Comparative Study on the Perception of Construction Safety Risks in China and Australia
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 7
Abstract
Safety is a major concern in the construction industry because fatalities and injuries from construction work bring great losses to individuals, organizations, and societies as a whole. This paper aims to understand how construction personnel perceive safety risks in China as compared with those in Australia. Postal questionnaire surveys were used to collect data on safety risk perceptions from the two nations. The safety risk factors were assessed using a risk significance index based on the likelihood of occurrences and the impacts on safety performance. The survey results revealed that in China the main perception of safety risks came from human-and/or procedure-related issues, with “low/no safety education” paramount, followed by “inadequate fire prevention and electrical prevention procedures,” etc. In contrast, the major safety risks perceived in Australia were related to the environment and physical site conditions with “contamination of land, water and air” ranked first, followed by “unforeseen excavation of soil,” etc. To minimize construction safety risks in China, this paper suggests that the government should develop collective legislation and safety protection procedures, and enforce safety education and training to all site participants. Risks related to environmental and site conditions were generally realized by the Australia construction industry, which were not highly acknowledged in China. This may also bring imminent attention in this regard to the Chinese government.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 7 • July 2009
Pages: 620 - 627
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 10, 2008
Accepted: Nov 11, 2008
Published online: Mar 27, 2009
Published in print: Jul 2009
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