[Case Study] CityCenter and Cosmopolitan Construction Projects, Las Vegas, Nevada: Lessons learned from the use of multiple sources and mixed methods in a safety needs assessment

Problem

The present study describes a response to eight tragic deaths over an eighteen month times span on a fast track construction project on the largest commercial development project in U.S. history.

Methods

Four versions of a survey were distributed to workers, foremen, superintendents, and senior management. In addition to standard Likert-scale safety climate scale items, an open-ended item was included at the end of the survey.

Results

Safety climate perceptions differed by job level. Specifically, management perceived a more positive safety climate as compared to workers. Content analysis of the open-ended item was used to identify important safety and health concerns which might have been overlooked with the qualitative portion of the survey.

Discussion

The surveys were conducted to understand workforce issues of concern with the aim of improving site safety conditions. Such efforts can require minimal investment of resources and time and result in critical feedback for developing interventions affecting organizational structure, management processes, and communication.

Summary

The most important lesson learned was that gauging differences in perception about site safety can provide critical feedback at all levels of a construction organization.

Impact on the Industry

Implementation of multi-level organizational perception surveys can identify major safety issues of concern. Feedback, if acted upon, can potentially result in fewer injuries and fatal events.     

Perceived benefits of applying Pay for Safety Scheme (PFSS) in construction – A factor analysis approach

In recent years, construction safety has been a hot topic in Hong Kong. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has launched different safety measures to improve the prevailing safety performance of the construction industry. The Pay for Safety Scheme (PFSS) has emerged as one of the major safety initiatives launched within the public sector construction industry since 1996. It aims to encourage the safety awareness by taking the contractor’s pricing for safety-related items out from the consideration of competitive bidding. The objective is to provide a concise review of the prevailing application of PFSS in Hong Kong in general, and to identify and analyse the key benefits of PFSS in construction through an industry-wide empirical questionnaire survey in particular. Altogether, 145 industrial practitioners who have derived extensive hands-on experience with the PFSS construction projects participated in the survey to indicate their levels of agreement to those 14 key benefits identified which were measured and analysed by factor analysis. The results of factor analysis indicated that the 14 individual benefits of implementing PFSS were consolidated under four underlying factors: (1) Enhancing safety climate and attitude; (2) Promoting effective safety-related communication; (3) Streamlining the safety procedures; and (4) Ensuring adequate safety training. A wider application of PFSS should be encouraged with a view to achieving better safety performance within the industry. It is recommended that a similar scheme to PFSS currently applied in Hong Kong may be developed for implementation in other regions or countries for international comparisons.     

Time trends and predictive factors for safety perceptions among incoming South Australian university students

Problem

Young workers are over-represented in injury statistics. In order to develop injury prevention strategies, this study investigated time trends and predictive factors relating to safety skills, confidence, and attitudes.

Method

Annual surveys were conducted from 2006-2009 among incoming students at the University of Adelaide. The questions addressed safety training, injury experience, and health and safety perceptions.

Results

Time trends in training, perceived safety skills, confidence, and attitudes were not significant. In terms of skills and confidence, the most important correlate was safety training outside of high school (odds ratio = 1.6), especially when repeated, assessed, or in face to face mode. Feeling strongly about safety issues was best predicted by injury experience (OR = 1.7) and gender.

Discussion

These results emphasize the value of assessed training, but they are also consistent with published U.S. data, indicating no improvement over time. It is suggested that there be a more integrated approach in safety education, involving schools and workplaces.

Impact on industry

By developing an understanding of student safety perceptions and experiences, this research aims to target strategies to reduce the excess injury rate for young workers. Workplaces should be more aware of the limitations of school-based safety education and a more integrated and evidence-based approach should be developed, involving schools and workplaces.     

Analysis of bus collision and non-collision incidents using transit ITS and other archived operations data

Introduction

This paper analyzes factors contributing to bus operations safety incidents at TriMet, the transit provider for the Portland Oregon metropolitan region.

Method

The analysis focuses on 4,631 collision and non-collision incidents that occurred between 2006 and 2009. Empirical analysis of these incidents draws on a wide array of operator-level data recovered by transit ITS technologies in combination with information from TriMet's human resources, scheduling, and customer relations databases. Incident frequencies are estimated in relation to operators' demographic characteristics, employment status, assigned work characteristics, service delivery and performance indicators, temporal factors, and customer information.

