A Study on the Adoption of Safety Culture in Construction Project in Klang Valley

Abstract

The high rate of accidents and injuries in the construction industry globally enables us to evaluate our priority from the past performance to the major determinants of safety and health. By giving attention to human factors, organisations can identify and differentiate potential hazards of reckless behaviour prior to the incidents of accidents or illness. One way to achieve this is to measure 'leading' safety factors, such as safety culture. The objectives of this research are identifying the ways to adopt and implement the suitable and efficiency safety culture for the construction project in Klang Valley to prevent the accidents and injuries in construction industry as well as to provide a safe working environment. We use quantitative method with close-ended questionnaire and descriptive design for this study. The questionnaires inquired on the issues and problems and success factors in implementing safety culture in construction project. The company selected for this study was limited and only focus on 10 construction companies in Klang Valley. The total of the respondents was 40. The quantitative analysis of data was done using Average Index Method and the data were analysed using descriptive analysis. From the study, the most popular problems to adapt and implementing safety culture are the poor safety culture. The success factors in implementing safety culture were safety rules and procedures that are provided and easy to understand. Overall, the workers perception of the safety culture around Klang Valley construction site was fairly low with need for improvement such as safety practices from management, encourage of safety motivation and training on safety and health. The results and outcomes of the research can be used to guide construction management in establishing a positive safety culture and provide workers with the opportunity to have a platform to reflect on their motivations and choices for safety at work.