International Research Conference on Sustainability in Built E

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Factors Affecting Construction Safety Management in Sri Lanka

G.H. Kanachana Priyadarshani*
Department of Building Economics, University of Moiatuwa, Moiatuwa, Sii Lanka.

Gayani Karunasena
Department of Building Economics, University of Moiatuwa, Moi atuwa, Sri Lanka.

Abstract
Safety at work is an important fact at construction sites. The subject of safety attitudes and safety
performance of both management and workers in the construction industry is even more so. In
general, accidents at work occur either due to lack of knowledge or training, lack of supervision,
lack of means to carry out the task safely or alternatively, due to an error of judgment,
carelessness, laziness or total irresponsibility. The standards on quality of physical working
conditions were developed based on the lessons accumulated on past accidents and are still based
on the investigations and follow-up measures taken after accidents occurred at site. Thus the
purpose of this paper is to explore the key factors affecting to Construction Safety Management
and utilize the data to enhance the involvement of management to construction safety. The
literature survey identifies the key factors affecting to the Construction Safety Management as a
whole. To achieve the degree of significance of each factor affecting to the Construction Safety
Management in Sri Lanka, a questionnaire was developed and sent to a random sample of top Sri
Lankan construction companies. Relative Importance and the Mean Score were calculated to rank
the key factors according to their importance. Through this method, it has been identified that the
following factors like Management Commitment, Implementation of Safety Supervision
Management Measures (Safety Meetings and Safety Training etc.), Project Nature, Jndividua,
Involvement, and Economic Investment on Safety are mainly affecting to the Construction Safety
Management. The final results enable how to enhance the safety performance of the management
with greater involvement.

Key words: Construction Safety Management, Factors, Sri Lanka

1. Introduction
In the Sri Lankan industry, the extent of construction accidents is more severe when c0^5^?aVe
other industries, almost as in other countries (Rameezdeen et al, 2003). Bandara et alp® , funCi;
identified that inadequate safety precautions, lack of implementation of rules, Hnute
knowledge and qualified officers are affecting for the unexpected accidents and social problems ^
construction industry in Sri Lanka. Further, they state the annual report published in 2002 by ■
also has highlighted that the safety practices which are being adopted at construction slteS tjon
below the acceptable standards and on the other hand, low educational levels of many cons
workers may be one of a main barriers to imply the safety at sites.
Nevertheless, the key factors influencing the safety management have not been focUSeSafety d
Therefore, this gap is supposed to be filled with this study on Factors Affecting Construction ^
Management in Sri Lanka. In this paper, the general overview on the construction safety m t
and the work done by the other researchers on the construction safety are mainly discussed t0 aiure
the factors affecting the construction safety management through a comprehensive 1 ^ ^
synthesis. A questionnaire was then developed to get the industry opinion on those factors arCher’s
survey was conducted assuming the respondents’ honesty towards the questionnaire since rese

* Corresponding author: E-mail- kanchana.qs@gmail.com

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rontrol over environment would be somewW i;m-, .

Accordi„g .o .he responses .he lata, experts, the d»a “ta jS S"'V'!'-

2. LITERATURE

All human plans, projects and ideas involve both risk and safety. Work in a socio technical system
deals with danger and failure as well as with safety. The construction site is a place accustomed to
work accidents, and it is the task of managers, workers and trade unions to balance the possible
favourable outcomes of given arrangements against their possible adverse consequences (Gherardi el
al1998). As Gambatese and Hollowed (2009) stated, although construction safety and health
management has improved significantly following the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, in
the construction industry the risk of a fatality is five times more likely than in a manufacturing based
industry, while the risk of a major injury is two and a half time higher.
According to Abudayyeh et al. (2006), the rates of fatal and nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the
construction industry are relatively high and have not dropped significantly during the past 10 years,
despite the adoption of safety procedures and programs such as those developed and required by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
As mentioned by Ng et al (2005), in a market driven society, it is common for construction
stakeholders, especially those at the lower end of the supply chain, to concentrate exclusively on
completing projects to the required quality standard with the minimum time and cost. Safety is,
therefore, regarded as a secondary concern.
More recent studies by Hinze et al (1998 cited Abudayyeh et aL 2006) explain that construction
injuries directly impact on the individuals involved in construction as well as on the workitself. These
impacts include personal suffering of the injured worker, construction delays prodticnvity losses
higher insurance premiums that result from injuries and the possible hahJ ^ pm
involved in the project. Also the construction injuries indirectly impact by revenue losses part
of the owner for late project delivery and reduced morale of the work force.

