Columbia

SAFETY CLIMATE, SAFETY HAZARDS AND
ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES IN THE

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN COLOMBIA
BY
LUZ STELLA MARIN RAMIREZ

Ch. E. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA (1993)
M.S. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL (2010)
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF SCIENCE
IN WORK ENVIRONMENT
OCCUPATIONAL ERGONOMICS AND SAFETY
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL
Signature of
Author: Date: 0
Signature of Dissertation Chair: __________

Dr. Laura Punnett
Signatures of Other Dissertation Committee Members
Committee Member Signature:

Dr. Hester Lipscomb
Committee Member Signature:

Dr. Manuel Cifuentes
UMI Number: 3581972
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SAFETY CLIMATE, SAFETY HAZARDS AND
ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES IN THE CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY IN COLOMBIA
BY
LUZ STELLA MARIN RAMIREZ
ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE

DEPARTMENT OF WORK ENVIRONMENT
IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF SCIENCE
OCCUPATIONAL ERGONOMICS AND SAFETY
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL
2014
Dissertation Supervisor: Laura Punnett, Sc.D.

Professor, Department of Work Environment
UML Distinguished University Professor (2013-16)
ABSTRACT
The overall aim of the study was to assess perceptions of safety climate and its
potential association with the work environment conditions in the construction industry.
The study was conducted in four parts. The first part was an evaluation of the
perceptions of safety climate across different job positions at the construction sites. Using
a 50-item safety climate questionnaire, construction workers, supervisors and site
managers were surveyed to evaluate their perceptions regarding safety priorities at the
work place. It was found that perceptions of safety climate differed across hierarchical
groups, workers’ perceptions being lower than supervisors’ and manager’s perceptions.
The second part of the study examined the association between the
management safety practices implemented at the construction sites and construction
workers’ perceptions of safety climate. This study measured four groups of management
safety practices: 1) those focused on improving the worksite hazard profile; 2) those
focused on enhancing management commitment with safety; 3) those focused on
improving safety systems; and 4) those focused on promoting workers participation. This
part of the study showed that workers’ perceptions of safety climate were independent of
safety management practices implemented at the studied companies.
The third section of this study examined the association between fall hazards
and manual material risk factors and perceptions of safety climate among construction
site personnel. The presence of these hazards was assessed by direct observation and
characterized both quantitatively and quantitatively. It was found that fall hazards
observed were negatively associated with workers’ perceptions of safety climate, while
no association was identified between the presence of fall hazards and site managers’
perceptions of safety. Further, no associations were found between manual material
handling hazards and construction workers’ nor site managers’ perceptions of safety
climate.
The final section of this study was a qualitative analysis evaluating the
perceptions of safety climate from construction workers, field supervisors and site
managers on the construction sites. The perceptions of safety climate were sorted into
four levels using as a framework the socio-ecological model: individual factors,
interpersonal relationships, organizational environment, and societal factors. The
qualitative approach supported several aspects of the quantitative analysis conducted in
the first part of this study. For example, there was evidence that suffering minor injuries
was regarded as a normal part of the job and of lack of coworkers’ support when it was
needed to comply with safety procedures. Moreover, a disconnection from the work
environment realities was notable among site and project managers.
Understanding the nature of the relationships between safety climate,
organizational practices, and hazards conditions at the construction workplace is
important in order to effectively diagnose underlying causes of safety gaps and develop
comprehensive safety interventions to enhance workers’ safety and health at the
construction sites.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Laura Punnett for her insight, intellectual
challenge, and encouragement. She gave me the perfect balance of freedom and support
that was needed to shape this research.
Next I thank my committee, Dr. Hester Lipscomb and Dr. Manuel Cifuentes for their
guidance, criticism, and encouragement.
I wish to thank Dr. Cora Roelofs for her guidance, support, and especially for her faith in
me. I would like to thank Dr. Lenore Azaroff for her long distance continuous support,
along with Dr. Susan Shepherd for their academic and emotional support throughout this
road.
I would like to thank all of my colleagues and friends at the Department of Work
Environment: Rossy Alvarez, Homero Harari, Priya Dasgupta, Chuan Sun, Lukman
Tarigan, Rebecca Devries, Yaritza Roberts, Daniel Okyere, Ann Bauer, Gloria Foley, and
many more who took time to listen and discuss my questions. Special thanks to Sokny
Long and Mary Fadden.
I would like to thank Dr. David Kriebel, Dr. Bryan Bucholz, Dr. Rebecca Gore, and Dr.
Susan Woskie. Thank you Dr. Margaret Quinn for sending me “writing power”.
I would like to thank to the staff at Sura ARL who contributed to this research. Thanks to
all of the Colombian construction workers, “maestros”, and managers who participated in
this research.
Thank you to my friends in Colombia and for cheering me during this process: Fanny,
Claudia, Ximena, Patricia, Daria, Martha Lu, ...and special thanks to Uta Musgray.
Thanks to my family: my lovely mom for her support and all her prayers, my brother, and
our dear friend Felipe.
My deepest gratitude to my caring, loving, and supportive husband, Jaime. Thanks to my

