Work-Health and Safety-Risk Perceptions of Construction-Industry Stakeholders Using Photograph-Based Q Methodology

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blismas N ; Kleiner B ; Lingard H ; Wakefield R ; Zhang P
• Description:
  Work health and safety (WHS) on construction sites can be influenced by decisions made upstream from the construction stage. The effectiveness of WHS risk management relies on decision makers' ability to decide appropriate strategies to mitigate/control risks. However, it is unclear whether upstream decision makers share similar WHS risk perceptions with those who undertake the construction work. This study used Q methodology to explore WHS risk perceptions of architects, engineers, construction managers, and WHS professionals. Photographs depicting different technologies/methods were used to capture professionals' WHS risk judgments. Data were analyzed to identify the within-group and between-group similarity/difference in professionals' WHS risk perceptions. The data-analysis result indicates the coexistence of within-group difference and similarity, as well as between-group difference and similarity in WHS risk perceptions. The research contributes to the body of knowledge by showing that WHS risk is subjective in nature and that social, psychological, and technical factors interact to shape subjective risk judgments. The research finding challenges traditional risk-management thinking, which assumes risk is objective and easily quantifiable. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Decision Making Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety
• Keywords:
  Construction Industry Decision Making Injury Prevention Occupational Safety And Health Risk Management Worker Safety
• ISSN:
  0733-9364
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  141
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061984
• Citation:
  J Constr Eng Manage 2015 May; 141(5):04014093
• Contact Point Address:
  Peihua Zhang, Research Fellow, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT Univ., Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
• Email:
  rita.zhang@rmit.edu.au
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• End Date:
  20150131
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:86fbabc9ecf141ea4c1e1e9cc3fe19f211a2124c80c5992795be943fbf2a086a88b7b1dece003f69b8d5e40ecf29e8e3691e77c0c2a4aaf6505b3aec8a77ae39
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225312/cdc_225312_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 302.08 KB ]