Safety at the Front Line: Social Negotiation of Work and Safety at the Principal Contractor–Subcontractor Interface
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 146, Issue 4
Abstract
This research investigated the influence of the social context on work practices and safety at the principal contractor–subcontractor interface. Previous research has acknowledged that social interactions among supervisors and workers shape safety implementation on work sites. However, a detailed examination of the nature and impact of these social interactions has been missing. An ethnographic method was deployed in which a researcher spent approximately 100 h attending four construction sites over a 6-month period. This deep embedded research method enabled the nature and impact of social interactions to be explored. Organized safety walks and informal walk-arounds were attended, during which interactions were observed and conversations were held with project participants, including foremen, professional health and safety advisors, supervisors, and workers. Field notes and comments were subjected to thematic content analysis. Different understandings of safety were apparent, with key differences emerging in relation to the role attributed to the principal contractors’ site safety rules. The social ecosystem at the four sites was also embedded within broader construction industry practices, in particular competitive tendering and price-based selection. The results reveal limitations inherent in traditional technical approaches to understanding safety in the construction site environment because these approaches tend to ignore the social and power relations at play. The results reveal that safety at the principal contractor–subcontractor interface is better understood as an emergent property of a complex ecosystem of social relationships and interactions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Data generated or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author by request. Information about the Journal’s data-sharing policy can be found here: http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001263.
References
Almklov, P. G., R. Rosness, and K. Størkersen. 2014. “When safety science meets the practitioners: Does safety science contribute to marginalization of practical knowledge?” Saf. Sci. 67 (Aug): 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2013.08.025.
Alper, S. J., and B.-T. Karsh. 2009. “A systematic review of safety violations in industry.” Accid. Anal. Prev. 41 (4): 739–754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.03.013.
Arditi, D., and R. Chotibhongs. 2005. “Issues in subcontracting practice.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 131 (8): 866–876. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2005)131:8(866).
Borys, D. 2012. “The role of safe work method statements in the Australian construction industry.” Saf. Sci. 50 (2): 210–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2011.08.010.
Braun, V., and V. Clarke. 2006. “Using thematic analysis in psychology.” Qual. Res. Psychol. 3 (2): 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Briscoe, G., and A. Dainty. 2005. “Construction supply chain integration: An elusive goal?” Supply Chain Manage.: Int. J. 10 (4): 319–326. https://doi.org/10.1108/13598540510612794.
Bruns, H. C. 2009. “Leveraging functionality in safety routines: Examining the divergence of rules and performance.” Hum. Relat. 62 (9): 1399–1426.
Debrah, Y. A., and G. Ofori. 2001. “Subcontracting, foreign workers and job safety in the Singapore construction industry.” Asia Pac. Bus. Rev. 8 (1): 145–166.
Dekker, S. 2003. “Failure to adapt or adaptations that fail: Contrasting models on procedures and safety.” Appl. Ergon. 34 (3): 233–238.
Dekker, S. 2015. Safety differently: Human factors for a new era. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Dubois, A., and L. E. Gadde. 2000. “Supply strategy and network effects—Purchasing behaviour in the construction industry.” Eur. J. Purchasing Supply Manage. 6 (3–4): 207–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-7012(00)00016-2.
Fellows, R., and A. M. Liu. 2012. “Managing organizational interfaces in engineering construction projects: Addressing fragmentation and boundary issues across multiple interfaces.” Constr. Manage. Econ. 30 (8): 653–671.
Finneran, A., R. Hartley, A. Gibb, A. Cheyne, and P. Bust. 2012. “Learning to adapt health and safety initiatives from mega projects: An Olympic case study.” Policy Pract. Health Saf. 10 (2): 81–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/14774003.2012.11667778.
Fugas, C. S., J. L. Meliá, and S. A. Silva. 2011. “The ‘is’ and the ‘ought’: How do perceived social norms influence safety behaviors at work?” J. Occup. Health Psychol. 16 (1): 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021731.
Gherardi, S., and D. Nicolini. 2000. “The organizational learning of safety in communities of practice.” J. Manage. Inq. 9 (1): 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/105649260091002.