lovely son Yliuz: your smile and weekend soccer games were a great comfort and relief.
This is a family achievement!
Lastly, I would like to dedicate this dissertation in memory of my dad who left me
physically when I was just at the beginning of this journey: I first learned about the
construction industry through your eyes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................iv
LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................. ix
LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................. xi
CHAPTER 1...............................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1
BACKGROUND...................................................................................................................1
Construction industry characteristics...............................................................................4
Construction Safety and Health in Colombia................................................................. 9
Safety clim ate..................................................................................................................14
Study Research Questions..............................................................................................18
CHAPTER II...........................................................................................................................23
SAFETY CLIMATE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN COLOMBIA 23
BACKGROUND................................................................................................................ 23
Safety clim ate..................................................................................................................24
Research Questions......................................................................................................... 26
METHODS..........................................................................................................................27
Research Design and M ethods...................................................................................... 27
Measures.......................................................................................................................... 35
Pilot study........................................................................................................................41
Data analysis....................................................................................................................43
RESULTS............................................................................................................................ 48
Participants’ demographics............................................................................................ 48
Associations between the variables...............................................................................49
Instrument reliability......................................................................................................52
Overall perceptions of safety climate............................................................................54
Regression analysis......................................................................................................... 57
Safety climate dimensions..............................................................................................59
DISCUSSION.....................................................................................................................69
CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................76
CHAPTER II........................................................................................................................... 77
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAFETY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND
SAFETY CLIMATE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY....................................... 77
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 77
Safety Management Practices (SM Ps)..........................................................................79
Safety Management Practices (SMPs) on Construction Worksites.............................80
Research Questions......................................................................................................... 81
METHODS.......................................................................................................................... 82
Study design and sampling of participating companies...............................................82
Measures.......................................................................................................................... 83
Data collection.................................................................................................................90
Data analysis....................................................................................................................92
RESULTS............................................................................................................................ 95
Profile of respondents and participating companies.....................................................95
Safety management practices (SMPs) implemented....................................................96
Practices related to control fall hazards and ergonomic hazards.................................98
Company safety climate score......................................................................................100
Company SMPs and safety climate............................................................................. 104
Company SMPs and injury rates................................................................................. 113
Safety Climate and injury rates....................................................................................117
Manager-Worker Safety Climate discrepancy and injury rates................................. 120
DISCUSSION................................................................................................................... 122
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................. 129
CHAPTER III....................................................................................................................... 130
SAFETY CLIMATE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH FALL AND MANUAL
MATERIAL HANDLING HAZARDS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
IN COLOMBIA.................................................................................................................... 130
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................130
Fall hazards in the construction industry..................................................................... 132
Ergonomics in the construction industry.....................................................................134
Safety Climate and hazards at the worksite.................................................................136
Research Questions....................................................................................................... 138
METHODS 139
Study design and study population.............................................................................. 139
Measures........................................................................................................................ 140
Data analysis..................................................................................................................147
RESULTS.......................................................................................................................... 149
Fall hazard situations observations.............................................................................. 149
Table 2 4 .................................................................................................................................150
Manual material handling risk factors......................................................................... 153
Relationship between safety climate scores and construction site hazard profile... 156
Manual material handling hazards............................................................................... 172
Non-controlled hazards and injury rates......................................................................182
DISCUSSION................................................................................................................... 185
CONCLUSIONS...............................................................................................................191
CHAPTER IV ....................................................................................................................... 192
A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETY IN THE
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN COLOMBIA.............................................................192
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................192
METHODS........................................................................................................................ 195
Study design and sample population........................................................................... 195
Data collection...............................................................................................................196
Data analysis.................................................................................................................. 197
RESULTS...........................................................................................................................199
Individual level............................................................................................................. 201
Inter-personal factors....................................................................................................204
Organizational factors...................................................................................................207
Others............................................................................................................................. 222
Societal Level................................................................................................................223
DISCUSSION...................................................................................................................224
CHAPTER V ........................................................................................................................ 229
CONCLUSIONS...................................................................................................................229
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................234
APPENDDICES
Appendix 1. 3-year injury rate calculations for sample selection.................................246
Appendix 2. Potential participants’ companies’ invitation letter.................................254
Appendix 4. NOSACQ-50 Safety Climate Questionnaire English version.................258
Appendix 5. NOSACQ-50 Safety Climate Questionnaire Spanish version.................267
Appendix 6. NOSACQ-50 Questionnaire Spanish version adapted for the
Colombian construction sector........................................................................................ 276
Appendix 7. Safety Management Practices (SMPs) Assessment Tool........................ 282
Appendix 8. SMPS percentage of implementation in 25 construction.............................
companies in Colombia................................................................................................... 293
Appendix 9. Construction Workers’ Safety Climate Average Score by...........................
NOSACQ-50 dimension in 25 Colombian Construction Companies.......................... 302
Appendix 10. Interview guideline.................................................................................... 31
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF AUTHOR..................................................................... 314
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Examples of hazards at construction sites............................................................. 5

Table 2. Reported work-related injury and disease rates between 2000 and 2010 in
Colombian construction companies..................................................................... 12
Table 3. The NOSACQ-50 Safety Climate Questionnaire: dimensions and features....38
Table 4. The NOSACQ-50 Questionnaire positive and reversed item according to
the scoring system................................................................................................. 40
Table 5. The NOSACQ-50 Safety climate dimensions positive and reverse items and
mean score calculations......................................................................................... 45
Table 6. Distribution of participants’ demographic variables by job title.......................50
Table 7. Spearman's rho correlation matrix and p values of overall safety climate
scores and demographic variables.........................................................................51
Table 8. Comparison of internal consistency reliability coefficients from this study
with the results from NOSACQ-50 authors......................................................... 53
Table 9. Safety climate scores of the respondents by job title......................................... 55
Table 10. Robust linear regression analysis of demographics and safety climate........... 58
Table 11. Safety Management Practices Assessment Tool. Domains and practices........86
Table 12. Safety management practices (SMPs) scores in 25 participating construction
companies in Colombia........................................................................................ 97
Table 13. Descriptive of total safety climate scores in 25 Colombian construction
companies.............................................................................................................102
Table 14. Descriptive statistics of the safety climate scores in 25 construction
companies in Colombia.........................................................................................103
Table 15. Spearman rho correlations of safety management practices (SMPs) scores
and set of practices to company safety climate score and dimensions for
Colombian construction companies (n=25)...................................................... 106
Table 16. Mixed model linear regression of (SMPs) scores and company safety
climate score and dimensions for Colombian construction companies
(n=25) .................................................................................................................107
Table 17. Spearman rho correlations of safety management practices (SMPs) scores
and set of practices to company safety climate score and dimensions for
a sample of 266 Colombian construction workers.............................................112
Table 18. Spearman rho correlations of 3-year injury rate per 100 workers to safety
management practices (SMPs) scores and its domains from 25 Colombian
construction companies.......................................................................................113
management practices (SMPs) scores and its domains from a sample of
266 Colombian construction workers............................................................... 116
management practices (SMPs) scores and its domains from a sample of 266
Colombian construction workers........................................................................ 118
management practices (SMPs) scores and its domains from a sample of 266
Colombian construction workers...................................................................... 118
Table 22. Spearman rho correlations of 3-year injury rate per 100 workers to
Manager-Worker Discrepancies in Safety Climate Scores from 25
Colombian Construction Companies..................................................................120
Table 23. Summary of fall hazard situations and implemented control in 25
Colombian construction companies...................................................................151
Table 24. Construction site fall hazard profile (quantitative and qualitative approach),
mean safety climate score by work-group, and 3-year injury rate per 100
workers for 25 construction companies in Colombia ..................................... 152
Table 25. Summary of manual material handling hazard situations and implemented
controls in 25 Colombian construction companies...........................................154
Table 26. Construction site MMH hazard profile (quantitative and qualitative
approach) for 25 construction companies in Colombia.................................... 155
Table 27. Results of the Generalized Linear Model regression of the association
between work-group safety climate scores and fall hazards profile
(qualitative approach) at 25 construction sites in Colombia............................ 164
between work-group safety climate score means and MMH hazard
profile at 25 construction sites in Colombia...................................................... 174
between group-level safety climate score means and MMH hazard profile
(qualitative approach) at 25 construction sites in Colombia............................ 178
Table 30. Summary of themes identified from the qualitative data organized around
four-level socio-ecological model: workers, field supervisors and managers
from 25 Colombian construction companies.....................................................200
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Reported construction fatalities and fatalities rates from 2003-2012.................. 3

