Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Sydney, Australia
8 10 July 2015
RICS 2015
ISBN: 978-1-78321-071-8
www.rics.org/cobra
The papers in this proceeding are intended for knowledge sharing, stimulate debate, and
research findings only. This publication does not necessarily represent the views of RICS,
AUBEA, UTS or UWS.
ABSTRACT
A significant quantity of literature has been dedicated to research studies on the
prevention of workplace accidents in the construction industry. Researchers have
discovered numerous underlying theories and one of those is safety training and
education (STE). STE has been identified as a key support strategy in the prevention
of construction accidents. There are many forms of STE and a number of ways to
deliver them. However, literature on STE has shown a lack of analysis on the
effectiveness of delivery methods and its effects on transferability. Through a
systemic review of selected papers from well-known academic journals in
construction management, education and psychology, major research areas were
identified. These include factors affecting STE, delivery and evaluation methods for
STE, effects of STE on transferability, effect of safety culture on STE and the level of
cognitive engagement in the delivery of STE. Critical reviews on these areas are
conducted to investigate the trends and the state of the art in STE research. Gaps in
research and practice are discussed and future research directions are proposed. The
outcome of this paper may provide a stage for researchers, industrial practitioners and
training providers to discover the latest developments and trends in safety training and
education.
Keywords: Accidents, Construction, Education, Safety, Training.
INTRODUCTION
Construction related accidents, illnesses and injuries have a negative effect on the
construction industry and its stakeholders in a number of ways. These include the
demotivation of workers, delays in projects and the ever increasing cost of
rehabilitating injured workers (Dingsdag, et al. 2006; Lin et al. 1999; Mohamed 1999).
Over the years, the construction industry and relevant stakeholders have proposed and
implemented a number of strategies to address the issue of construction safety. One of
these strategies is the prevention of accidents and injuries through safety training and
education of construction workers. However, industry practioners and researchers
have often questioned the effectiveness of safety training and education programs
(Burke et al. 2006). This research paper sets out to update the knowledge base on
safety training and education research by providing a critical review on the current
trends in construction safety research literature.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The search for relevant literature was initially approached by conducting a broad
search of the keywords: accidents, construction, safety, training and education. These
keywords were used in conjunction with synonyms such as industry, workplace,
technology, innovation, behaviour and factors. The search criterion was limited to the
English language and literature search was limited to the period 1982 to 2014. The
literature search was confined to this period of time due to a large portion of research
in construction STE being concentrated during this period of time. The literature
search was conducted in two stages, the first being the inclusion stage and the second
being the exclusion stage. During the inclusion stage all publications that matched the
keywords and keyword combinations were referenced and complied. At this stage
approximately 96 references were identified from a range of data bases which are
provided in the table below (Table 1). During this stage it was found that the literature
on construction safety training and education was related to behavioural psychology
and educational theory. Therefore, the search criteria were expanded to include
literature from these fields in relation to construction safety training and education
which expanded the search to a total of 207 references. During the exclusion stage the
references were read and assessed using the following criteria: contribution of
knowledge on safety training and education, originality of empirical findings, and
application of theories in construction safety. This narrowed the total number of
generalizable references to 74 which included; 2 reports, 1 conference paper, 1
webpage, 6 books and sections of books and a total of 64 peer reviewed journal
articles.
Table 1: List of Databases Searched
American Society of Civil Engineers
Journal of Safety Science
Construction Management and Economics
International Journal of Project Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Occupational Accidents
DEFINITION OF TERMS
During the course of the literature review it was found that the terms construction
safety training is distinct from safety education, safety development and learning.
There terms are used throughout the literature review and to avoid confusion and
ambiguity the abovementioned terms are defined below.
Safety Training
Safety training refers to a structured system of the acquisition of skills and abilities
necessary to carry out day to day work related tasks. In General, this involves hazard
identification and control, in accordance with government and organisational
standards. Several researchers believe that the construction industry should view
safety training as a continuous and ongoing process, rather than a one off procedure
(Bahn and Barratt-Pugh, 2012; Sawacha, et al. 1999)
Safety Education
Safety education is a series of acts or processes which enables the learner to acquire
both general and industry specific knowledge. The learner is encouraged to develop
powers of reasoning, judgement and intellectual preparation. Construction safety
education is generally delivered in formal learning institutions such as colleges and
trainees experience a virtual world in which they can move freely, view and perceive
angles and touch and reshape elements (Bhoir and Esmaeili 2015). These include
game engines; head mounted devices, data gloves (haptic feedback) and avatars. There
are several limitations to the use of VREs in construction safety training. One of these
limitations is that virtual programs are unable to identify or teach complex human
processes such as creativity and in some cases knowledge. Although, Zhou, et al.
(2012) suggest that these issues may be overcome through the application of openended, knowledge based and interactive approaches.
