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Safety climate in conditions of construction subcontracting: a multi-level analysis

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  • Helen Clare Lingard
  • Tracy Cooke
  • Nick Blismas

Abstract

A multi-level safety climate model was tested in the Australian construction industry. Subcontracted workers' perceptions of the organizational safety response (OSR) and supervisor safety response (SSR) in their own organization and that of the principal contractor were measured using a safety climate survey administered at a large hospital construction project in Melbourne. One hundred and fourteen construction workers completed the survey, representing nine subcontractors engaged at the project. Two requisite conditions for the existence of group-level safety climates, i.e. (1) within-group homogeneity; and (2) between-group variation were satisfied for perceptions of subcontractors' OSR and SSR. This supports the contention that subcontractors working in a single construction project exhibit a unique group-level safety climate. Subcontracted workers also discriminated between group-level safety climates (i.e. the SSR) in their own and in the principal contractor's organizations. The results suggest some cross-level influence. Perceptions of the SSR were positively predicted by perceptions of the OSR in both the principal and subcontractor organizations. Perceptions of the OSR of the principal contractor were also a significant predictor of the perceived OSR and SSR in the subcontractor organizations. Perceptions of the subcontractors' SSR were a significant predictor of the rate of lost-time and medical treatment incidents reported by the subcontractor. Although perceptions of the principal contractor's SSR were not directly related to subcontractors' injury rates, they were a significant predictor of subcontractors' SSR, revealing an indirect link. The results suggest that supervisory personnel (e.g. foremen and leading hands) play an important role in shaping safety performance in subcontracted workgroups.

Suggested Citation

  • Helen Clare Lingard & Tracy Cooke & Nick Blismas, 2010. "Safety climate in conditions of construction subcontracting: a multi-level analysis," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(8), pages 813-825.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:conmgt:v:28:y:2010:i:8:p:813-825
    DOI: 10.1080/01446190903480035
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helen Clare Lingard & Tracy Cooke & Nick Blismas, 2009. "Group-level safety climate in the Australian construction industry: within-group homogeneity and between-group differences in road construction and maintenance," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 419-432.
    2. Andrew Neal & Mark A. Griffin, 2002. "Safety Climate and Safety Behaviour," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 27(1_suppl), pages 67-75, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huakang Liang & Ken-Yu Lin & Shoujian Zhang, 2018. "Understanding the Social Contagion Effect of Safety Violations within a Construction Crew: A Hybrid Approach Using System Dynamics and Agent-Based Modeling," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-27, November.
    2. Lars Peter Andersen & Line Nørdam & Thomas Joensson & Pete Kines & Kent J. Nielsen, 2018. "Social identity, safety climate and self-reported accidents among construction workers," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 22-31, January.
    3. Hafiz Zahoor & Albert P. C. Chan & Wahyudi P. Utama & Ran Gao & Irfan Zafar, 2017. "Modeling the Relationship between Safety Climate and Safety Performance in a Developing Construction Industry: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Rita Peihua Zhang & Helen Lingard & Steve Nevin, 2015. "Development and validation of a multilevel safety climate measurement tool in the construction industry," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(10), pages 818-839, October.
    5. Valerie Caven, 2012. "Organization Management in Construction," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 494-496, February.
    6. Zongjie Pi & Xin Gao & Linyan Chen & Jinghua Liu, 2019. "The New Path to Improve Construction Safety Performance in China: An Evolutionary Game Theoretic Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-24, July.
    7. Bumjin Han & Seunghyun Son & Sunkuk Kim, 2021. "Measuring Safety Climate in the Construction Industry: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Junwei Zheng & Xueqin Gou & Hongyang Li & Hong Xue & Hongtao Xie, 2020. "Linking Challenge–Hindrance Stressors to Safety Outcomes and Performance: A Dual Mediation Model for Construction Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-15, October.
    9. Graeme D. Larsen & Jennifer Whyte, 2013. "Safe construction through design: perspectives from the site team," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 675-690, June.
    10. Ibrahim Mosly & Anas A. Makki, 2020. "Safety Climate Perceptions in the Construction Industry of Saudi Arabia: The Current Situation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-16, September.

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