Koh T Y, T M M R S (2013) A relational approach to high reliability organising for construction project safety: A conceptual framework. In: Smith, S D and Ahiaga-Dagbui, D D (eds.) Proceedings of 29th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2013, Reading, UK.
Abstract
In Hong Kong, current safety management regimes in the construction industry are largely based on compliance, error detection and prevention, and safety climate intervention. While these approaches have improved construction project safety performance, significant limitations still exist. First, compliance and error detection/prevention approaches are based on rigid and ideal formulations of construction work processes. Second, safety climate interventionist approaches have a limitation of mixing psychological and human factors issues that are somehow detached from construction work contextual consideration. As a result, current safety management approaches are less effective in ensuring safety in construction operations which are emergent and dynamically complex. These situations require adaptive human inputs and interactions to ensure safety on projects that are grounded in the social capital among project team members. However, as social capital is a primordial feature of human interactions that is likely to lie dormant, its impact on safety performance is likely to be indirect and mediated by some organising processes such as high reliability organising (HRO) processes. Adopting the systems view of safety, we draw on these concepts to highlight the relational aspects in the management of construction project safety, and explain how these relational aspects can contribute to improving project safety. We accomplish these objectives by putting forth a conceptual framework and methodological suggestion.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | health and safety, high reliability organising, human factor, project management, social capital |
| Index terms: | construction operation, social capital, health and safety, safety climate, Hong Kong, compliance, safety performance, project team, project management, human factor, construction industry, prevention, interaction, safety management, conceptual framework, construction work, construction project |
| Subjects: | project delivery, construction operations, operations management, behavioral psychology, industry analysis, sociology, occupational health and safety management, financial risk, project management theory and practice, production management, health safety and environment, Geography, theoretical framing |
| Topics: | Site Management, Health and Safety, Cost Management, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context |
| 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