A multi-agent safety response model in the construction industry

Issue title: Occupational Ergonomics and Safety, Part 1

Subtitle:

Guest editors: Pedro Arezes

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Meliá, José L.

Affiliations: University of Valencia, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Methodology, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain. Tel.: +34 96 386 4548; Fax: +34 96 386 4697; E-mail: Jose.L.Melia@uv.es

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The construction industry is one of the sectors with the highest accident rates and the most serious accidents. A multi-agent safety response approach allows a useful diagnostic tool in order to understand factors affecting risk and accidents. The special features of the construction sector can influence the relationships among safety responses along the model of safety influences. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to test a model explaining risk and work-related accidents in the construction industry as a result of the safety responses of the organization, the supervisors, the co-workers and the worker. METHODS: Sample: 374 construction employees belonging to 64 small Spanish construction companies working for two main companies participated in the study. Instruments: Safety responses were measured using a 45-item Likert-type questionnaire. Methodology: The structure of the measure was analyzed using factor analysis and the model of effects was tested using a structural equation model. RESULTS: Factor analysis clearly identifies the multi-agent safety dimensions hypothesized. The proposed safety response model of work-related accidents, involving construction specific results, showed a good fit. CONCLUSIONS: The multi-agent safety response approach to safety climate is a useful framework for the assessment of organizational and behavioral risks in construction.

Keywords: Accident prevention, risk prevention, safety climate

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-141886

Journal: Work, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 549-556, 2015