Results

Apart from identifying factors that are empirically related to the frequency of safety incidents, the findings offer insights into operations policies and practices that hold promise for improving safety.

Impact on Industry

Potential for safety improvement based on analysis of archived operations and human resource data.     

Efficacies of roadway safety improvements across functional subclasses of rural two-lane highways

Introduction

Highway crash occurrence is a leading cause of unnatural deaths, and highway agencies continually seek to identify engineering measures to reduce crashes and to assess the efficacy of such measures. Most past studies on the effectiveness of roadway improvements in terms of crash reduction considered all rural two-lane sections as a single category of roads. However, it may be hypothesized that the differences in the mobility and accessibility characteristics that are reflected in (and due to) the different design standards between different functional subclasses in the rural two-lane highway system can lead to differences in efficacies of safety improvements at these subclasses. This paper investigates the efficacy of roadway improvements, in terms of crash reduction, at the various subclasses of rural two-lane highways.

Methods

An empirical analysis of safety performance at each of the three subclasses of rural two-lane highways was carried out using the negative binomial modeling technique. For each subclass, crash prediction models were developed separately for the three levels of crash severity: property-damage only, injury, and fatal/injury. The crash factors that were considered include lane width, shoulder width, pavement surface friction, pavement condition, and horizontal and vertical alignments. After having developed the safety performance functions, the effectiveness (in terms of the extent of crash reduction, for different levels of crash severity) of highway safety enhancements at each highway subclass were determined using the theoretical concepts established in past literature. These enhancements include widening lanes, widening shoulders, enhancing pavement surface friction, and improving the vertical or horizontal alignment.

Results and Conclusion

The study found that there is empirical evidence to justify the decomposition of the family of rural two-lane roads into its constituent subclasses for purposes of analyzing the effectiveness of safety enhancement projects and thus to avoid underestimation or overestimation of benefits of safety improvements at this class of highways.     

Changes in fall prevention training for apprentice carpenters based on a comprehensive needs assessment

Problem

Falls from heights in residential construction are common, especially among inexperienced workers.

Methods

We conducted a comprehensive needs assessment to determine gaps in the school-based apprentice carpenters' fall prevention training. A team of carpenter instructors and researchers revised the fall prevention training to fill these gaps. Apprentice evaluation and feedback guided ongoing curricular improvements.

Results

Most apprentice carpenters performed work tasks at heights prior to training and fall protection techniques were not commonly used at residential construction sites. Priorities of the revised school-based training included safe ladder habits, truss setting, scaffold use, guarding floor openings, and using personal fall arrest systems. New apprentices were targeted to ensure training prior to exposure at the workplace. We used adult learning principles to emphasize hands-on experiences. A framed portion of a residential construction site was fabricated to practice fall protection behaviors in a realistic setting. The revised curriculum has been delivered consistently and apprentice feedback has been very favorable.

Conclusions

Integration of needs assessment results was invaluable in revising the school-based carpenters apprentice fall prevention curriculum. Working closely with the instructors to tailor learning experiences has provided preliminary positive results.

Impact on Industry

The fall safety of the residential construction industry continues to lag behind commercial construction and industrial settings. The National Occupational Research Agenda includes a Strategic Goal to strengthen and extend the reach of quality training and education in the construction industry via mechanisms such as construction safety and health training needs assessments. This study demonstrates how a structured process can be used to identify and remedy gaps and improve training effectiveness. We encourage others to take steps to assess and increase the impact of training efforts directed at all residential construction professionals; including both union and non-union workers. The implications are even greater in the non-union sector where most U.S. residential work is done.     

Increasing self-awareness among older drivers: The role of self-screening

Introduction

Self-screening by older drivers has shown considerable promise for increasing self-awareness about functional abilities associated with safe driving. The purpose of this study was to improve upon existing self-screening instruments by focusing entirely on “health concerns” that affect driving - that is, the symptoms that people experience due to medical conditions and the medications used to treat them - rather than the medical conditions or medications themselves.

Method

A computer-based, easy-to-use self-screening instrument for older drivers was developed to provide individualized feedback intended to increase self-awareness about declines in driving-related abilities, as well as suggestions for behavioral changes or safety tips to maintain safe driving, further evaluation from a physician/health professional, and vehicle modifications to help compensate for driving-related declines.