- „» (9004) conclude that the conventional benchmark! g

Coming across many studies, Fang •• - formance by evaluating the physical safety

, following facers «« "“”S ““

By a comprehensive literature synthesis construction safety. They are.
should be thoroughly concerned when managing
• Developing safety policies
. Assigning safety responsibilities to site personnel
iriment maintenance
Provision of plant and equip
f site safety inspection and supervision
Conduction o
d safety supervisor
Employment o f safety officer an
working environment
Provision of safety
• Safety meetings

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• Developing in house safety rules

• Establishing of safety management system with adherence to legislation, codes and

standards
• Communication between management and worker at site

• Safety plan and records

• Safety rewards/incentives
• Number of sub contractors
• Safety knowledge
• Safety attitude
• Safety investment
• Workers’ compensation insurance
• Safety training
• Size of the project
• Complexity of project

3. Research Methodology
This research was commenced by reviewing the relevant literature on construction safety published as
Academic Journals. A questionnaire survey was chosen as an appropriate means for soliciting vie
of various project participants within the relatively short period of time. With an understanding o
was
literature pertaining to construction safety practices and records, the questionnaire survey
designed. All the factors identified in the literature review were categorized under six main ac
and asked to establish the importance of both main and sub factors. For establishing the degree
significance of each factor, a Likert bipolar scale of 1-5 representing “very low ’’ to veiy s
was provided to gather and analyze the level of importance of each factor.
The study was targeted a mix of well experienced professionals with different backgrounds who wer^
randomly selected to minimize the possibility of bias. The participants were assured that ^
identities and their companies’ identities will be kept confidential. The data collected »r0
questionnaire survey were then analyzed according to the Mean Score (MS) and Relative Impor
(RI).

4. Research Findings
A total of 30 completed questionnaires were returned. Data from these returned questionnaire® ^
recorded and analysed. A summary of the findings are as follows. Table 1 shows mean scoreS ‘nkingS
relative rankings of the main factors whereas the table 2 shows mean scores and the relative ra
of each sub factor.
■ safetf
As shown in the table 1, management commitment in developing safety policies, assig1111 ^ ellienl
responsibilities to site personnel, developing in house safety rules, establishing of safety „t
system with adherence to legislation, codes and standards and communication between r,
and worker at site etc are the most critical factors in construction safety management- r di" -
erne
individual involvement like safety attitude and safety knowledge also should be highly cone

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construction safety management. In contrast

investment on safety has been less nonce,neel i, man,** economic
Zo<Z»'“* mea" has bee
ome utmost
“Workers’ compensation insurance” have heen arw T Safety mspectlon 31,(1 supervision" and
the management should consider the complexity of Droiectwh’mp0rtance- ™s implies that
safety and there should be special Precau^lX^^“E!t “ca"

“kSe“„scr„“s^rini"ss-s,fe* ~ - - - -s- *
Although here safety rewards/incentives and safety investment have been less concerned, it is
essential that those factors are also included among which should be considered in managing the site
safety. According to the ranking of the main factors, the sub factors can be improved through a
management discussion as suitable to the company itself. As well as according to the rates given by
the respondents, the most critical sub factors can be also developed as main factors that must be
considered in the construction safety management. For an example the “complexity of project’' could
be developed alone considering technologies to be used and design issues etc. as it is one of most
critical factor.
Further, safety attitude, establishing of safety management system with adherence to legislation, codes
and standards, assigning safety responsibilities to site personnel and developing in house safety rules
are also among the highly concerned safety factors. However, having a less rank is not really meant
that those factors should be avoided. Since the MS of all the factors are greater than the neutral score
“3 - Medium”, they all should be considered as key important factors. Though, among those key
factors, some may have been given less concern by the industry. Therefore, these limitations are better
to be minimized in managing the construction safety.
Table 1: Summary of mean scores and relative importance of main factors
Relative Rank
Factors Mean Score Importance

