Affiliations: University of California, San Francisco, CA,
USA | University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA | Rudolf and Sletten, Inc.
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Marion Gillen, UCSF School of
Nursing, Department of Community Health Nursing, Box 0608, San Francisco, CA
94143-0608, USA. Tel.: +1 415 476 1382; Fax: +1 415 476 6042; E-mail:
gillenm@son.ucsf.edu
Abstract: Background and Goals: The purpose of this study was to identify
perceptions of management safety practices from the viewpoint of union and
nonunion construction workers. A complementary investigation was conducted with
construction managers. Methods: A semi-structured interview guide was used to elicit
information from 64 workers (95% male) in ten focus groups. Questions were
designed to elicit information about management practices that facilitate or
discourage safe working conditions, including communication style, attitude,
expectations, and unspoken messages. Data were analyzed using thematic content
analysis. Results: Workers identified management commitment to safety, concern
for workers, congruence between spoken messages and practice, professionalism,
and communication skills as key qualities in successful managers. Workers
provided vivid examples of excellent and poor management strategies. Conclusions: Construction managers play a pivotal role in the
definition and implementation of safety practices in the workplace and workers
look to them for guidance and modeling. Given the high rates of injury in
construction, deeply imbedded protective policies that rely on input from a
broad range of stakeholders, including construction workers, should be
developed.
Keywords: construction industry, construction workers, safety and health, safety management practices, qualitative methodology
