scholarly journals Perceptions of Safety Climate in Construction Projects between Workers and Managers/Supervisors in the Developing Country of Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 10398
Author(s):  
Daniel W. M. Chan ◽  
Matteo Cristofaro ◽  
Hala Nassereddine ◽  
Nicole S. N. Yiu ◽  
Hadi Sarvari
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Safety Climate ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
The Difference

What are the different perceptions on safety climate (SC) by workers and managers/supervisors engaged in the construction industry of developing countries? Reconciling these two differing views is pivotal for mitigating and avoiding both the injured and fatal accidents in the construction industry, especially in those developing countries where safety conditions are poor and unpredictable, and safety measures are inadequate in most cases. To answer this research question, the collective perceptions of 118 construction workers and 123 managers/supervisors on the SC in construction projects in Iran were gleaned and investigated. In particular, these perceptions were initially collected by two different empirical surveys validated by a sample of university professors and construction managers and then analyzed through the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test and Bartlett’s test of sphericity under factor analysis, together with a one-sample t-test. Results indicated that “workers’ attitudes and perceptions”, “safety knowledge and training”, “working relationships and roles of colleagues”, and “workers’ risk perceptions” are important categories of SC factors perceived by construction workers, whereas “safety rules and management practices” is the essential category of SC factors discerned by managers/supervisors. The difference in perceptions between workers and managers/supervisors is considered to be beneficial for an overall understanding of SC in general and for developing countries in particular. Moreover, a series of effective suggestions for improving SC in the construction industry of developing countries are provided with reference to each category. The views of SC factors are reinforced as a social process combining the synergies of workers and managers/supervisors, as well as proper safety training to be pushed forward as an essential activity that should be incorporated in human resources development of construction organizations so as to improve the existing level of SC, leading to fewer accidents at the industry level.

scholarly journals Integrating sustainability into construction project management: Barriers in developing countries

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Fathalizadeh ◽  
Parviz Ghoddousi ◽  
Ali Akbar Shirzadi Javid ◽  
M. Reza Hosseini ◽  
Arka Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Project Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Construction Project Management ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Development Goals

This paper is an attempt to explore the barriers to integrating sustainability into construction project management in developing countries. To this end, a comprehensive review of the literature is conducted, as a result of which a list of 30 barriers is culled from existing studies. The list of barriers is subsequently assessed in terms of relative importance index (RII) through a survey questionnaire administered to Iranian construction industry experts, resulting in a dataset of 176 completed questionnaires. Findings bring to light the most influential barriers to incorporating sustainability in construction projects for a developing country. These were: (1) lack of understanding of the potential selfbenefits of proactivity and high economic risks that unsustainable practices may carry, (2) inadequate assessment of risks and a silo-based approach, namely, insufficient cooperation among practitioners, research institutions and environmental organisations and (3) the lack of a systematic approach to planning and acting for the fulfilment of sustainability goals. As one of the first studies in its kind, the paper offers invaluable insight for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, in supporting the transition of construction project management practices towards fulfilling sustainable development goals.

scholarly journals Sleep duration and fatigue in construction workers: A preliminary study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 2496-2504
Author(s):  
Ximena Ferrada ◽  
Silvia Barrios ◽  
Patricia Masalan ◽  
Solange Campos-Romero ◽  
Juan Carrillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Sleep Duration ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Occupational Accidents ◽  
Psychomotor Vigilance Test ◽  
The Difference

Abstract The construction industry is known for its high rate of accidents. Among the different possible causes of this situation, we could find lack of sleep and fatigue. Chronic sleep deprivation is a determining factor in the deterioration of vigilance and alert, and consequently a risk factor for occupational accidents. Fatigue is the answer of our organism to sustained physical and mental stress. Regretfully, those topics have been ovelooked in the construction industry. The objective of this study is to understand better these phenomena, such as sleep duration and fatigue, and whether they are interrelated, and to propose strategies to mitigate them and contribute to the reduction of accidents in construction projects. We worked with 154 male construction workers from one Chilean construction company. To assess sleep quality, we used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). To evaluate fatigue, we used a personal computer version of the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PC-PVT) that measures alertness and vigilance. This 5-minute test was performed on construction workers on-site in the morning. Those people who took part in the test were classified into various groups according to self-reported sleep hours, namely: 7–9 h (26%), 5–7 h (61.7%), and <5 h (12.3%). These results were compared for three variables (Mean Reaction Time (RT), 10% faster, and 10% slower) using an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test. Differences were found for Mean RT and Slowest 10%, the difference being greater in the group that reported sleeping <5 h, but without statistical significance. Studies with a greater number of subjects and measurements are required throughout the working day.