Benefits and Issues of ICT Based Safety Training Platforms
One of the major benefits of ICT based training platforms is that they can be directed
towards the younger demographic of workers who are comfortable in learning and
training with computer and software based safety training programs. They provide
students and trainees the opportunity to learn and train on construction safety concepts
before being exposed actual hazards and dangers in the workplace. The learner is able
to study and understand 3D visualisations, virtual walk throughs and hazard
management in a game like simulation. Therefore, enabling the learners to visualise
the workplace environment and gain the necessary safety knowledge and hazard
perception skills. In addition, the learners can build confidence and minimise the risk
of accidents and injuries when conducting actual workplace activities. However, ICT
based training platforms may prove to be a disadvantage for workers who are in the
age category of the Net generation but lack the necessary technological skills and ICT
knowledge. These workers may need to be provided with additional training in ICT
advancements before that are confident in grasping and learning from ICT based
training platforms. This process often incurs addition costs and time which may lead
to issues such as demotivation and lack of attendance or interest in ICT based training
platforms (Park and Choi 2009; Wilkins 2011). In addition, organisations and
employers may not realise the potential benefits of ICT based learning platforms if
they have a safety culture which does not support technical and innovative change
within their workplace. The following section will outline the importance of effective
safety training in the construction industry.
Effective Training
A large portion of workplace injuries and illnesses are avoidable through effective
safety training and education. Literature has revealed that construction organisations
and trainees often question the effectivness of safety training and education efforts.
For instance, organisations and employers are often dissatisfied with the content,
design and delivery of safety training programs. They believe that trainees are not
equiped with the necessary knowledge and skills to deal with safety related issues on
construction sites. On the other end of the scale, trainees often find safety training
programs as unnecessary, irrelevent and boring tasks which are often undertaken to
satisfy organisational and mandatory requirements (Bahn and Barratt-Pugh 2011). On
another note, industry stakeholders and organisations often expect some form of return
on investment (ROI), therefore, safety training programs need to be somewhat
effective. This return in investment is often in the form of increased safety awareness,
imporved safety behavours and attitudes of construction workers. This in turn enables
the organisation to conduct workplace activities with less risk of accidents or injuries
and therefore decreasing the overall cost of workplace safety issues (Goldenhar, et al.
2001). Furthermore, effective safety training and education programs are dependent on
the type of training design. The literature has revealed that many safety training
SUMMARY
The influential works of Baldwin and Ford (1988) and Noe and Schmitt (1986) have
provided a framework for conducting research on safety training and education. Their
work has led to the identification of factors which can be influential in determining the
success of trainees undertaking safety training and education programs. A number of
gaps in the research have been identified as a result of the literature review. Bahn and
Barratt-Pugh (2012), have raised the issue of a lack of research studies in the quality
of safety training and education delivery through registered training organisations in
Australia. During the course of the literature review, it was discovered that there is a
paucity of research studies incorporating factors such as age, gender and inexperience,
and how those factors may affect STE and workplace safety performance. For
instance, young workers are frequently injured at work with education and awareness
measures often proving to be ineffective. The literature review has also highlighted the
issues of ineffective delivery methods. Construction organisations continue to invest
vast amounts of time and resources in safety training and education measures,
irrespective of the issues evident in training programs. Future research in this area can
be improved by conducting comprehensive studies on the various safety training
delivery methods and identifying. In addition, future research on training delivery
methods can be improved by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each method
in relation to efficiency and effectiveness. Furthermore, research studies in the area of
construction safety training and education need to consider rigorous research methods
and identification of factors based on empirical research and data. Moreover, the
construction industry and related stakeholders need to consider revised approaches and
new perspectives to deal with workplace safety issues. These approaches will not only
update the knowledge base on safety training and education, but will also reduce the
unacceptable number of industry related accidents, injuries and fatalities.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In recent years, researchers have expanded their quest in finding solutions towards
construction safety issues. A prime example of this is cognitive engagement and
cognitive training. Research has shown that highly engaging training material and
methods may help to improve the participants knowledge acquisition and retention.
Therefore, cognitively engaging learners will positively influence safety issues within
construction workplaces through increased safety performance and reduced accidents
and injuries. The directions for future research seem to be gravitating towards
investigating the role of inexperience and its relationship to STE. In addition,
developments in the field of information and communications technology, has seen the
introduction of computer-based hazard identification programs in construction STE.
Furthermore, the industry has experienced a generational shift that has resulted in the
surge of e-learning and computer-based learning strategies. The outcomes of this
paper may provide a stage for researchers, industrial practitioners and training
providers to discover the latest developments and trends, in the area of safety training
and education. The construction industry has realised the benefits of safety training
and education programs in combating the industrys poor safety performance. This
shift in thinking has come about from the realisation that there are more than just
technical factors at the root causes of accidents. Safety training and education are
complex concepts, and they both have several underlying factors. The future research
and study of these underlying factors has several advantages for the construction
industry. One of those advantages is that there will be an increased pool of
competently trained people in the construction workforce. This increase has the
potential to reduce the issues faced by the construction industry in relation to
workplace safety.
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