Developing a framework for a reciprocal safety implementation system (RSIS) in the pakistani construction industry

Raheem, A A (2014) Developing a framework for a reciprocal safety implementation system (RSIS) in the pakistani construction industry. PhD thesis, University of Florida, USA.

Abstract

Despite the fact that the construction industry in Pakistan has witnessed a rapid growth in the past few years, workers are still working in poor safety conditions. The high injury/fatality rate in Pakistan is probably due to the direct exposure of workers to hazardous conditions, such as working at elevation or in confined spaces without any formal safety training and personal protective equipment. While Pakistan has several occupational safety and health laws, they are too broad to be applied directly to the construction industry. Due to the presence of a weak regulatory system, worker safety is not a principal focus of the construction industry. This study is conducted to improve the current construction safety situation in Pakistan by developing a framework for better implementation of safety practices and thus bridging the safety related perceptual gaps between different stakeholders and regulatory authorities. A three phase research model (3’PRM) was instigated to streamline the research efforts. These three phases are: 1) Benchmarking 2) Evaluation 3) Development. During the benchmarking phase, various reasons were identified for the poor construction safety implementation in Pakistan. The existing situation was further evaluated through survey questionnaire and interviews. After conducting an extensive literature review and field study, the research entailed the development of a framework for better construction safety implementation in Pakistan. The proposed framework is composed of guidelines for a reciprocal safety implementation system with aspects such as regulatory enhancements and corporate safety culture improvements. The emphasis of this system is to extend all the efforts for minimizing the risks for construction workers through stronger regulations and voluntary compliance efforts by all the stakeholders. This study will help initiate a sustainable regulatory environment for safety implementation specifically designed for construction workers in Pakistan.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Uncontrolled Keywords: culture; protective equipment; construction safety; equipment; injury; benchmarking; compliance; regulation; safety; training; construction worker; stakeholders; Pakistan; interview
Index terms: occupational safety and health, presence, personal protective equipment, construction worker, construction industry, safety training, protective equipment, implementation, safety culture, questionnaire, regulation, Pakistan, benchmarking, construction safety, exposure, injury, regulatory system, interview, field study, compliance, survey, literature review
Subjects: occupational health and safety management, health conditions and diseases, industry analysis, environmental health, political science, performance measurement, public and environmental health, data analysis and analytics, data collection methods, research methods, health safety and environment, Geography, contractual arrangements, environmental science, practitioner
Topics: Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Sustainability, Procurement, Quality Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Governance
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