1. Management Commitment 4.40 0.182 1

2. Implementation 4.10 0.170 3

3. Management Measures 0.163 4

3.93
0.161 5
4. Project Nature 3.90
0.171 2
5. Individual Involvement 4.13
0.153 6
6. Economic Investment 3.70
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Table 2: Summary of mean scores and relative importance of sub factors

Factors Mean Relative
Score Importance Rank
1. Management Commitment
Developing safety policies 4.17 0.051 10
Assigning safety responsibilities to site personnel 4.27 0.053 5
Developing in house safety rules 4.27 0.053 5
Establishing of safety management system with
adherence to legislation, codes and standards 4.30 0.053 5

Communication between management and worker at site 4.10 0.050 11

2. Implementation
Provision of plant and equipment maintenance 3.90 0.048 14
Conduction of site safety inspection and supervision 4.37 0.054 2
Employment of safety officer and safety supervisor 4.10 0.050 11
Provision of safety working environment 4.23 0.052 9

3. Management Measures
Safety meetings 16
3.83 0.047
Safety plan and records 14
3.87 0.048
Safety rewards/incentives 20
3.50 0.043
Safety training
0.054 2
4.37
4. Project Nature
Size of the project 18
3.57 0.044
Complexity of project 1
4.47 0.055
Number of sub contractors 17
3.73 0.046
5. Individual Involvement
Safety knowledge 13
3.97 0.049
Safety attitude ~ 5
4.30 0.053
6. Economic Investment
Safety investment 18
0.044
3.57
2
4.37
0.054

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5. CONCLUSION

In this paper, rely on a review of literature survpv c;v • *

investment on safety has been given less concernT1,16 most lmp“ mai" fa*°r a"d economic
,. , ■A . , . * ieiS concern. Under each main factor, there are also sub factors
which were identified during the literature and categorized later for the questionnaire. By calculating
the relative importance of them, they were also ranked separately without considering the effect of
their relative main factor. Among the sub factors it can be concluded that complexity of project is
highly concerned in contrast to safety rewards and incentives.
Since the woik environment in construction is generally more hazardous than other industries, it is
very important that a focused dedication and effort towards safety is needed especially from the
management. Based on this study, the presence of above mentioned factors in managing the
construction safety might significantly contribute to the improvement of company safety records.
Finally, it is emphasised that the management has the opportunity to influence and enhance the sense
of safety.

6. Acknowledgments
The authors thank the professionals participated in the questionnaire survey and contributed to this
study.

7. References
Abudayyeh, 0., Butt, S.E., Fredericks, T.K. and Shaar, A., 2006. An investigation of management commitment
to construction safety. International journal ofproject management, 24,167 17
Banda,a, K. A. T. N„ De Silva, N. and Rajakaruna, R. W. D W C A. B 2006. Challenges faced by the
construction industry in Sri Lanka, Journal of built environment Sri Lanka, 158-169.
Fang, D.P., Hinze, J. and Huang, X.Y., 2004. Benchmark studies on construction safety management in China.
Journal of construction engineering and management,
Construction safety risk mitigation. Journal of construction
Gambatese, J.A. and Hallowell, M.R., 2009
engineering and management, 1-32.
rnnflictine perspectives in accident causation and safety
Gherardi, S„ Nicolini, D. and Odella, F., 1998 Cjes and crisis management, 6 (4), 202-213.
management in a construction firm. ]ourna ° framework for evaluating the safety performance of
Ng, S.T., Cheng, K.P. and 1347-1355.
construction contractors, Journal of buna A ^ ^ construction accidents in Sri Lanka,
Ramcezdeen, R., Pathirage, C.P. and ^cc'“°°7_32.
Journal of built environment Sri Lanka, v { h-