Figure 2. Safety climate and its relationship with later measure of safety outcomes 17
Figure 3. Proposed causal pathway of safety climate as a process indicator
in the construction industry..................................................................................21
Figure 4. Proposed injury model and safety climate as a measure of specific
contributing factors................................................................................................22
Figure 5. Sura ARL offices in Colombia.............................................................................28
Figure 6. Stratified Sample Selection Flowchart
Figure 7. Safety climate scores by dimensions and job position.....................................32
Figure 8. Dimension 1 Management Safety Priority scores...............................................56
Figure 9. Dimension 2 Management Safety Empowerment scores...................................62
Figure 10. Dimension 3 Management Safety Justice scores.............................................. 63
Figure 11. Dimension 4 Workers’ Safety Commitment scores......................................... 64
Figure 12. Dimension 5 Workers’ safety priority and risk non-acceptance socres...........65
Figure 13. Dimension 6 Safety communication, learning, and trust in co-workers safety
competence scores.............................................................................................. 66
Figure 14. Dimension 7 Workers’ trust in the efficacy of safety systems scores.............67
Figure 15. Comparison between implementation of SMPs aimed to reduce fall
hazards and manual material handling hazards (MMH) in 25 construction
companies in Colombia....................................................................................... 99
Figure 16. Construction workers’ total safety climate score: variability by
company (n=25)................................................................................................. 101
Figure 17. Scatter plot analyzing the linear relationship between company safety
climate score and SMPs score for 25 Colombian construction companies ..108
climate score (Workers’ safety commitment) and SMPs score for 25
Colombian construction companies..................................................................109
climate score (Management safety empowerment dimension) and SMPs
score for 25 Colombian construction companies.............................................110
climate score (Worker’s safety commitment dimension) and SMPs score
for domain II (Practices focused on management commitment) for 25
Colombian construction companies..................................................................I l l
Figure 21. Scatter plot analyzing the linear relationship between company 3-year
injury rate and overall SMPs score for 25 Colombian construction
companies...........................................................................................................114
injury rate and SMPs score (Domain III. Practices focused on improving
safety systems) for 25 Colombian construction companies............................115
injury rate and Company Safety Climate score for 25 Colombian construction
companies...........................................................................................................119
injury rate and Manager-Worker Discrepancies in Safety Climate Scores
for 25 Colombian Construction Companies.................................................... 121
Figure 25. Scatter plot between worker-group’s safety score means and proportion of
implementation of engineering controls for fall hazard situations identified
at 25 Colombian construction companies........................................................ 158
Figure 26. Scatter plot between supervisor-group’s safety score means and proportion
of implementation of engineering controls for fall hazard situations
identified at 25 Colombian construction companies...................................... 159
Figure 27. Scatter plot between manager-group’s safety score means and proportion
of implementation of engineering controls for fall hazard situations
identified at 25 Colombian construction companies........................................160
Figure 28. Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between worker-group’s
safety score means and proportion of implementation of fall protection
for fall hazard situations at 25 Colombian construction companies...............161
Figure 29. Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between supervisor-group’s
safety score means and proportion of implementation of fall protection for
fall hazard situations at 25 Colombian construction companies.....................162
Figure 30. Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between manager-group’s
safety score means and proportion of implementation of fall prevention for
fall hazard situations identified at 25 Colombian construction companies.. 163
Figure 31. Scatter plot worker-group’s safety score means and proportion of fall hazard
situations non-controlled at 25 Colombian construction companies..............165
Figure 32. Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between supervisor-group’s
safety score means and proportion of fall hazard situations non-controlled
at 25 Colombian construction companies.........................................................166
Figure 33. Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between manager-group’s
safety score means and proportion of fall hazard situations non-controlled
at 25 Colombian construction companies........................................................ 167
Figure 34. Scatterplot of construction sites hazard profile (qualitative approach)
and worker-group safety climate score means at 25 Colombian
construction companies......................................................................................169
Figure 35. Scatter plot of qualitative construction sites hazard profile and supervisor
group safety climate score mean among Colombian construction
companies (n=25)..............................................................................................170
Figure 36. Scatter plot of qualitative construction sites hazard profile and supervisor
group safety climate score mean among Colombian construction
companies (n=25)..............................................................................................171
Figure 37. Scatter plot between worker-group’s safety score means and proportion of
implementation of engineering controls for manual material handling
hazard situations identified at 25 Colombian
construction companies......................................................................................175
Figure 38. Scatter plot between supervisor-group’s safety score means and proportion
of implementation of mechanical aids for manual material handling hazard
situations identified at 25 Colombian construction companies...................... 176
Figure 39. Scatter plot between manager-group’s safety score means and proportion
of implementation of mechanical aids for manual material handling hazard
situations identified at 25 Colombian construction companies..................... 177
Figure 40. Scatterplot of construction sites MMH hazard profile (qualitative
approach) and worker-group safety climate score means at 25
Colombian construction companies.................................. 179
Figure 41. Scatter plot of qualitative construction sites MMH hazard profile and
supervisor group safety climate score mean among Colombian
construction companies (n=25).........................................................................180
Figure 42. Scatter plot of qualitative construction sites MMH hazard profile and
supervisor group safety climate score mean among Colombian construction
companies (n=25)..............................................................................................181
Figure 43. Scatter plot between company injury rate per 100 workers and proportion
of non-controlled fall hazard situations identified at 25 Colombian
construction companies.................................................................................... 183
Figure 44. Scatter plot between company injury rate per 100 workers and proportion
of non-controlled MMH hazard situations identified at 25 Colombian
construction companies..................................................................................... 184
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
The construction industry is a substantial sector of the worldwide economy. It
is one of the mainstays of the economy in most countries, contributing significantly to
socio-economic development. However, it is also globally recognized as one of the most
hazardous industrial sectors with long history of high injury and fatality rates. For
example, in 2012, the United States construction industry accounted for the highest
number of fatal work injuries of any industry sector with a total of 775 fatalities which
represented 18% o f all fatal work-related reported. Besides it also ranked four among the
sectors with high rates of fatal occupational injuries (9.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent
workers) (BLS, August 22, 2013). In the United Kingdom, during the period 2012/13,
although the construction industry accounted for only about 5% of the employees it
accounted for 27% of fatal injuries to employees (HSE, 2013). In Colombia, injury rates
2
the construction industry show an increasing trend, remaining higher than other industrial
sectors (6.8 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers)(Fasecolda, 2012)'.
Work-related injuries and illnesses are a burden for companies and for society
as a whole. These injuries often represent an important cost for the national gross
domestic product (GDP). A study conducted by Lebeau et al., estimated the costs of
occupational injuries and illnesses occurring in a single year in Quebec at $4.62 billion,
on average, which represented about 0.45% of Canada GDP in 2005 (Lebeau, Duguay, &
Boucher, 2014). In 2012, the costs for medical expenses, 100% of lost wages, disability,
and death benefit of work- related injuries was estimated about 0.12% of Colombia GDP
in 2012(DANE, 2013; Fasecolda, 2012).
Although, in the last decade, the BLS statistics revealed a significant drop in
the number of construction fatalities, this reduction only represented a slight decreasing
trend in the construction fatality rates (Figure 1)(BLS, 2013b). However, the leading
causes of injuries in the construction sector remain similar. For instance, in 2003, from a
total of 1,131 fatal injuries in the sector, the main causes were fall, slips and trips
(32.2%); transportation incidents (25.6%); contact with objects (15.6%); and exposure to
harmful substances (15.8%). Similarly, in 2012, among 775 fatal injuries, the leading
causes were falls, slips and trips (36.1%); transportation incidents (27.9%); fires and
explosions (20.4%); exposure to harmful substances (17.4%); and contact with objects
and equipment (13.2%) (BLS, 2013a).
’Fasecolda (Federacidn de Aseguradores Colombianos) is a Colombian consortium o f private insurance

