This document summarizes a study on safety culture in the Dutch construction industry. Observations and interviews on a 250-worker construction site found differing attitudes toward safety requirements. Some workers complied while others did not. Unsafe situations like missing edge protections and unstable scaffolds were reported. Interviews revealed priorities for work over safety and a lack of planning or solutions for unsafe situations. A model was constructed showing how lack of responsibility, production priorities, work pressure, and other factors relate to reluctance toward safety and ineffective interventions. The study aimed to understand the range of safety cultures using ethnographic methods like observations, interviews, and a working safely model.

1. Safety Culture in the construction industry. The reality beyond working safely Msc. Gayle J. Arendsz – Cognitive Psychologist

3. Number of workers

4. Hazards on the construction worksite

7. Objective of the study to what extent can an understanding of the range of safety culture(s) in an organization be obtained- using an ethno methodology approach?

8. Safety culture: The safety culture concept was first introduced in an International Nuclear Safety Group (INSAG) report published in 1986 by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the Chernobyl disaster (Choudhry et al., 2006). Definition: The definition of the concept ‘safety culture’ and how it could be assessed was left open in the IAEA report. There are now several definitions of safety culture.

9. To become a safety culture or to obtain one, different manageable steps are required. It is impossible to become or obtain a safety culture in just one step (Hudson, 2007). The extended organizational communication model of Westrum (1988,1981) in Hudson (2007) was used as the model of safety culture. The 5 levels of safety culture were characterized by phrases.

10. The HSE Culture Ladder (Hudson, 2007)

13. The Working Safely Model Worksheet (Know) (Sense) (Plan) (Act) (Maintain)

14. Results: On the worksite there were groups with different opinions and beliefs about the safety requirements. Some workers respect the safety requirements and comply with them, while others don’t.

16. Hard hat

17. Safety shoes S3

18. Reflecting clothDepending on the type of work other PPE are used

19. Working Safely Worksheet Outcomes The GF had some short term solutions for removing unsafe situations but not all of their solutions were effective or long-term solutions. The most recurring answer was to approach workers’ about the unsafe situation and to control the situation. (no solution to safety problems). Without an effective plan it is difficult to know how to maintain the situation safe.

20. Hard hat- A worker was working on a sewerage system and did not have his hard hat on. The worker said that it was difficult to work with the hard hat. He was working close to the wall and when bending down, the hard hat gets in the way. Hard hat- A bricklayer was working at the level of the ceiling. He did not have his hard hat on and he said he could not see what he was doing if he had the hard hat on. He was hitting his head a lot of times at the sharp metal pipes.

21. Unsafe situations (from WSM worksheet/ general foremen) Openings in floor Working unsafely on heights Missing of edge protection Scaffolds not good build Moving of (mobile) scaffolds with person on it Rubbish on the worksite Mobile scaffolds not on brakes or not stable Scaffolds’ guardrails at incorrect levels or not completed Materials being lifted with cranes and moved above people Water problems Unsafe use of sawing machines

22. Observations and interviews During observations and interviews (walks and talks) different situations were encountered in which different factors were shown: Priority for work and not safety Supervisors did not show any responsibility for the worker or the work. Supervisors did not have solutions for unsafe situation No planning for unsafe situations Poor intervention or a lack of intervention Not registering of unsafe situations.

23. Examples of situations A supervisor tripped over an electric cable that a worker was using. He looked at the worker and did not say anything about it. However, before that incident he stopped and talked to some of the workers about the job that they were doing. (work is a priority) A supervisor was talking with the workers about the work. Some minutes later, one of the workers approached the supervisor and asked if it would be better to stop with the drilling task he was busy with. This worker was using a drilling machine and it was raining. The worker said he was getting small electrical shocks and was thinking that it would be better to stop. The supervisor answered that the worker should decide what to do (responsibility, work as a priority). The worker was saying that he wants to finish with the task, because if it rains the next day he could not perform the task either and he continued to work a bit more (work as a priority).

24. Examples of situations (no solutions for unsafe situations) Hard hat- A worker was working on a sewerage system and did not have his hard hat on. The worker said that it was difficult to work with the hard hat. He was working close to the wall and when bending down, the hard hat gets in the way. Hard hat- A bricklayer was working at the level of the ceiling. He did not have his hard hat on and he said he could not see what he was doing if he had the hard hat on. He was hitting his head a lot of times at the sharp metal pipes. While standing with a GF on the worksite, one of his workers came with a bucket of stones and climbed a ladder with only one hand. The worker almost lost his balance. The GF knows it was not allowed to climb ladders with only one hand, but there was no other way he said to bring a small bucket of stones or other small amounts of materials on the top floor. The GF said to have asked for building elevators but it wasn’t approved. He thought that it is crazy to lift small amounts of materials with a crane each time the worker needed something.

25. Some of the unsafe situations could be avoided with a proper planning. Registration of unsafe situation might be a step towards working on a plan. All these factors are somehow related to each other and I have constructed a model out of these factors:

26. Lack of responsibility Priority= Production Lack of planning Work/time pressure No solutions for safety problems Reluctance to safety Lack of interventions No registering of unsafe situations Model of Attitude

27. The HSE Culture Ladder (Hudson, 2007)

28. Thank you! Contact: Gayle J. Arendsz Janana 6 O’stad, Aruba Cell: + 31 5939784 E-mail: g.j.arendsz@gmail.com