Aboagye-Nimo, E and Raidén, A B (2019) Challenging standardisation by embracing ambiguities of site safety: The case of micro construction firms. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 35th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2019, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Streamlining and standardising safety practices in the construction industry has always been the goal of many policymakers and large construction firms. This would understandably ensure that all practices on a wide range of projects adopt and implement similar procedures and regulations. In addition, this idea could possibly reduce the uncertainties and variations associated with interpretations of policies and regulations amongst project teams. Unfortunately, safety issues on construction projects and sites are widely acknowledged to differ from project to project and even activity to activity. For this reason, the implementation of a broad-brush approach has always proven difficult in the industry. Micro and small teams in the industry operate under the notion that projects and site conditions are always fluid and tend to adapt their safety practices accordingly. The aim of this research is to highlight the experiences and nuances of the ambiguities in safety practices of workers of small and micro construction firms. Qualitative data was collected using ethnographies on construction sites in the South East and the East Midlands regions of the UK. Findings from the ethnographic studies indicate that workers from small and micro firms from both regions acknowledge that the risks and hazards associated with various stages of projects change constantly. These changes are attributed to various reasons including site conditions, project changes, workers' state of mind and overall site culture. Furthermore, the workers believe that standardising approaches for all projects will be ineffective especially if the teams should encounter extenuating circumstances that they have not planned for. The workers thus embrace the uncertainties in safety and adopt an approach the takes into account the ambiguities associated with construction practices thereby being able to use a dynamic approach to avoid accidents and injuries that could prove costly or fatal.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | ethnography; micro firms; safety ambiguity; site safety |
| Index terms: | construction project, standardization, variation, regulation, construction industry, implementation, project team, injury, safety issue, construction site, streamlining, ethnography, construction firm |
| Subjects: | organization, contractual arrangements, project delivery, work location, production management, qualitative and interpretive research, contractual condition, financial risk, management, performance measurement, industry analysis, political science, health conditions and diseases |
| Topics: | Governance, Procurement, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Research Practice, Project Management, Contract Administration, Site Management, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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