Gherardi, S., and D. Nicolini. 2002. “Learning the trade: A culture of safety in practice.” Organization 9 (2): 191–223. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508402009002264.
Gherardi, S., D. Nicolini, and F. Odella. 1998. “What do you mean by safety? Conflicting perspectives on accident causation and safety management in a construction firm.” J. Contingencies Crisis Manage. 6 (4): 202–213. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.00089.
Guest, G., A. Bunce, and L. Johnson. 2006. “How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability.” Field Methods 18 (1): 59–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903.
Hale, A., and D. Borys. 2013. “Working to rule, or working safely.” In Trapping safety into rules, edited by C. Bieder and M. Bourrier, 43–68. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing.
Hammersley, M., and P. Atkinson. 2007. Ethnography: Principles in practice. 3rd ed. London: Routledge.
Hardison, D., M. Behm, M. R. Hallowell, and H. Fonooni. 2014. “Identifying construction supervisor competencies for effective site safety.” Saf. Sci. 65 (Jun): 45–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2013.12.013.
Hartmann, A., and J. Caerteling. 2010. “Subcontractor procurement in construction: The interplay of price and trust.” Supply Chain Manage.: Int. J. 15 (5): 354–362. https://doi.org/10.1108/13598541011068288.
Jeschke, K. C., P. Kines, L. Rasmussen, L. P. S. Andersen, J. Dyreborg, J. Ajslev, and L. L. Andersen. 2017. “Process evaluation of a Toolbox-training program for construction foremen in Denmark.” Saf. Sci. 94 (Apr): 152–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2017.01.010.
Johnston, L. 2006. “Software and method: Reflections on teaching and using QSR NVivo in doctoral research.” Int. J. Social Res. Method. 9 (5): 379–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570600659433.
Knudsen, F. 2009. “Paperwork at the service of safety? Workers’ reluctance against written procedures exemplified by the concept of ‘seamanship.’” Saf. Sci. 47 (2): 295–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2008.04.004.
LeCompte, M., and J. Goetz. 1982. “Problems of reliability and validity in ethnographic research.” Rev. Educ. Res. 52 (1): 31–60. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543052001031.
LePlat, J. 1998. “About implementation of safety rules.” Saf. Sci. 29 (3): 189–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-7535(98)00022-8.
Lingard, H., T. Cooke, and N. Blismas. 2010. “Safety climate in conditions of construction subcontracting: A multi-level analysis.” Constr. Manage. Econ. 28 (8): 313–825. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446190903480035.
Lofquist, E. A., P. K. Dyson, and S. N. Trønnes. 2017. “Mind the gap: A qualitative approach to assessing why different sub-cultures within high-risk industries interpret safety rule gaps in different ways.” Saf. Sci. 92 (Feb): 241–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2016.11.002.
Loosemore, M., and N. Andonakis. 2007. “Barriers to implementing OHS reforms–The experiences of small subcontractors in the Australian construction industry.” Int. J. Project Manage. 25 (6): 579–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.01.015.
Löwstedt, M. 2015. “Taking off my glasses in order to see: Exploring practice on a building site using self-reflexive ethnography.” Constr. Manage. Econ. 33 (5): 404–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2015.1066021.
Manu, P., N. Ankrah, D. Proverbs, and S. Suresh. 2013. “Mitigating the health and safety influence of subcontracting in construction: The approach of main contractors.” Int. J. Project Manage. 31 (7): 1017–1026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.11.011.
Mayhew, C., and M. Quinlan. 1997. “Subcontracting and occupational health and safety in the residential building industry.” Ind. Relations J. 28 (3): 192–205. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2338.00054.
Mayhew, C., M. Quinlan, and R. Ferris. 1997. “The effects of subcontracting/outsourcing on occupational health and safety: Survey evidence from four Australian industries.” Saf. Sci. 25 (1–3): 163–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-7535(97)00014-3.
