Technical Papers
Nov 25, 2011

Behavior, Attitude, and Perception toward Safety Culture from Mandatory Safety Training Course

Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 138, Issue 3

Abstract

The construction industry is one of the most hazardous trades as far as work safety is concerned. Efforts have been made to improve safety in workplace. These efforts have focused on legislation, engineering failure, safety awareness campaigns, safety training, and unsafe behavior. After years of developing safety technologies and safety management systems in the industry, many organizations recognize that the safety culture within the industry has to be addressed if high standards of health and safety are to be maintained. Therefore, this paper investigated the relationship among people’s behavior, attitude, and perception toward the safety culture and evaluated the effectiveness of a mandatory safety training course in Hong Kong’s construction industry. A questionnaire survey and structured interviews were conducted. It was found that a good personal safety attitude, personal roles and commitment among workers, and low obstacles to safe behavior resulted in good perception of accidents. In addition, most of the participants in the mandatory safety training course understood the contents taught in the course and considered the course practical and useful. The results showed that workers paid more attention after completing the course; this indicated that a positive personal attitude toward the safety training course resulted in a positive personal safety attitude. Recommendations to improve the safety culture, effective mandatory safety training, and the implementation of safety regulations were also explored.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

References

Bland, J. M., and Altman, D. G. (1997). “Statistics notes: Cronbach’s alpha.” Br. Med. J.BMJOAE, 314(7080), 572.
Cooper, D. C. (1996). “Measuring and improving safety culture.” ESH handbook for the public sector, B-Safe Management Solutions, Franklin, IN.
Cooper, D. C. (1998). Improving safety culture, Wiley, New York.
Cronbach, L. J. (1951). “Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests.” Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334.
Hinze, J. W. (1997). Construction safety, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Hinze, J., and Gambatese, J. A. (2003). “Factors that influence safety performance of specialty contractors.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage.JCEMD4, 129(2), 159–164.
Hinze, J., and Raboud, P. (1988). “Safety on large building construction projects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage.JCEMD4, 114(2), 286–293.
Hislop, R. D. (1999). Construction site safety: A guide for managing contractors, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.
Hong Kong Government. (1995). A new strategy: Consultation paper on the review of industrial safety in Hong Kong, Education and Manpower Branch of Hong Kong Government, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Association. (1996). “Proposed safety management regulation.” Safety Bulletin, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Judd, C. M., Smith, E. R., and Kidder, L. H. (1991). Research methods in social relations, Ted Buchholz, Orlando, FL.
Kwok, W. K. (1996). A study on the perceptions of professional engineers on industrial safety in the construction industry in Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic Univ., Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Labour Department. (2007). Accidents in the construction industry of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Lee, T., and Harrison, K. (2000). “Assessing safety culture in nuclear power stations.” Saf. Sci.SSCIEO, 34(1–3), 61–97.
Levitt, R. E., and Samelson, N. M. (1993). Construction safety management, Wiley, New York.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Occupational Safety and Health Council. (2001a). Survey on effectiveness of occupational safety and health training for construction workers in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Occupational Safety and Health Council. (2001b). Survey on safety culture in the Hong Kong construction industry, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Occupational Safety and Health Council. (2008a). Green Cross, Hong Kong.
Occupational Safety and Health Council. (2008b). Occupational safety and health statistics bulletin issue no. 7, Labour Dept., Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Rowlinson, S. (2003). Hong Kong construction: Safety management and the law, Sweet and Maxwell Asia, Hong Kong.
Sagoe-Crentsil, K. K. (2002). “Guide to the use of recycled concrete and masonry materials.” HB 155-2002, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Sydney, Australia.
Santos, A., and Reynaldo, J. (1999). “Cronbach’s alpha: A tool for assessing the reliability of scales.” J. Ext., 37(2), 1–5.
Sawacha, E., Naoum, S., and Fong, D. (1999). “Factors affecting performance on construction sites.” Int. J. Proj. Manage.IPMAEL, 17(5), 309–315.
Tam, C. M., and Chan, A. P. C. (1999). “Nourishing safety culture in the construction industry.” Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on the Implementation of Safety and Health on Construction Sites, International Council of Research and Innovation in Building and Construction, The Netherlands.
Tam, C. M., and Fung, W. H. (1998). “Effectiveness of safety management strategies on safety performance in Hong Kong.” Constr. Manage. Econ., 16(1), 49–50.
Tam, C. M., and Fung, W. H. (2001). “Study of attitude changes in people after the implementation of a new safety management system: The supervision plan.” J. Constr. Manage. Econ., 19(4), 393–403.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 138Issue 3July 2012
Pages: 207 - 213

History

Received: Jun 22, 2011
Accepted: Nov 23, 2011
Published online: Nov 25, 2011
Published in print: Jul 1, 2012

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Vivian W. Y. Tam [email protected]
Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Univ. of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]
Ivan W. H. Fung [email protected]
Lecturer, Dept. of Building and Construction, City Univ. of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected]

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.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share