From crew to country? Local and national construction safety cultures in Denmark

Accidents in construction have motivated a range of prevention methods and efforts with more or less success. Cultural explanations are of crucial importance in understanding risk at work and this contribution adds to the growing body of qualitative studies of safety culture. Symbolic interactionism is used as a conceptual ethnographic framework to include integration, differentiation, ambiguity and the multiple configuration of safety cultures. The primary case is a carpenter's crew of 28 men engaged in renovation work. The analysis reveals the overarching common integrative culture to be characterized by pride in work. This culture overlaps with four cultures named mastering, framework and rules, drawing board and plan, and ties that bind, found using the differentiation perspective. Ambiguous perceptions are found regarding possibilities for prevention and risk, which differ according to time, place and actor. This result is juxtaposed with cultures found in four other ethnographic studies from Denmark covering 10 companies. Although these studies find 25 different safety cultures, a national pattern showing a configuration of reactive and proactive safety cultures does seem prevalent. Accident prevention methods need to be more sensitive to different safety cultures, on site and in companies, but can also use national mechanisms such as training.