companies w ho com piles data from the insurance sector including workers compensation data.
3
FIGURE 1
Reported construction fatalities and fatalities rates from 2003-2012. Data source: U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
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1300
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O O O O O O O v l ' H r H
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Year
The way the construction process is organized and performed brings
multiple hazards to the worksite. The construction site changes day to day as the building
work progresses or the project phases overlap. Hazards can come from any of the
elements of a production system: the personnel, the tasks, the equipment, the materials,
the context, as well as from their interaction or from the effects of their interaction (Koh
& Rowlinson, 2012). Workers at a construction site may be exposed to various
hazardous factors including physical, chemical, mechanical, biological or psychosocial
(Table 1). A significant number of tasks must be performed at heights, which
continuously put construction workers at a high risk for falls. A wide range of equipment
such as powered and non-powered hand tools is used throughout the construction project,
which has the potential of causing serious injuries. Working with various parts of the
body in bent, extended or flexed position as well as repetitive manual handling of heavy
3
4
items such as pre-cast units, pre-cast concrete, cement bags, or planks are common tasks
at the work site which increased workers risk of suffering injuries and illnesses.
Construction industry characteristics
The construction sector is characterized by a number of particular
organizational and physical features that often differentiate it from other industrial sectors
and which may influence the health and safety conditions at the worksite. Each
construction project may have its own characteristics, methods of working, materials
employed, and techniques for construction which can also vary from country to country
(Lingard & Rowlinson, 2005). Some of the inherent characteristics comprise aspects such
as job fragmentation which brings as result involving several contractors and
subcontractors in the construction process; job specialization, very often performed by
small and relatively unstructured firms (Gervais, 2003); dynamic work environments
where multiple crews performing tasks simultaneously and in proximity; constantly
changing physical environments making difficult sometimes to anticipate and thus
control hazards timely; workforce mobility between subcontractors at the same
workplace; risky tasks combining numerous hazards such as working at heights, lifting
heavy loads in noisy areas.
These aspects are very often put forward to label the construction industry as
an intrinsically dangerous sector and to excuse companies’ poor safety performance.
Although is well known that these particular features may incorporate significant
challenges for effectively managing health and safety; it is also clear the necessity of
addressing most of these aspects in strategies for injury prevention.

