership in maintaining engagement in risk management and the value of focused safety communication

Determining the reliability of critical controls in construction projects

Across the global construction industry, fatalities continue to occur from high-risk activities, where the risk controls have been defined; however, these were unreliable. In the mining industry, Critical Control Risk Management has provided positive results in reducing major accidents, which raises the question, could the Critical Control approach reduce the fatality rate in the construction industry? This study analyzed 10 years of serious and fatal incident investigation reports from four international construction companies to (i) assess the reliability of their Critical Controls (CCs) and (ii) assess the factors that affect the reliability of CCs. The results show the reliability of CCs, measured by implementation and effectiveness, averaged just 42%. Insight into human performance and organizational factors, including risk identification, decision-making and competency, together with supervision, job planning and communication, were identified as opportunities to improve the reliability of CCs. The study used bowtie diagrams with real event data to find the actual CC reliability. This appears to be the first published study that reports on the reliability of critical risk controls in construction. It demonstrates a feasible method for determining and communicating control effectiveness that can be used to deliver meaningful insights to industry practitioners on actual control performance and focus areas for improvement. In addition, actionable findings directly related to individual CCs can be derived that enable the participating organization to focus resources on improving specific verification processes. The results confirm the applicability of CCs for the Major Accident Event hazards analyzed and highlights that further reviews are required on the factors that need to be considered when implementing a CC program. This paper details our methodology and results, to assist others applying CCs as a risk management tool

Major aviation accident investigation methodologies used by ITSA members

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13 framework for aviation investigation is longstanding and well developed but does not require or audit use of methodologies for investigation analysis, including research literature safety/accident models (SAMs). Government Safety Investigation Authority (SIA) websites rarely mention methodologies. Limited published research engages directly with SIAs. A research/practice gap has been suggested. To address ICAO, SIA and research gaps, this qualitative multi-case study examines SIA use and documentation of methodologies for accident analysis. Nine of seventeen SIA members of the International Transportation Safety Association (ITSA) that investigate aviation accidents agreed to participate and provided written answers to our research questions, relevant internal documentation, and exemplar investigation reports. Our key findings are that participant SIAs have augmented ICAO requirements internally by their use of methodologies but that this usage was generally not obvious in published investigation reports and other SIA website material. It also varied significantly among the participants. All participant SIAs reported use of multiple methodologies, sometimes in the same investigation. Explicitly reported SIA methodology usage included: six Reason-based, six Rasmussen-based, three ‘recent systemic’, five ‘BowTie’, five ‘bespoke’, and seven using various other methodologies like ‘SHELL’. The industry impact of this qualitative research is hoped to be significant by being shared with participant SIAs unaware of each other\u27s practice, enabling consideration of different options. It can inform additional aviation SIAs, ICAO, air safety investigators, and other high-risk industry regulators and investigators. Safety researchers may be better placed to develop SAMs with greater practical industry relevance

Proposal for and validation of novel risk-based process to reduce the risk of construction site fatalities (Major Accident Prevention (MAP) program)

Despite developments in the prevention of fatalities in the construction industry, fatalities resulting from well-known hazards continue at an unacceptable rate. Construction fatality prevention literature describes risk management techniques to provide ‘early warning’ of potential events. In dynamic construction project environments, these ‘early warnings’ are missed resulting in serious and fatal events. Critical Control Risk Management (CCRM) provides an alternative strategy to prevent fatal events in the construction industry. However, no research exists that explores the application of CCRM to actual construction projects. This study aims to design, develop, and validate a construction fatality prevention program using CCRM principles through mixed method research. A six-phase fatality prevention process, the Major Accident Prevention (‘MAP’) program was developed and validated over 18 months on an Australian construction project. The MAP program provided a practical approach to risk management which significantly enhanced frontline risk management practices. Modelling of performance indicators identified first aid injuries and hazard reporting were the most significant measures which correlated with supervisor observations, and personal risk assessments MAP activities. A weak correlation between MAP activities and first aid injuries was identified (0.528p = \u3c 0.05) with further statistical analysis limited by the small sample size. A key attribute of the MAP program was the risk profiling planning tool which provided a four week look ahead on the fatal risks, allowing management to focus effort on verifying relevant critical controls in the field. The findings of this study aim to help construction organizations develop and implement fatal risk prevention programs

Death at sea - the true rate of occupational fatality within the Australian commercial fishing industry

Although the safety performance of the Australian commercial fishing industry has been the subject of multiple investigations, it has ultimately remained undefined. While most Australian industries notify industry regulators of significant workplace incidents and injuries in their operations, the majority of persons in the commercial fishing industry are contractors who are paid piecework and in some jurisdictions specifically excluded from the worker compensation legislation, meaning that most occupational injuries, including fatalities, are not captured in the centralized worker compensation data sets. This study presents the analysis of a systematic review of industry databases, published academic, and, Australian coroners reports to assist improve the definition of the nation\u27s commercial fishing industry safety performance. The analysis shows occupational fatality rates are significantly higher than currently reported, and recurring factors contributing to deaths at sea remain unaddressed. The study is significant as it demonstrates how workplace injuries and deaths can be hidden within data sets applying broad industry classification and provides a foundation for future research in Australian fishing and other industries