Results

This paper describes the development of the self-screening instrument and summarizes findings relative to increasing self-awareness among older drivers. This research represents an important first step in improving self-awareness among older drivers through self-screening.     

Evaluation of guardrail systems for preventing falls through roof and floor holes

Introduction

Fall-related occupational injuries and fatalities are serious problems in the U.S. construction industry, especially incidents related to unguarded holes. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Safety Research, Morgantown, WV conducted a project to evaluate the effectiveness of guardrail systems to prevent falls through roof and floor holes.

Methods

Two commercial edge-protection products were evaluated when used as perimeter guarding around a roof hole. Installations of the commercial products were compared to job-built guardrails constructed of 2^″ × 4^″ construction-grade lumber. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations require that “a force of at least 200 pounds” must be supported by the top rail of a guardrail system “in any outward or downward direction at any point along the top edge.” A laboratory testing system was developed to evaluate this requirement. A dynamic 200-lb force was generated against the top rail using a weighted manikin mounted on a hinged steel frame. Nine construction workers, who served as test subjects, each built five different guardrail configurations.

Results

All 45 configurations met the 200-lb OSHA requirement. Installation time for one commercial product was 32% quicker than the job-built configuration (25.6 min vs. 37.9 min).

Impact on Industry

This study: (a) indicates that the two edge-protection products can be used as perimeter guarding; (b) highlights the importance of using proper materials and fasteners to construct guardrails to protect workers from falling into unguarded roof and floor holes; and (c) discusses an overall-strength-testing methodology that can be used by fall-protection researchers.     

The business cycle and the incidence of workplace injuries: evidence from the U.S.A

Introduction

The current study explored the association between the business cycle and the incidence of workplace injuries to identify cyclically sensitive industries and the relative contribution of physical capital and labor utilization within industries.

Method

Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfatal injury rates from 1976 through 2007 were examined across five industry sectors with respect to several macroeconomic indicators. Within industries, injury associations with utilization of labor and physical capital over time were tested using time series regression methods.

Results

Pro-cyclical associations between business cycle indicators and injury incidence were observed in mining, construction, and manufacturing but not in agriculture or trade. Physical capital utilization was the highest potential contributor to injuries in mining while labor utilization was the highest potential contributor in construction. In manufacturing each effect had a similar association with injuries.

Conclusion

The incidence of workplace injury is associated with the business cycle. However, the degree of association and the mechanisms through with the business cycle affects the incidence of workplace injuries was not the same across industries.

Impact on Industry

The results suggest that firms in the construction, manufacturing, and mining industries should take additional precautionary safety measures during cyclical upturns. Potential differences among industries in the mechanisms through which the business cycle affects injury incidence suggest different protective strategies for those industries. For example, in construction, additional efforts might be undertaken to ensure workers are adequately trained and not excessively fatigued, while safety procedures continue to be followed even during boom times.     

Re-education of young driving offenders; Effects on self-reports of driver behavior

Introduction

Offending drivers are often re-educated, but these courses have seldom been shown to have any safety effects.

Method

An on-line improvement course for offending drivers below the age of 25 was evaluated with several driver inventories.

Results

The drivers reported higher levels of aggression, stress, sensation seeking, drunk driving, and driving violations, six months after the course than before. However, these levels were lower than those of controls, indicating that the initially low levels for the education group were due to socially desirable responding, as measured by a lie scale, an effect that waned after the course.

Discussion

The results can be interpreted as a positive effect of the education, although this conclusion is tentative and not in agreement with all effects in the data.

Impact on industry

The results are in disagreement with previous evaluation studies using the same or similar instruments, and show the need to include controls for social desirability in self-report studies.     

Perceptions of personal vulnerability to workplace hazards in the Australian construction industry

Introduction

The importance of risk perception for workplace safety has been highlighted by the inclusion of risk appraisals in contemporary models of precautionary behavior at work. Optimism bias is the tendency to think that negative events are less likely to happen to oneself than to the average person, and is proposed to be related to the reduced use of precautions.

Method

Building on studies of optimism bias for workplace hazards using samples with heterogenous risk profiles, the current study aimed to investigate whether optimism bias is present in a sample of workers exposed to similar workplace hazards. 175 Australian construction workers completed a brief survey that asked them to rate the likelihood of common construction industry hazards occurring to them and to the average worker of the same age doing the same job. Significant levels of optimism bias were found for many hazards (including being electrocuted, being trapped in a confined space, falling from heights, and causing someone else to have an injury).