TABLE 1
Examples of hazards at construction sites
Type of hazard Description

Noise:
- High noise levels from tools and machines
- Noise from background operations
Environmental
Extreme temperatures
Weather conditions (wind, ultraviolet rays)
Physically demanding task requiring:
- Manual material handling of heavy loads
- Awkward postures (kneeling, bending, crawling,
reaching)
- Working overhead or at extreme ranges of movement
Ergonomics - Whole body vibration from operating heavy
machinery
- Hand-arm vibration from the use of powered hand
tools
- Static work posture
- Extreme postures
Work at heights
Safety
Work in confined spaces
Use of powered and non-powered tools
Pressure to work harder
Worker-worker relationships
Psychosocial
Supervisor-workers relationships
Production pressures
Exposure to dangerous substances
- Silica dust
- Asbestos
Chemicals - Solvents
- Isocyanides and epoxy resins in paints, adhesives,
and bonding agents
Flow of materials
Workplace Scheduling of work
organization Coordination of tasks
Overtime
Biological Organic material (woods)
6
Organizational structure
Productivity in the construction industry is measured in terms of how well,
how quickly, and at what cost construction projects can be completed (The National
Academies Press, 2009). These three variables are jointly pursued through the efficient
utilization of resources such as labor, materials and equipment. In a construction project
this can be translated into continuous tradeoffs between fulfilling production schedules,
satisfying project specifications, and increasing profits. In this context, expected project
profits may be maximized only when labor time and cost related to materials or
equipment are minimized. This has important potential implications for expenditures on
health, safety and ergonomics protections.
When safety requirements are not integrated at the outset of the construction
project as an essential element to accomplish end products on time and within budgetary
boundaries, safety may be understood as an element imposed from the outside which
could delay scheduled activities or increase project cost. For instance, a delay in delivery
of materials such as concrete mixture must be often compensated with extending
workers’ work hours, which can be detrimental to their safety. Overtime increases
workers’ fatigue at the same time that reduces rest time and hours of sleep. In addition,
working at night may entail fewer co-workers or institutional resources (e.g., safety
officer) and aggravate workers’ exposure to the already hazardous worksite.

7
Overly tight project schedules, requiring rush jobs, are more the rule than the
exception in the construction industry. The industry is consistently and purposefully fast-
paced. As a means to increase productivity, the construction industry often provides
monetary incentives to motivate supervisors and other management personnel to
complete the job faster. While productivity may rise, these practices can also cause
unintended consequences. Bonus systems often tell people what is valued, expected and
important in the particular setting (Mattson, Torbiom, & Hellgren, 2014). The
construction industry is manpower intensive field, thus increasing the productivity effort
is very often reached only when workers’ job demands are also increased. These reward
practices have been considered as increasing risk because they can promote unsafe
practices given that only measure the final results (time to completion) without heeding
the compliance with safety implications along the way to achieve results (Langford,
Rowlinson, & Sawacha, 2000; Roelofs, Sprague-Martinez, Brunette, & Azaroff, 2011;
Vredenburgh, 2002).
Typically, large and complex construction projects require that multiple
organizations align their work experience and financial backing to work jointly for a
limited period. This has become a common practice in Colombia as well as other
countries. Two or more construction firms create a new company just for the duration of
the construction project, which can range from a couple of months to several years.
Bringing together two or more different safety cultures may thus impose another
challenge to managing the work environment.

8
Operational Characteristics
A common operational practice has been contracting and subcontracting
portions of a project in each construction trade to medium and small firms who have the
specific skills to carry out the work efficiently. Thus, multiple contractors and
subcontractors are required during the project life at a specific time and place.
Contractors and subcontractors coexist throughout the project and operate with several
crews which work simultaneously often with little or no interaction but permanently
influence each other’s work environment (Rowlinson, 2002). Usually, crews organize
their work activities to best suit their own needs in order to complete particular portions
of the project, regardless of how they are affecting the surrounding environment and
other individuals.
Subcontracting brings to the construction company other organizational
advantages such as labor flexibility meeting promptly variations in project demands,
externalizing less rewarding and more dangerous activities, reducing labor costs,
encouraging quicker completion of tasks, transferring financial risk, and avoiding
workers' compensation costs (Manu, Ankrah, Proverbs, & Suresh, 2013).
However, the high prevalence of subcontracting is often cited as a factor
contributing to the construction industry’s poor safety and health performance (Lingard
& Rowlinson, 2005). Problems include contractor selection based on lowest bid with no
consideration given to the safety qualifications of the contractors (Gambatese, Behm, &
Hinze, 2005); the multilayer subcontracting system through small firms and individual
workers (Yik & Lai, 2008) hired as “independent” subcontractors with the responsibility
9
of dealing with their own health benefits and workers’ compensation coverage; and the
typical payment-by-results system (i.e. piece work) where payment is based on the
amount of work completed (Mayhew, Quinlan, & Ferris, 1997), which can push workers
to work faster by even reducing or eliminating rest and recovery time during the working
day.
In addition, the construction site layout can impose work supervision
challenges and stimulates workers’ autonomy to perform the job according to their own
knowledge, skills and judgment of the situation which introduce potential plusses and
minuses. For example, worker’s autonomy and empowerment to adjust the job pace and
methods according to their actual capacities may have a positive impact in the way safety
is treated. However when messages regarding the importance of integrating safety to
daily tasks are inappropriate communicated to workers or, for instance, piece-work
payments are applied, worker’s decisions may be oriented to overestimate productivity
over safety to the detriment of their own safety and health.
Construction Safety and Health in Colombia
As in many countries, the construction industry in Colombia is a cyclical
business that responds to economical fluctuations and governmental policies. Housing
and infrastructure have been identified by the 2010-2014 government as one of the five
key sectors to contribute to the economic growth. The government’s medium-term goal
in housing is to build 100.000 houses during the period 2012-2014, and in the
infrastructure subsector two large dams are currently being built. Also, under the
requirements of the approved free trade agreement with the United States, building and
10
maintaining the road system is another priority of the current government. From January
to June of 2012, the construction sector provided employment to an estimated 1.2 million
people, who represented nearly 12% of the working population. This is a 15% increase in
employment from the preceding year which places the construction sector as a major
source of employment (Colombian Statistics Administrative Department DANE, July
2012 ).
As noted earlier, along with its contribution to economic development, a
growing construction industry may bring an increase in work-related injury rates.
Official statistics indicate that injury rates have grown considerably in the last years
(Table 2). The drastic reduction showed in 2009 was due to the inclusion of data from the
largest public workers compensation which increased the number of construction
workforce. Before 2009 the statistics only reported data from private workers
compensation insurance carriers. Once the data were adjusted, the injury rate resumed its
increasing trend. In 2011, the construction industry accounted for 11% of the total
workforce in the formal sector but accounted for 13% of total work-related injuries, 14%
of total fatal injuries, and 14% of permanent disabilities.
According to these statistics, in 2011, construction workers had an injury rate
1.5 times higher than of all workers in Colombia (11.2 per 100 construction workers vs.
7.6 for all workers); a 1.5 times higher disability rate (3.6 per 100.000 construction
workers vs. 2.4 for all workers); and a 1.4 times higher fatal injury rate (6.8 per 100.000
construction workers vs. 5.1 for all workers). These statistics provide an overall view of
the health and safety conditions only in the formal sector given that they do not reflect the
11
informal workers or those classified as “independent workers” for whom, until 2008, it
was not mandatory to pay workers compensation premiums.

