Trethewy, R W (2005) The effect of feedback on risk taking in the Australian construction industry. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 3(2), pp. 109-115. ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
Feedback in the workplace is identified as an important subset of changing workers' behaviour and providing effective reinforcement through informative and motivational properties. When properly initiated, feedback can bring about significant positive changes in compliance with safety procedures and is a key component of superior occupational health and safety (OHS) performance. In contrast, little evidence exists to suggest that disciplinary measures eliminate or suppress unsafe employee behaviour and risk taking. Research and quantifiable measurement in the effects of feedback is scant for industries such as construction, which are dominated by contracted labour. This paper reports on research undertaken to assess the effects of feedback on risk taking by contractors undertaking work in the Australian construction industry. The research was conducted over a period of one year and involved 350 participants, ten construction sites and the implementation of onsite safety interventions including a performance measurement and feedback tool.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | feedback; risk taking; workplace culture |
| Index terms: | performance measurement, reinforcement, implementation, construction industry, risk taking, compliance, construction site, occupational health and safety, evidence, employee behaviour |
| Subjects: | management, performance measurement, decision-making and reasoning, health safety and environment, occupational health and safety management, industry analysis, evaluation and assessment methods, building materials, work location, contractual arrangements |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Human Resources, Site Management, Health and Safety, Construction Materials, Research Practice, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here