Hayes, J; McDermott, V and Lingard, H (2015) What is risk? Construction activity near hazardous infrastructure. In: Raiden, A and Aboagye-Nimo, E (eds.) Proceedings of 31st Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2015, Lincoln, UK.
Abstract
Construction management has a strong safety focus directed primarily at reducing risk to workers. There is a special class of construction work that has the potential for a different set of safety issues – work that could damage hazardous infrastructure with possibly catastrophic effects for workers and the public alike. The natural gas pipeline failure as a result of car park construction in a light industrial area at Ghislenghien, Belgium in 2004, which resulted in 24 deaths, is one such example. The primary focus of this research is a case study regarding project-related construction activity around high pressure natural gas pipelines in Australia. Drawing on data gathered from in-depth interviews, alternate definitions and meanings of risk are explored amongst stakeholders who are responsible in some way for work near or around high-pressure gas pipelines. The research uncovered perceptions of risk from project personnel in various parts of the supply chain, couched in terms of project delays, legal and insurance obligations, as well as reputation management. The research demonstrates that, whilst damage to buried assets is recognised as something to be avoided, awareness of the potential for major disaster is poor. Further, supply chain contractual structures based on 'pay per meter' and risk control strategies relying solely on enforcement and procedural compliance, create a safety environment that is ineffective and dangerous. Responsibility for risk is shifted down the supply chain and yet field personnel are exposed to incentives for timely project completion. Consequently, strikes or near misses may result as sub-contractors seek to avoid perceived 'unnecessary' time delays and any associated financial impact. The research shows that efforts to reduce the potential for pipeline strike need to be targeted at organisational and supply chain structural changes, rather than simply aimed at worker risk perception and enforcement of safety compliance strategies targeted at field personnel.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | risk, health and safety, contracting, motivation |
| Index terms: | interview, personnel, compliance, pipeline, health and safety, case study, Belgium, strategy, safety issue, car park, drawing, construction activity, meaning, risk perception, motivation, Australia, insurance, time delay, construction work, sub-contractor, infrastructure construction, enforcement, project delay |
| Subjects: | practitioner, data collection methods, construction operations, economic analysis, psychology, operations management, technical documentation, health safety and environment, Geography, financial risk, management, civil engineering, infrastructure and transport systems, environmental hazards, project controls, sociology |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Health and Safety, Time Control, Site Management, Human Resources, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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