SAFETY MANAGEMENT AND CULTURE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MAJOR CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS: A CROSS-CASE COMPARISON

Abstract

Given the inherent dangers associated with construction, workers’ safety is of paramount importance in the construction industry. Major workplace accidents have resulted in severe consequences in terms of the number of fatalities, injuries and commercial losses incurred. These consequences provide the impetus for conducting a detailed analysis of these accidents to prevent the recurrence of such unfortunate events. In Singapore, there were two Committees of Inquiry (COI) commissioned for construction accidents: (1) Nicoll Highway Collapse in 2004, and (2) Ginza Plaza Explosion in 1992. An extensive literature review was done to identify general causes of organizational accidents in the construction industry, the significance of the accident causation models in providing the framework for analysis of accident causation, the definition of safety culture and its components. The problems identified in each case study are then described in detail the problems and analyzed using the modified loss causation framework. Finally, the safety lapses in the two cases are compared and contrasted to derive the impact of safety culture on major construction accidents. A learning outcome is provided to prevent recurrence of these catastrophic disasters.