Mason, J (1999) The impact of total quality management on construction worker safety. PhD thesis, University of South Florida, USA.
Abstract
The construction industry is widely recognized as one of the most hazardous industries in the United States. Construction workers have a disproportionately high number of work-related injuries and fatalities. A number of experts believe containing the high costs associated with worker injuries and fatalities should be viewed from a broad perspective aimed at improving the overall competitiveness of the U. S. construction industry. The construction industry has responded to the need to address issues related to competitiveness by following the lead of the manufacturing sector in embracing TQM. The premise underlying this study was that a link exists between quality management and safety performance. This central purpose of this study was to determine if construction firms with higher levels of integrated TQM practices have better safety performance than construction firms with lower levels of integrated TQM practices. Also of interest was if there are specific quality management practices that are positively related to construction worker safety. A survey instrument was developed to collect firm-level data based on respondent perceptions of their firm's quality management practices, safety program and practices, and safety performance. Respondents from fifty-four construction firms in Florida participated in this study. The following conclusions were drawn from this study. First, a majority of construction firms surveyed have implemented many of the TQM principles and practices considered in this study. Second, construction firms which effectively use an integrated set of quality management strategies have better safety records than firms who use fewer quality practices, or use them less effectively. Finally, the majority of the ten TQM principles and practices considered in this study were positively and significantly related to improved construction worker safety performance. An additional unanticipated result of the study was that the integrated use of TQM principles and practices accounted for more of the variance in construction safety performance than did the use of practices associated with a safety program. The results of the study suggest that one way in which construction managers can address safety performance in their organizations is to adopt an integrated approach to managing quality.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | McCright, P R |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | United States; competitiveness; construction firms; construction safety; construction worker; manufacturing; quality management; safety; total quality management |
| Index terms: | variance, fatalities, construction worker, construction industry, quality management, competitiveness, strategy, survey, construction firm, integrated approach, United States, total quality management, injury, construction safety, quality management practice, safety performance, program, construction manager |
| Subjects: | profession, data collection methods, evaluation methods, software systems, management, health risk and incident analysis, measurement and scaling, health conditions and diseases, occupational health and safety management, environmental health, industry analysis, organization, practitioner, contractual arrangements, Geography, market analysis, quality assurance |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions, Quality Management, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Sustainability, Procurement |
| 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