Hallowell, M (2010) Cost-effectiveness of construction safety programme elements. Construction Management and Economics, 28(1), pp. 25-34. ISSN 1466433X
Abstract
Every year the construction industry accounts for a disproportionate injury rate when compared to the all-industry average. In recent years, incident rates have declined as a result of improvements in safety management. While there is a great deal of knowledge regarding the safety management strategies of highly effective construction firms, little is known about the cost-effectiveness of these strategies. Interviews with 26 representatives of construction firms headquartered in the US were undertaken to quantify the cost of implementing common safety programme elements by: (1) quantifying cost for each element per US$1 million of project scope; and (2) determining the distribution of safety funding to each element. Using these cost data and effectiveness ratings from previous research, the cost-effectiveness of 13 safety programme elements was quantified. The results indicate that the most cost-effective safety programme elements are subcontractor selection and management and upper management support and commitment. Alternatively, the least cost-effective elements are the employment of a full-time safety manager and record-keeping. The information presented in this paper may be used by practitioners to direct resource investments, strategically select a subset of safety programme elements when resources are limited, and to justify additional resource investment in accident prevention.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | risk management; safety |
| Index terms: | practitioner, subcontractor selection, safety management, construction safety, injury, manager, accident prevention, cost-effectivenes, interview, construction firm, programme, commitment, strategy, effectiveness, risk management, funding, project scope, cost data, construction industry, employment |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, risk assessment, organization, practitioner, scope management, psychology, economic analysis, management, economics, performance management, accounting and finance, occupational health and safety management, project controls, health conditions and diseases, industry analysis, environmental health |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Project Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Risk Management, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management, Human Resources, Quality Management, Organizational Design, Time Control |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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