scholarly journals Risk Perception in the Construction Industry: Differences Between Italian and Migrant Workers Before and After a Targeted Training Intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-71
Author(s):  
Federico Ricci ◽  
Giulia Bravo ◽  
Alberto Modenese ◽  
Fabrizio De Pasquale ◽  
Davide Ferrari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Visual Tool ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Linguistic Barriers ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Difference

We developed a visual tool to assess risk perception for a sample of male construction workers (forty Italian and twenty-eight immigrant workers), just before and after a sixteen-hour training course. The questionnaire included photographs of real construction sites, and workers were instructed to select pictograms representing the occupational risks present in each photograph. Points were awarded for correctly identifying any risks that were present, and points were deducted for failing to identify risks that were present or identifying risks that were not present. We found: (1) Before the course, risk perception was significantly lower in immigrants compared to Italians ( p < .001); (2) risk perception improved significantly ( p < .001) among all workers tested; and (3) after the training, the difference in risk perception between Italians and immigrants was no longer statistically significant ( p = .1086). Although the sample size was relatively small, the results suggest that the training is effective and may reduce the degree to which cultural and linguistic barriers hinder risk perception. Moreover, the use of images and pictograms instead of words to evaluate risk perception could also be applied to nonconstruction workplaces.

scholarly journals Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Managing Construction Claims: Now and Beyond – A Review (Jordan Perspective)

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1099-1115
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Change Orders ◽  
Construction Claims ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Life Cycle Phase

As the intricacy of construction projects is amassed, prospects for tribulations are mounting, depicting negative impact on projects’ cost, time and excellence. Thus, eliciting claims that aredisruptive to projects, time consuming and exorbitant. BIM holds enormousprobable in prosperous claim management practices. The progression of BIM can enrich knowledge sharing for information of a building or facility. It forms a vitalbase for decision making throughout the life cycle phase from the conceptual design to demolition. BIM is also, a valuable multidisciplinary cohesive source of information technology that posts benefits and disputes in the construction industry. The main aspiration of this paper is to appraise how and to what magnitude BIM can help evading and plummeting claims in Jordan construction industry.The paper ran a literature review on recent research, industry reports, and other sources to seehow they identified claims, its classifications, benefits, impacts and challenges of BIM on construction projects.Also, the paper acknowledgedcontemporaneous challenges in the claims field and the construction industry as whole. The attained outcomes have shown that BIM overtakes traditional claim management practices in many aspects including recognizing and investigating claims, where the benefits are comprehended in time and cost savings, less change orders, less rework. Moreover, the information and knowledge management that BIM postulates can improve many aspects of claim management.

Analysing the benefits, techniques, tools and challenges of knowledge management practices in the Malaysian construction SMEs

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 803-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap ◽  
Anna Lock
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Cultural Issue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Klang Valley ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Company Identification

Purpose Knowledge management (KM) is the central know how for the construction industry. However, the delivery of construction projects is often plagued by schedule delays and cost overruns due to lack of working knowledge of project personnel. Hence, the need to appraise the practices of knowledge management in the construction industry has become all the more germane. This paper aims to determine the awareness of KM practices in Malaysia-based construction small and medium enterprises, and to investigate the benefits, tools and techniques, and challenges associated with knowledge management implementation so that effective measures can be devised to address them. Design/methodology/approach The research data were gathered using a structured questionnaire survey disseminated in the Klang Valley region in Malaysia. Responses were collected from 107 industry practitioners. The quantitative data are subjected to descriptive statistics, and the ranking with category of significance of the hypothesised variables is determined using the relative importance index (RII) technique. Findings The key benefits of KM practices are predominantly raising efficiency, quality, productivity and decision-making. The most preferred KM techniques are “face-to-face interaction”, “mentoring” and “documents and reports”. The highly significant tools are “groupware” and “telephone”. The major organisational issue hampering the implementation of knowledge management practices is “lack of motivation” while the critical cultural issue is relating to “bureaucracy and hierarchical”, and the vital people issue concerns “lack of trust”. Research limitations/implications The respondents were limited to only small and medium construction enterprises located in the Klang Valley region in Malaysia, which makes generalisation challenging. Practical implications KM provides not only a pragmatic but also a proactive approach to raising the competitive edge and capabilities of a construction company. Identification of the critical attributes of KM provides the basis for project managers in formulating KM strategies to enhance the chances of successful delivery of future projects. Originality/value The study contributes to the debate on the knowledge agenda in the construction industry, particularly from a fast developing economy’s perspective, where an effective KM can further contribute to realising a reasonable level of competitiveness operation.

scholarly journals An Innovative Framework for Risk Management in Construction Projects in Developing Countries: Evidence from Pakistan

Risks ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahsan Nawaz ◽  
Ahsan Waqar ◽  
Syyed Shah ◽  
Muhammad Sajid ◽  
Muhammad Khalid
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Project Success ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Core System ◽  
Good Reputation ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
Key Participants