12
TABLE 2
Reported work-related injury and disease rates between 2000 and 2010 in Colombian construction companies. Source: Fasecolda
Colombia
Year Workforce in the No. o f injuries in Injury rate per No. of fatal Fatal injury Occupational No. o f partial Partial disability Permanent Permanent
construction construction and 100 workers injuries in rate x 100.000 illnesses in disabilities in rate x 100.000 disabilities in disabilities rate
industry and % of % o f the total construction and workers construction and construction workers construction and x 100.000
the total workforce % o f the total % o f the total and % of the % of the total workers
total
2000 66,226 - (3.3%) 7,423 - (4.9%) 11.2 18-(3.9% ) 27.2 5 -(1 .0 % ) 118-(7.4% ) 178.2 18 - (3.9%) 13.6
2001 103,756- (4.2%) 8,295 - (5.4%) 8.0 2 6 -(8.1% ) 25.1 5 - (0.8%) 171 -(12.3% ) 164.8 26-(8.1% ) 7.7
2002 87,228 - (3.2%) 8,379 - (4.8%) 9.6 29 - (8.5%) 33.2 12-(1.6% ) 143 - (10.0%) 163.9 29 - (8.5%) 9.2
2003 127,952 - (4.4%) 11,138-(5.8%) 8.7 20 - (5.5%) 15.6 36 - (3.5%) 235 - (9.3%) 183.7 20 - (5.5%) 10.9
2004 132.568 - (4.5%) 15,201 - (7.3%) 11.5 46-(11.3% ) 34.7 16 - (2.0%) 205 - (7.2%) 154.6 46-(11.3% ) 6.8
2005 133,970 - (4.2%) 19,213 - (7.7%) 14.3 50 - (9.5%) 37.3 17-(1.2% ) 237 - (7.3%) 176.9 50 - (9.5%) 19.4
2006 168,966 - (4.4%) 22,785 - (7.8%) 13.5 48 - (10.2%) 28.4 50-(1.8% ) 282 - (7.3%) 166.9 48- (10.2%) 14.2
2007 229,198 - (5.5%) 28,213 - (8.9%) 12.3 58 - (15.6%) 25.2 55-(1.7% ) 388 - (8.1%) 169.3 58 - (15.6%) 8.7
2008 221,145 - (5.3%) 32,861 - (9.5%) 14.9 45-(12.8% ) 20.3 117 - (2.2%) 512 - (9.4%) 231.6 45-(12.8% ) 4.3
2009* 640,572 - (9.6%) 38,652 - (9.4%) 6.1 101 -(17.1%) 15.8 92-(1.3% ) 701 - (9.6%) 109.4 101-(17.1% ) 6.1
2010 619,231 - (9.1%) 46,430 - (10.5%) 7.5 53 - (10.6%) 8.7 149-(1.6% ) 1,027 - (10.6%) 169.4 53 - (10.6%) 4.8
2011 809,445-(10.8%) 71,086-(13.0%) 8.8 55 - (13.7%) 6.8 123-(1.3% ) 1,001 - (10.0%) 123.7 55-(13.7% ) 3.8
*Data from 2000 to 2008 do not include information from the public workers compensation insurance carrier. Data from 2009
and forward include public and private workers compensation insurance carriers in the Colombian social security system.
13
Workers Compensation System in Colombia
Until 1993, the Colombian social security system was entirely administered by
the Government. In that year the social security system was reformed through a law
called Law 100 that created foundations of the General System of Social Security in
Health. Although the system continues to be regulated by the Government, both public
and private insurance companies are now allowed to participate. Thus, employers have
diverse options to choose a workers compensation insurance carrier. Under this new
regulation, private workers’ compensation insurance companies (Administradoras de
Riesgos Laborales (ARL)) began to play an important role in providing occupational
health and safety services to their commercial customers. It is mandatory for all ARLs to
implement safety prevention and health promotion programs as well provide medical
assistant, rehabilitation. They must also cover 100% of the worker’s salary in case of
absence due to work-related injuries, and compensation for temporary and permanent
disabilities, or death as a result of an occupational injury.
Unlike the United States, where the workers’ compensation premium is
negotiated based on variables such as number of employees, total wages, type of jobs
performed, and experience rating, in Colombia the insurance premium is dictated by
legislation on the basis of sector-specific average risk for occupational injuries and
illnesses regarding of the individual company’s experience. For instance, a “low-risk”
company such as a call center might pay 0.59% of their total payroll, while a
manufacturing company pays 3.59%, and a construction company pays 6.59%.

