Decision-making for occupational safety and health performance on major construction projects

Addressing occupational safety and health (OSH) performance at all organisational levels in major infrastructure projects is essential to reduce detrimental effects on the large number of workers engaged in this sector. Initiatives or programmes for improving OSH performance can be implemented as a result of strategic decision-making by executives and operational decision-making by managers, supervisors or operatives. Decision-making is a process and understanding the process, and influencing factors on the process, should facilitate more effective decision-making leading to action and change. Thereby, organisations can improve OSH performance, contributing to overall improvements in business objectives. The research presented in this thesis used different perspectives to characterise direct and indirect decision-making on major construction projects and examine influencing factors to facilitate improvements in OSH performance. The overarching aim was to increase understanding of the nature of decision-making and its influences on OSH performance on major construction projects. Literature evidence for decision-making and OSH performance appears to be limited to decision-making of front-line workers, understanding accident causation and use of information management tools. Established theoretical models for decision-making include individual, group and organisational decision-making as well as how decision-making can be culturally bounded, intuitive and emotional. However, these theoretical models have had limited practical application to decision-making in major construction projects and OSH performance. Similarly, industry guidance documents exist for decision-making on major projects using specific techniques but assessments of their direct effectiveness is limited, as is their connection to theoretical models.

The research comprised three linked studies, two in the UK and the third in Australia. Methods included qualitative interviews (n=78), key document reviews (n=21) and meeting observations (n=5). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and imported to NVivo as were all other data. Data were coded using thematic analysis via deductive and inductive methods.

The first UK study investigated decision-making and its impact on OSH, focusing on a major UK infrastructure project. The interplay of decision-making and enactment of policies and practice on the project was explored through the client-contractor supply chain. The findings provided evidence that OSH considerations did not consistently feature in decision-making despite implications for worker OSH being recognised by the organisation. The second UK study covered decision-making processes and tools and their impact on OSH performance, focusing on the influence of decision-making on the project and development of OSH strategies and policies. Tools and techniques used to support decision-making for OSH, direct and indirect, were also explored to understand the motivation for use and their influence through the supply chain. This study concluded that decision-making tools and techniques can increase OSH performance and raised points such as whether different contexts influenced decision-making processes. Therefore, the third study investigated different contexts and geographical location, concluding that, whilst there were similarities in influencing factors for decision-making, there were also specific issues raised as part of the unique geographical, industrial and cultural setting of the project.

This research used different perspectives from which to characterise OSH decision-making on major construction projects and assess its impact on OSH performance. OSH decision-making considered in this thesis was characterised as being either indirect (IND) or direct (DIR). The discussion of the thesis findings focused on overlap of decision-making theories and models as well as on the influential aspects of trust and mistake tolerance and that of leaders as individuals. Behavioural approaches to OSH performance improvements were questioned, whilst resilience engineering found evidentiary support. This research has increased understanding of the nature of decision-making and its influences on OSH performance on major construction projects thereby contributing to knowledge for creating safer and healthier construction workplaces.