Risk management is a comparatively new field and there is no core system of risk management in the construction industries of developing countries. In Pakistan, construction is an extremely risk-seeking industry lacking a good reputation for handling risk. However, it is gradually giving it more importance as a result of increased competition and construction activities. For this purpose, a survey-based study has been conducted which aims to investigate the risk management practices used in construction projects in Pakistan. To achieve the objective, data was collected from 22 contractor firms working on 100 diverse projects. The analysis indicates that risk management has been implemented at a low level in the local environment. The results also disclose that there is a higher degree of correlation between effective risk management and project success. The findings reveal the importance of risk management techniques, their usage, implication, and the effect of these techniques on the success of construction projects from the contractor’s perspective, thus convincing the key participants of projects about the use of risk management.

Effects of financial management practices on technical performance of building contractors in northeast Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-223
Author(s):  
Abdulmalik Sa'eed ◽  
Nuru Gambo ◽  
Ibrahim Ibrahim Inuwa ◽  
Innocent Musonda
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technical Performance ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Northeast Nigeria

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of financial management practices of small-scale building contractors on the technical performance of the contractors in the northern part of Nigeria with international best practices. Previous studies argued that the technical performance of small-scale building contractors in developing countries is poor because of insufficient cash to acquire strategic resources at the outset of a project. This continues to pose a challenge to the sustainable development of the construction industry, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. There is, therefore, a need to identify, assess and compare the effects of financial practices of the contractors with technical performance best practices. Design/methodology/approach The technical performance of each contractor was evaluated using a five-point Likert scale. This is used to obtain the mean technical performance levels of the contractors. A questionnaire survey was administered to the professionals in the industry who were selected by using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The contractors’ performance was compared using ANOVA with post hoc, and the effects of contractors’ financial management practices were determined using multiple regression analysis. Findings The results of this study indicated that the contractors in Nigeria were average technical performers and there were large effects of financial management practices on the technical performance of contractors in building projects. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to small-scale building contractors in northeast Nigeria. One of the implications of this study is that it provides the criteria for an evaluation of small-scale building contractors’ technical performance in Nigeria and other developing countries that faced similar problems. Practical implications The practical implications of this study are that it establishes the current level of contractors' technical performance and serves as an awareness of contractors' current financial practices. Social implications This study created bases for self-evaluation of contractors’ technical performance and competition among small-scale contractors in Nigeria for the enhancement of productivity particularly in rural areas for national development. Originality/value This study emanated from the government reports and past studies in the area of performance management based on the persistence of poor technical performance of small-scale contractors in the construction industry.

scholarly journals A Safety Climate Framework for Improving Health and Safety in the Indonesian Construction Industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatma Lestari ◽  
Riza Yosia Sunindijo ◽  
Martin Loosemore ◽  
Yuni Kusminanti ◽  
Baiduri Widanarko
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Safety Climate ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Safety Communication ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Safety Research

The Indonesian construction industry is the second largest in Asia and accounts for over 30% of all occupational injuries in the country. Despite the size of the industry, there is a lack of safety research in this context. This research, therefore, aims to assess safety climate and develop a framework to improve safety in the Indonesian construction industry. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 311 construction workers. The results show a moderately healthy safety climate but reflect numerous problems, particularly around perceived conflicts between production and safety logics, cost trade-offs being made against other competing project priorities, poor safety communication, poor working conditions, acceptance of poor safety as the norm, poor reporting and monitoring practices, poor training and a risky and unsupportive working environment which prevents workers from operating safely. Two new safety climate paradoxes are also revealed: contradictions between management communications and management practices; contradictions between worker concern for safety and their low sense of personal accountability and empowerment for acting to reduce these risks. A low locus of control over safety is also identified as a significant problem which is related to prevailing Indonesian cultural norms and poor safety policy implementation and potential conflicts between formal and informal safety norms, practices and procedures. Drawing on these findings, a new integrated framework of safety climate is presented to improve safety performance in the Indonesian construction industry.

scholarly journals The Competency Level of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5C) ◽  
pp. 314-317
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
Industry Data ◽  
Competency Level ◽  
Survey Questionnaires

Poor competency of construction workers in the construction industry is considered one of the most discouraging human resource issues in developing countries. This paper reports an investigation into the competency level of Indonesian migrant workers in the Malaysian construction industry. Data from this research was collected from the survey questionnaires with 300 Indonesian migrant workers. Results indicated that the levels of knowledge, skill and attitude among Indonesian migrant workers towards the trades in the construction industry only showed moderate levels. Suggestions for ways to overcome skill gap among Indonesian migrant workers were given in order to enhance their competency level in the construction industry.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document