A handbook of wildfire engineering: Guidance for wildfire suppression and resilient urban design

A Handbook of Wildfire Engineering (the Handbook) provides firefighters, engineers and town planners with detailed technical approaches and analysis to enhance the resilience of communities in areas prone to wildfire impacts, and enhance the safety and effectiveness of wildfire suppression at the urban interface during catastrophic wildfire condition

Barry Turner: The under-acknowledged safety pioneer

Barry Turner’s 1978 Man-made Disasters and Charles Perrow’s 1984 Normal Accidents were seminal books but a detailed comparison has yet to be undertaken. Doing so is important to establish content and priority of key ideas underpinning contemporary safety science. Turner’s research found socio-technical and systemic patterns that meant that major organisational disasters could be foreseen and were preventable. Perrow’s macro-structuralist industry focus was on technologically deterministic but unpredictable and unpreventable “system” accidents, particularly rare catastrophes. Andrew Hopkins and Nick Pidgeon respectively suggested that some prominent writers who wrote after Turner may not have been aware of, or did not properly acknowledge, Turner’s work. Using a methodology involving systematic reading and historical, biographical and thematic theory analysis, a detailed review of Turner’s and Perrow’s backgrounds and publications sheds new light on Turner’s priority and accomplishment, highlighting substantial similarities as well as clear differences. Normal Accidents did not cite Turner in 1984 or when republished with major additions in 1999. Turner became better known after a 1997 second edition of Man-made Disasters but under-acknowledgment issues by Perrow and others continued. Ethical citation and potential reasons for under-acknowledgment are discussed together with lessons applicable more broadly. It is concluded that Turner’s foundational importance for safety science should be better recognised

Calculation of critical water flow rates for wildfire suppression

Predicting water suppression requirements and its impacts on firefighting strategies and logistics within the urban environment has been the subject of many previous studies, however the same level of research has yet to be applied in the realm of wildfire suppression. To work towards addressing this knowledge gap, this paper provides guidance for Incident Controllers in relation to critical water flow rates required to extinguish large wildfire across a wide range of forest fuel loads, fire weather and active fire front depths. This is achieved through mathematical empirical analysis of water flow rates required for head fire suppression during 540 simulated wildfires in forest vegetation. This research applies a fire engineering approach to wildfire suppression logistics and deterministically assess the suitability of appliance and aircraft based head fire suppression. The results highlight the limitations of offensive wildfire suppression involving direct head fire attacks by appliances once wildfires attain a quasi-steady state in forest fuels

A review of the standard of care owed to Australian firefighters from a safety perspective—The differences between academic theory and legal obligations

Working in high consequence yet low frequency, events Australian fire service Incident Controllers are required to make critical decisions with limited information in time-poor environments, whilst balancing competing priorities and pressures, to successfully solve dynamic large-scale disaster situations involving dozens of personnel within the Incident Management Team, including of front-line responders from multiple jurisdictions. They must also do this within the boundaries of public and political expectations, industrial agreements, and the legal requirement to maintain a safe workplace for all workers, inclusive of volunteers. In addition to these operational objectives, fire services must also provide realistic training to prepare frontline staff, whilst satisfying legislative requirements to provide a safe workplace under legislation that does not distinguish between emergency services and routine business contexts. In order to explore this challenge, in this article we review the different safety standards expected through industrial and legal lenses, and contextualize the results to the firefighting environment in Australia. Whilst an academic argument may be presented that firefighting is a reasonably unique workplace which exposes workers to a higher level of harm than many other workplaces, and that certain levels of firefighter injury and even fatality are acceptable, no exception or distinction is provided for the firefighting context within the relevant safety legislation. Until such time that fire services adopt the legal interpretations and applications and develop true safety management systems as opposed to relying on “dynamic risk assessment” as a defendable position, the ability of fire services and individual Incident Controllers to demonstrate they have managed risk as so far as reasonably practicable will remain ultimately problematic from a legal perspective

Fatigue Risk Management Systems diagnostic tool: Validation of an organizational assessment tool for shift work organizations

Background: This study aimed to determine and define the elements of an Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) diagnostic tool to assist an organization in systematically assessing its level of implementation of an FRMS. Methods: A modified Delphi process was used involving 16 participants with expertise in sleep science, chronobiology, and fatigue risk management within occupational settings. The study was undertaken in two stages 1) review of elements and definitions; 2) review of statements for each element. Each stage involved an iterative process, and a consensus rule of ≥ 60 % was applied to arrive at a final list of elements, definitions, and statements. Results: Stage 1: a review of elements (n = 12) and definitions resulted in a final list of 14 elements and definitions with a consensus of ≥ 60 % achieved after 2 Delphi rounds. Stage 2: a review of statements (n = 131) resulted in a final list of 119 statements with a consensus of ≥ 60 % achieved after 2 Delphi rounds. Conclusion: The final FRMS diagnostic tool will enable an organization to systematically assess the level of implementation of their current FRMS and identify gaps and opportunities to reduce risk