Biggs, H C; Dingsdag, D P; Sheahan, V L and Stenson, N J (2005) The role of collaboration in defining and maintaining a safety culture: Australian perspectives in the construction sector. In: Khosrowshahi, F (ed.) Proceedings of 21st Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2005, London, UK.
Abstract
The nature of the Australian construction industry, with strict time and work demands, serves to challenge construction organisations in how they can develop and maintain a positive site safety culture. Much research has examined the role management has in influencing culture, however more is needed to specifically elucidate the attributes required by leaders within organisations (Cox, Tomas, Cheyne, & Oliver 1998; Glendon & Stanton 2000; Williamson, Feyer, Cairns & Biancotti 1997). To answer this question, focus groups were held with eleven of the twelve largest construction companies across Australia. Discussion centred around safety culture and the attributes required by those who hold 'safety critical roles' i.e. key safety positions. Data was analysed qualitatively to identify key themes. The results indicated the strong role that leadership style, communication and workplace collaboration had in influencing the ability of organisations to develop and maintain a positive safety culture. Specifically, the participants indicated that leadership and communication styles that served to reduce conflict and work demands, and sought to involve workers in decision making and problem solving appeared to increase personalisation, which in turn increased safety awareness and safety performance.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | collaboration; leadership; safety culture; safety management |
| Index terms: | leadership style, Australia, construction company, safety culture, construction organization, safety critical, focus group, construction sector, safety management, construction industry, safety performance, collaboration, decision-making, problem solving |
| Subjects: | decision-making and reasoning, management, health safety and environment, Geography, decision analysis, occupational health and safety management, leadership, industry analysis, organization, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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