Results

Optimism bias was not related to perceived controllability, contrary to findings in other domains, yet consistent with findings of optimism bias for workplace hazards. Optimism bias was not found to be related to a reduction in safe work behaviors, though this may be due to difficulties in measuring safe or precautionary behavior, such as social desirability.

Impact on industry

That most workers think that hazards are less likely to happen to them than to the average worker presents a significant problem because it may ameliorate the efficacy of safety programs, yet constitutes a largely unexplored opportunity for improving workplace safety performance.     

Overhead drilling: Comparing three bases for aligning a drilling jig to vertical

Problem

Drilling overhead into concrete or metal ceilings is a strenuous task done by construction workers to hang ductwork, piping, and electrical equipment. The task is associated with upper body pain and musculoskeletal disorders. Previously, we described a field usability evaluation of a foot lever and inverted drill press intervention devices that were compared to the usual method for overhead drilling. Both interventions were rated as inferior to the usual method based on poor setup time and mobility.

Method

Three new interventions, which differed on the design used for aligning the drilling column to vertical, were compared to the usual method for overhead drilling by commercial construction workers (n = 16).

Results

The usual method was associated with the highest levels of regional body fatigue and the poorest usability ratings when compared to the three interventions.

Conclusion

Overall, the 'Collar Base' intervention design received the best usability ratings.

Impact on Industry

Intervention designs developed for overhead drilling may reduce shoulder fatigue and prevent subsequent musculoskeletal disorders. These designs may also be useful for other overhead work such as lifting and supporting materials (e.g., piping, ducts) that are installed near the ceiling. Workplace health and safety interventions may require multiple rounds of field-testing prior to achieving acceptable usability ratings by the end users.     

When may road fatalities start to decrease?

Introduction

The comparative analysis of macroscopic trends in road safety has been a popular research topic. The objective of this research is to propose a simple and, at the same time, reliable multiple regime model framework for international road safety comparisons, allowing for the identification of slope changes of personal risk curves and respective breakpoints.

Method

The trends of road traffic fatalities in several EU countries have been examined through the temporal evolution of elementary socioeconomic indicators, namely motorized vehicle fleet and population, at the country level.

Results

Piece-wise linear regression models have been fitted, using a methodology that allows the simultaneous estimation of all slopes and breakpoints. The number and location of breakpoints, as well as the slope of the connecting trends, vary among countries, thus indicating different road safety evolution patterns.

Impact on industry

Macroscopic analysis of road accident trends may be proved beneficial for the identification of best examples and the implementation of appropriate programmes and measures, which will lead to important benefits for the society and the economy through the reduction of road fatalities and injuries. Best performing countries and the related programmes and measures adopted may concern several safety improvements at the processes of the road, the vehicle and the insurance industries.

Conclusions

Lessons from the analysis of the past road safety patterns of developed countries provide some insight into the underlying process that relates motorization levels with personal risk and can prove to be beneficial for predicting the road safety evolution of developing countries that may have not yet reached the same breakpoints. Furthermore, the presented framework may serve as a basis to build more elaborate models, including more reliable exposure indicators (such as vehicle-km driven).     

Making work safer: Testing a model of social exchange and safety management

Introduction

This study tests a conceptual model that focuses on social exchange in the context of safety management. The model hypothesizes that supportive safety policies and programs should impact both safety climate and organizational commitment. Further, perceived organizational support is predicted to partially mediate both of these relationships.

Methods

Study outcomes included traditional outcomes for both organizational commitment (e.g., withdrawal behaviors) as well as safety climate (e.g., self-reported work accidents). Questionnaire responses were obtained from 1,723 employees of a large national retailer.

Results

Using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, all of the model's hypothesized relationships were statistically significant and in the expected directions. The results are discussed in terms of social exchange in organizations and research on safety climate.

Impact on Industry

Maximizing safety is a social-technical enterprise. Expectations related to social exchange and reciprocity figure prominently in creating a positive climate for safety within the organization.     

Falls from height during the floor slab formwork of buildings: Current situation in Spain

Problem

One of the phases with the highest risk of falls from a height in the construction of a building is during the floor slab formwork stage. This paper analyzes this particular risk, as well as the most frequently used fall-protection systems.

Method

A survey was carried out to define the current situation in Spain with regard to falls from a height during floor slab formwork and the fall-protection systems used to prevent such a risk.