14
According to Law 100, all formally established companies must be enrolled in
an AR, whether private or public. In the last decade, construction companies have
become less informal and are increasingly enrolled in formal insurance policies.
According to Fasecolda data, in 2011, the workers compensation insurance carriers
covered about 50,300 construction companies. This may bring the possibility of
addressing safety and health needs more effectively through better occupational health
and safety programs.
Safety climate
Safety climate is a construct proposed by Zohar to assess employee’s
perceptions held by employees about safety aspects of their organizational environment,
assuming that these perceptions and expectations have utility in serving as a frame of
reference for guiding behaviors (Zohar, 1980b). Safety climate is considered as a specific
form of organizational climate which describes group perceptions of the value of safety
in the work environment (Coyle, Sleeman, & Adams, 1995; Griffin & Neal, 2000; Zohar,
2010a; Zohar, 1980b).
Based on a literature search, Zohar identified organizational characteristics that
differentiate between high versus low accident-rate manufacturing companies. It was
assumed that these features describe a particular type of organizational climate in which
employees developed sets of perceptions forming the safety climate of that organization.
Taking for granted that causes of occupational injuries lie mainly in worker’s safety
behaviors, Zohar suggests that operationalized safety climate can serve as an useful tool
15
in understanding workers’ occupational behavior and enhancing safety outcomes (Zohar,
1980b).
In general, safety climate refers to employees’ shared perceptions of
organization’s policies, procedures, and practices and their value and importance to
safety within the organization (Cooper & Phillips, 2004a; Griffin & Neal, 2000;
Mohamed, 2002; Zohar, 2010a). Safety climate is often considered as measurement of
the “true safety” because it attempts to reflect actual procedures and practices in the shop
floor (Vinodkumar & Bhasi, 2009). Measuring safety climate allows detecting those
attitudes or behaviors that are either, deliberately or unintentionally, rewarded, supported
or promoted by the organization. Through measuring safety climate, researchers attempt
to identify the underlying structure of values that the organization promotes: what arethe
actual values? What are the organizational priorities competing with safety?
Safety Climate dimensions
Safety at the workplace may involve several elements at multiple levels from
the individual to the organizational. Thus defining the specific elements that comprise a
safe workplace is challenging, as it is to identify which dimensions should be measured
to describe safety climate. Although, researchers in the field agree about the
multidimensional nature of safety climate, consensus has not been reached yet regarding
either the specific elements to be assessed, the appropriate scale or instrument to use. On
the contrary, a range of factors has been identified as being important components of
safety climate. Those proposed safety climate dimensions include: management
commitment to safety, work pressure, supervisor safety support, coworkers support, risk
16
perception, organizational safety practices and procedures, communication, employment
participation, adequacy of training and providing safety equipment. Although most of the
studies highlighted the importance of management commitment to safety as well as
support of supervisors and coworkers, each study varied in the number of items
measured, the content and scope of this dimension (Cooper & Phillips, 2004b;
Dedobbeleer & Beland, 1991a; Flin, Meams, O'Connor, & Bryden, 2000a; Gillen, Baltz,
Gassel, Kirsch, & Vaccaro, 2002; Marin, Cifuentes, & Roelofs, ; Varonen & Mattila,
2000 ).
Why measure safety climate
Employees learn the actual organizational priorities through constantly
observing management safety attitudes, practices and procedures. Thus, safety climate is
a proxy measure of the discrepancies between what it is socially desirable (core values) in
terms of company safety policies and the observable expression of those values within
the organization. It is a measure of gaps between organizational policies and practices
and enacted ones2. It can be inferred as a measure of organizational coherence regarding
safety polices and the actual conditions in the workplace. This extent of coherence may
reinforce worker’s perceptions about true company priorities.
The practical value of safety climate has been founded on its role as a predictor
of worker’s safe behavior (Cooper & Phillips, 2004a; Gittleman et al., 2010; Griffin &
Neal, 2000; Gyekye & Salminen, 2010; Zohar, 2010a). Unlike injury rates long-term
2 D ov Zohar’s Safety Climate seminar at Harvard School o f Public Health, December 16, 2013.
17
trends and lost time days which reflect workplace safety performance retrospectively
(Payne, Bergman, Rodriguez, Beus, & Henning, 2010a), safety climate might be used as
a leading indicator which offers a proactive route for improving aspects affecting
worksite safety (Kines et al., 201 la).
In a prospective linear approach, safety climate is conceptualized as an early
antecedent or cause of an incident/injury, having a direct effect on safety-related
behaviors which in turn have a direct effect on injuries (Payne et al. 2009; Zohar, 2010;
Gittleman et al, 2010; Gyekye, 2006). Payne et al proposed a theoretical model of safety
climate as predictor of safety behavior (Figure 2) (Payne, Bergman, Beus, Rodriguez, &
Henning, 2009). However, this model would seem tosuggest that safe conditions at the
worksite are guaranteed and only workers’ behavior should be monitored, without
exploring worker’s attitudes as a simple response to unsafe conditions at the work
environment.
FIGURE 2
Safety climate and its relationship with later measure of safety outcomes (Payne et al.,
2009)
18
Study Research Questions
An alternative view is that injury occurrence is multicausal. The safety climate
causal pathway assumes that safe conditions are controlled and the work area is a safe
place where only worker behavior must be modified, which is very far from the reality on
most the construction sites. Because of our concern about the conceptual model proposed
by Neal et al., 2002, and reiterated by Payne et al, 2009, this study proposes instead a
broader framework in which safety climate (workers’ perceptions of the organization’s
priorities) is a process indicator that responds to the material work conditions, such as the
presence of hazards, as well as the practices implemented in the worksite (Figure 3).
To date, little research has been conducted to investigate how workers form
perceptions of safety climate. The purpose of this study therefore conducted in the
framework stated in Figure 4. This study aimed to assess perception of safety climate
among construction workers, supervisors and site managers as well as to investigate the
relationships among management safety practices implemented at the construction sites,
construction workers’ perceptions of safety climate, and the presence of observed
hazards. In order to test the relationship between these variables the following research
questions were stated:
Q1: What is the safety climate among construction personnel in the construction
industry in Colombia?
Q2: Do workers and upper/middle management in the construction industry share
perceptions of safety?
19
Q3: What are the differences in perception of safety across personnel in the
construction industry?
Q4: Are there differences in perceptions of safety across the dimensions of safety
climate?
Q5: Could individual variables such as age, experience, seniority, or suffering work-
related injuries explain differences in perceptions of safety across construction
personnel in Colombia?
Q6: Are SMPs implemented at construction sites related to with perceptions of safety
climate?
Q7: Are differences in the implementation of SMPs focused on fall hazards and
ergonomic hazards?
Q8: Are there differences in the relationship between fall hazards and ergonomic
hazards and perceptions of safety at the construction site?
Q9: Are the SMPs implemented related to injury rates?
Q10: Are workplaces conditions associate with perceptions of safety priorities at the
construction site?
Q11: Are there differences in the relationship between workplace conditions and
perception of safety in the workplace by job title?
Q12: Does the presence of specific fall hazards have an association on perceptions of
safety priorities at the construction site?
Q13: Does the presence of specific ergonomics hazards related to construction
workers’ perceptions of safety priorities at the construction site?

