Mollo, L G; Emuze, F and Smallwood, J (2019) Improving occupational health and safety (OHS) in construction using training-within-industry method. Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, 24(3), pp. 655-671. ISSN 1366-4387
Abstract
Purpose: The manufacturing industry is a well-known source of interventions adapted to solve problems in the construction industry. The use of Training-Within-Industry (TWI) is one such intervention adopted in the construction industry to solve the construction problem relating to occupational health and safety (OHS). The objectives of TWI are to help the industry to transfer knowledge and skills from management to the employees. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to investigate whether TWI can reduce OHS problems by promoting “learning by doing” on construction sites. Design/methodology/approach: A case-based-research method was used to investigate the reported OHS problems in the construction industry in South Africa. The data were quantitative and qualitative in nature; the questionnaire survey, semi-structured interview and focus group interview techniques were used to collect data in the study. Findings: The findings provide a better understanding of the human contributions influencing the behaviour of people causing accidents on construction sites. The data show that construction project leaders struggle to promote “learning by doing” because of inappropriate behaviour, lack of communication and inadequate training provided to new workers on construction sites. Also, there is significant scope for TWI deployment in construction because of the inability of supervisors or management to promote “learning by doing” on construction sites. Practical implications: Based on the research findings, it is discovered that OHS is a serious concern in the construction industry. Therefore, the adoption of learning by doing on a construction site would help to improve OHS outcome. Originality/value: The study highlights the need to introduce TWI on construction sites to reduce human failure causing accidents. TWI could lead to improving the knowledge- and skills-transfer programmes for construction workers in favour of better safety performance.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | accidents; safety; training-within-industry |
| Index terms: | South Africa, safety performance, construction project, methodology, questionnaire, construction site, manufacturing industry, occupational health and safety, programme, survey, interview, focus group, construction worker, supervisor, construction industry |
| Subjects: | work location, practitioner, data collection methods, industry analysis, occupational health and safety management, project controls, Geography, production management, research methods |
| Topics: | Site Management, Time Control, Health and Safety, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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