CONSTRUCTION SAFETY MANAGEMENT FOR ADDITION AND ALTERATION (A&A) PROJECTS

Abstract

Changing demands and needs of consumers have resulted in the need to revitalize buildings and facilities. Addition & Alteration (A&A) has then become an important and common construction activity that delivers such enhancement to building performance. However, A&A projects contain great unpredictability, complexity, and uncertainty, and these draw attention to the issue of safety. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a safety framework that can manage safety of A&A projects more effectively. Research methods include literature review, survey, case studies, and interviews. Findings from the research methods provide in-depth understanding on the safety needs of A&A projects. It is discovered that A&A projects actually carry greater safety risk than New Construction (NC) projects, hence calls the need for more safety investment efforts. A proposed framework developed in the study, “Construction Safety Management Framework for A&A Projects”, emphasizes on the commitment from industry, government, and organizations to effectively manage safety for the A&A sector. The study recommends that positive safety culture, strong government support, and the proposed framework are vital to attain improvements in the safety standard of A&A projects. Safety management of A&A projects requires the combined efforts from all parties in the industry and the government to maximize effectiveness.