Huang, X (2003) The owner's role in construction safety. PhD thesis, University of Florida, USA.
Abstract
The construction industry has long been regarded as one of the most dangerous industries. The construction industry has a history of poor safety performance. This is despite the fact that dramatic improvements have been made in the safety performance of the construction industry in the past decade. The improvements are due, in part, to the concerted efforts of owners, contractors, subcontractors, and designers. While past studies have investigated the safety roles of contractors, subcontractors, and designers, the owner's impact on construction safety has not been thoroughly studied. The owners of projects are the primary consumers of construction services, the sources of project finances, and, in many cases, the end users of the facilities. They are often at the pivotal position of the projects. Traditionally, owners have not been directly involved in construction safety, often in order to avoid economic losses and legal entanglements resulting from injuries. With the increase of accident costs and legal cases involving owners as the third-party defendants, owners have come to realize the importance of safety. In this study, the owner's role in construction safety was investigated. The relationship between project safety performance and the owner's influence was examined, with particular focus on the project context, selection of safe contractors, contractual safety requirements, and the owner's proactive involvement in safety management. A questionnaire survey sent to owners with large construction budgets and interviews conducted on projects with large worker hour exposures were the primary means of data collection for the study. Statistical analysis shows that there is a strong relationship between project safety performance and owner involvement. Practices of owners significantly associated with project safety performances were identified. A model to demonstrate how owners can help improve safety was established. A scorecard that can be used to assess the owner's involvement in safety was developed and tested. It was concluded that the owner's involvement can significantly influence project safety performance. Owners can achieve better project safety performances by setting safety objectives, selecting safe contractors, and participating in safety management during construction.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Hinze, J |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction safety; owner; questionnaire survey; safety; statistical analysis |
| Index terms: | questionnaire, subcontractor, safety performance, end user, injury, project finance, designer, statistical analysis, owner, exposure, construction industry, safety management, construction budget, survey, construction safety, scorecard, interview, history |
| Subjects: | data science, data collection methods, occupational health and safety management, health conditions and diseases, architectural and construction history, profession, performance measurement, industry analysis, practitioner, sociology, public and environmental health, stakeholder, financial management, environmental health, financial and cost management |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Quality Management, Health and Safety, Sustainability, Stakeholder Management, Cost Management, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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