McDermott, V., and J. Hayes. 2016. “Risk shifting and disorganization in multi-tier contracting chains: The implications for public safety.” Saf. Sci. 106 (Jul): 263–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2016.11.018.
O’Reilly, K. 2012. Ethnographic methods. New York: Routledge.
Oswald, D., F. Sherratt, and S. Smith. 2014. “Handling the Hawthorne effect: The challenges surrounding a participant observer.” Rev. Social Stud. 1 (1): 53–74. https://doi.org/10.21586/ross0000004.
Oswald, D., F. Sherratt, S. Smith, and A. Dainty. 2018. “An exploration into the implications of the ‘compensation culture’ on construction safety.” Saf. Sci. 109 (Nov): 294–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.06.009.
Oswald, D., F. Wade, F. Sherratt, and S. D. Smith. 2019. “Communicating health and safety on a multinational construction project: Challenges and strategies.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 145 (4): 04019017. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001634.
Ozmec, M. N., I. L. Larlsen, P. Kines, L. P. S. Anderson, and K. J. Nielsen. 2015. “Negotiating safety practice in small construction companies.” Saf. Sci. 71 (Jan): 275–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2014.03.016.
Phelps, A. F., and M. J. Horman. 2010. “Ethnographic theory-building research in construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 136 (1): 58–65. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000104.
Pink, S., D. Tutt, and A. Dainty. 2013. Ethnographic research in the construction industry. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Pole, C., and M. Morrison. 2003. Ethnography for education. London: McGraw-Hill Education.
Richards, L. 1999. “Data alive! The thinking behind NVivo.” Qual. Health Res. 9 (3): 412–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973239900900310.
Richter, A., and C. Koch. 2004. “Integration, differentiation and ambiguity in safety cultures.” Saf. Sci. 42 (8): 703–722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2003.12.003.
Safe Work Australia. 2012. Australian work health and safety strategy 2012–2022. Canberra, Australia: Safe Work Australia.
Sherratt, F. 2016. Unpacking construction site safety. Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell.
Small, M. 2009. “’How many cases do I need?’ On science and the logic of case selection in field-based research.” Ethnography 10 (1): 5–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466138108099586.
Smith, J., and H. Noble. 2014. “Bias in research.” Evidence-Based Nursing 17 (4): 100–101. https://doi.org/10.1136/eb-2014-101946.
Therkelsen, D. J., and C. L. Fiebich. 2004. “The supervisor: The linchpin of employee relations.” J. Commun. Manage. 8 (2): 120–129. https://doi.org/10.1108/13632540410807592.
Turner, N., and G. C. Gray. 2009. “Socially constructing safety.” Hum. Relations 62 (9): 1259–1266. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726709339863.
Tutt, D., S. Pink, A. R. J. Dainty, and A. Gibb. 2013. “Building networks to work: An ethnographic study of informal routes into the UK construction industry and pathways for migrant up-skilling.” Constr. Manage. Econ. 31 (10): 1025–1037. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2013.834066.
von der Heyde, A., S. Brandhorst, and A. Kluge. 2015. “The impact of safety audit timing and framing of the production outcomes on safety-related rule violations in a simulated production environment.” Saf. Sci. 77 (Aug): 205–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2015.03.021.
Wadick, P. 2010. “Safety culture among subcontractors in the domestic housing construction industry.” Struct. Surv. 28 (2): 108–120. https://doi.org/10.1108/02630801011044217.
Yin, R. 2013. “Validity and generalization in future case study evaluations.” Evaluation 19 (3): 321–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389013497081.
Zohar, D. 2000. “A group-level model of safety climate: Testing the effect of group climate on microaccidents in manufacturing jobs.” J. Appl. Psychol. 85 (4): 587. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.4.587.
Zou, P. X., R. Y. Sunindijo, and A. R. Dainty. 2014. “A mixed methods research design for bridging the gap between research and practice in construction safety.” Saf. Sci. 70 (Dec): 316–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2014.07.005.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 146 • Issue 4 • April 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 16, 2019
Accepted: Sep 23, 2019
Published online: Feb 11, 2020
Published in print: Apr 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jul 11, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.