Results

The results of the survey clarified the current situation in Spain with regard to this risk, and made it clear that there is considerable risk of falling from a height during the floor slab formwork stage.

Discussion

All the safety systems analyzed presented a series of weak points that should be studied in detail before they can be used on building sites.

Impact on industry

The risk of falling associated with floor slab formwork and the most frequently used protection systems are analyzed. As no research had been carried out to date on this type of risk, we consider the research presented in this article to be a pioneer in the field.     

Cultural influences on workplace safety: An example of hospital workers’ adoption of patient lifting devices

Aims

A sociological and anthropological view of culture was used to investigate how work culture, independent of “safety culture”, may affect safety in the workplace. We explored how work cultures of nurses and physical/occupational therapists (PT/OTs) in two acute care hospitals are related to the adoption of patient lifting devices.

Methods

Focus groups were conducted between 2006 and 2009, seven with nurse staff (n = 39) and two with PT/OT staff (n = 17), to explore issues concerning a Minimal Manual Lift Environment policy, initiated in 2004, and subsequent use of patient lift equipment. Audio recordings of the sessions were transcribed; text data were analyzed using N6-QSR. Cultural facilitators and barriers to the adoption of patient lift equipment were examined.

Results

Data revealed cultural similarities and differences between these healthcare professions. Both displayed a “patient first” approach to care-giving which may promote lift device use for patients’ benefits, not necessarily for staff safety. Also, the implied purpose of patient lifting devices clashes with the nurses’ cultural emphasis on compassion, and with PT/OTs’ cultural emphasis on independence except when use increases patients’ independence.

Conclusions

Cultural expressions regarding the nature of care-giving among healthcare professionals may affect the propensity to adopt safety measures in complex ways. The workers’ understanding of the purpose of their work, and acceptable means of conducting it, should be understood before implementing safety interventions. The utilization of lift assist teams, who are not socialized into the cultures of nursing or PT/OT, may be one means of circumventing cultural barriers to lift equipment use.     

Nonfatal bathroom injuries among persons aged ≥15 years--United States, 2008

Problem

Information about where nonfatal unintentional injuries occur is limited, but bathrooms commonly are believed to be a hazardous location.

Methods

Data from a nationally representative sample of hospital emergency departments (ED) was used to quantify and characterize nonfatal unintentional bathroom injuries among people aged ≥ 15 years.

Results

In 2008, an estimated 234,094 nonfatal bathroom injuries were treated in EDs. Most injuries (81.1%) were caused by falls and 37.3% of injuries occurred when bathing, showering, or getting out of the tub or shower. Both injury and hospitalization rates increased with age.

Summary

These results suggest that bathrooms tend to be most hazardous for persons in the oldest age groups.

Impact on Industry

Bathroom injuries among all household members might be reduced by increasing awareness about potentially hazardous activities in the bathroom combined with simple environmental changes such as adding grab bars inside and outside the tub or shower.     

Have government regulations improved workplace safety? : A test of the asynchronous regulatory effects in China's coal industry, 1995-2006

Problem

Empirical studies on the effectiveness of workplace safety regulations are inconclusive. This study hypothesizes that the asynchronous effects of safety regulations occur because regulations need time to become effective. Safety regulations will work initially by reducing the most serious accidents, and later by improving overall safety performance.

Method

The hypothesis is tested by studying a provincial level aggregate panel dataset for China's coal industry using two different models with different sets of dependent variables: a fixed-effects model on mortality rate, which is defined as fatalities per 1,000 employees; and a negative binominal model on the annual number (frequency) of disastrous accidents.

Results

Safety regulations can reduce the frequency of disastrous accidents, but have not reduced mortality rate, which represents overall safety performance.

Discussion and summary

Policy recommendations are made, including shifting production from small to large mines through industrial consolidation, improving the safety performance of large mines, addressing consequences of decentralization, and facilitating the implementation of regulations through carrying on institutional actions and supporting legislation.

Impact on industry

Until recently, about 4,000 coal miners perished annually in China, demonstrating that workplace safety in China's coal industry is an urgent and important issue. This research provides evidence that safety regulations have asynchronous effects and identifies the priorities in improving safety in China's current coal mining. This may assist the Chinese government to design more effective safety improvement policies and improve the effectiveness of safety regulations and safety performance.