Influence of human factors on the safety performance in Saudi Arabian construction industry

Azmat, Y

Abstract

In Saudi Arabia, the construction industry is inflicted with the occurrence of many accidents. Reports released by the government show that the Saudi Arabian construction industry is
responsible for the highest number of accidents as compared to the other industries in the country. Research studies pointed out that accident occurs due to various factors such as unsafe
working conditions and unsafe actions of the workers. In Saudi Arabia, workers' unsafe actions are blamed as one of the key reasons behind the occurrence of accidents. However, there is no
exploratory study available related to Saudi Arabian construction industry which has identified the human factors that influences the workers to carry out unsafe acts which contribute in the
occurrence of the accidents by the use of mix methods including review of accident reports. Accident causation theories suggested that workers' unsafe actions are influenced by numerous
factors that are associated with the job and the organisation. Therefore, this research study was focused on the identification of the human factors which cause accidents in the construction
industry and explore the challenges and barriers the Saudi Arabian construction industry is facing in maintaining safe worksite. The research objectives in this research study were fulfilled with the use of three research techniques: archival reports, interviews, and questionnaire surveys. In the first step, accident reports of eight construction companies were studied, followed by
conducting the interviews with twenty-three construction professionals. In the last step, the questionnaire survey was conducted with 150 participants working in the Saudi Arabian
construction industry. Results of the accident reports revealed twenty-six human factors associated with the individuals, task and workplace that caused eighty-six accidents in eight construction sites. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed seven challenges and barriers involving the Saudi government and construction companies which are affecting the safety
performance of the Saudi Arabian construction industry. The result of the questionnaire survey revealed that workers' non-compliance to safety rules, lack of training, lack of awareness and unsafe working conditions are the significant human factors that contribute towards the occurrence of accidents in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. Results from the accident reports, interviews and questionnaire surveys imply that in the Saudi Arabian construction industry, H&S issues are multifaceted involving a combination of more than one human factor. These results also emphasised that workers' unsafe actions are influenced by their limited knowledge and awareness about the identification of the hazards at the workplace and the control
measures that need to be applied to mitigate those hazards. Management fails to provide safe working conditions at the construction sites with no proper hazard management which increases the H&S risks for the workers. Most of the workers are coming from Asian countries where there is not a proper safety culture. These workers have no or limited skills about their job and mostly have to learn the skills at the job site. Saudi Arabian construction sites do not provide enough training related to the task they have to perform resulting in increasing the chances of mistakes or errors which can cause an accident. To reduce the occurrence of the accidents and improve the safety performance of the Saudi Arabian construction, there is a need for strong commitment and control measures especially from the government and the construction companies. Construction professionals need to realise the significance of the H&S which is eventually to protect them from being involved in the accidents. This research study contributed to knowledge with the identification of the human factors which influence the workers to work unsafely and explored
the underlying human factors that affect the overall safety performance of the Saudi Arabian construction industry. This research provided practical and detailed recommendations that will be applicable in the Saudi Arabian construction industry to minimise the accidents and improve safety performance.

Citation

Azmat, Y. Influence of human factors on the safety performance in Saudi Arabian construction industry. (Thesis). Univeristy of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 7, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 7, 2020
• Award Date: Sep 30, 2020