20
Q14: Are there differences in the relationship between fall hazards and ergonomic
Q15: Is the presence of hazards in the workplace related to injury rates?

21
FIGURE 3
Proposed causal pathway of safety climate as a process indicator

in the construction industry
Monitoring safety measures

(indicators)
22
FIGURE 4
Proposed injury model and safety climate as a measure of specific contributing factors.
STUDY II STUDY I
Management Safety Practices (MSPs) and Perceptions of Safety Climate among
Workers’ Perceptions of Safety Climate construction personnel groups
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
Societal STUDY IV
Organizational Practices Perceptions of
SAFETY CLIMATE Safety Climate
Inter-personal Relationships
Qualitative
Individual approach
INJURY/
EXPOSURE
MM >■ ILLNESS
STUDY III - SAFETY OUTCOM ES

Hazards Observed and Perceptions of Injury rate
Safety Climate
23
CHAPTER II
SAFETY CLIMATE IN THE CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY IN COLOMBIA
BACKGROUND
The construction industry is globally recognized as one of the largest
employers with important contributions to economic and social objectives of the
countries. It is also recognized as one the most hazardous industries in both developed
and developing countries. The fatal and non-fatal work-related injury rates in this sector
are considerably higher than many other industries. Causes of this disproportion have
been very often attributed to the nature of the construction industry which exhibits
particular characteristics in terms of the construction process and project organization.
For instance, the need of having multiple contractors and subcontractors, permanent and
temporal workers working simultaneously and sharing physical areas as well as
individual workers performing similar tasks day by day but in an evolving work
environment bring important challenges to the construction company in order to
guarantee a safe environment for all employees at any particular time.

24
Safety climate
Given the dynamic nature of the construction process, having accurate and
opportune information about safety gaps in the work area can contribute to the design and
implementation of more effective safety interventions. Safety climate, a component of
the organizational culture which some studies have found related with safe behavior and
injury occurrence in the workplace (Christian, Bradley, Wallace, & Burke, 2009; Clarke,
2006; Zohar, 2003), has been proposed as a leading indicator of the workplace
safety(Beus, Payne, Bergman, & Arthur, 2010; Payne, Bergman, Rodriguez, Beus, &
Henning, 2010b). Safety climate is conceptualized as a measure of workers’ shared
perceptions regarding the priority given to safety at the workplace Safety climate has
been considered as a relevant element in the study of injury occurrence because some
studies have reported an association between safety behaviors and injury rates, suggesting
that there is a link in the causal pathway.
Safety climate is a concept introduced by Zohar in 1980 to describe a specific
component of organizational climate related to safety in the industry (Zohar, 1980a).
Based on a literature search, Zohar (1980) identified organizational characteristics that
differentiate between high versus low accident-rate companies. It was assumed that these
features describe a particular type of organizational climate in which employees develop
sets of perceptions forming the safety climate of that organization. In general terms,
safety climate describes shared perceptions held by employees about the value,
importance and priority given to safety in each organization (Cooper & Phillips, 2004c;
25
Hahn & Murphy, 2008; Mark et al., 2007; Mohamed, 2002; Zohar, 2010b) and denotes
attitudes to safety within an organization (Guldenmund, 2000).
Safety climate is defined as a work-group variable where workers sharing
particular features such type of job, physical work area, or even supervisors who may
share perceptions regarding the place given to safety by managers in comparison to other
organizational variables. Safety climate perceptions as shared y members of a particular
group but are not necessarily homogenous across the organization. Perhaps due to
differences in roles and responsibilities, previous studies in the construction industry and
other industries have found that perceptions of safety climate differ between workers and
supervisors (Arcury et al 2012, Gittleman et al, 2010).
Around the world, the construction industry is a risky environment where very
often minor, severe and fatal injuries occur. Examining the organizational influences on
workplace safety and on workers’ attitudes to safety may contribute to understand the
underlying values and assumptions contributing to the high injury rates in this sector. A
quantitative study was conducted among Colombian construction workers with the aim to
examine perceptions of safety among construction personnel, regarding management
safety priorities, empowerment, and commitment, as well as workers’ commitment and
communication.
26
Research Questions
The following research questions were examined in this study:
■ What is the safety climate among construction personnel in the construction
industry in Colombia?
■ Do workers and upper/middle management in the construction industry share
perceptions of safety?
■ What are the differences in perception of safety across personnel in the
construction industry?
■ Are there differences in perceptions of safety across the dimensions of safety
climate?
■ Could individual variables such as age, experience, seniority, or suffering work-
related injuries explain differences in perceptions of safety across construction
personnel in Colombia?
27
METHODS
Research Design and Methods
The study was carried out with 30 construction companies in Colombia.
Participating companies were customers of the largest private insurance company in the
country, Sura ARL. Data were collected at both the worksite and individual levels.
Personnel from different job titles (construction workers, supervisors, and site managers)
at the construction site were contacted individually to complete a safety climate
questionnaire. The study involved measures of perceptions of safety climate at one point
in time for three workgroups: workers, supervisors (including foremen), and managers
(including site and project managers).
Sample selection
Recruitment of construction companies was accomplished through contact with
Sura ARL, which provides insurance services to customers in all industrial sectors
throughout all of Colombia across four regions. Sura ARL customers include a wide
range of construction companies performing residential, commercial, and infrastructure
construction. The study was conducted with Sura’s construction customers in the Central
Region, which includes Colombia’s central and east regions (Figure 5). The study was
limited to 30 companies with construction projects located in the Bogota metropolitan
area and surroundings due to time and budgetary constraints.

28
FIGURE 5
Sura ARL offices in Colombia. Source: Sura ARL
Sura ARL Offices
Q N orthern region
f A ntioquia region
Q W estern region
Q Central region
Sura ARL provided a database of construction company policy holders
(company name, contact information, number of workers, and injury rate) and made the
initial contact with potential participants. Besides, Sura ARL also provided a separated
database o f workers compensation claims from 2010 to 2012. Sura ARL had no direct
contact with study subjects or access to the raw data or any part of the work in progress.
It was agreed that, upon completion of the data analysis, Sura ARL would receive a
summary report which could be used as input to design or improve safety intervention
programs for their customers. This summary report will include descriptive information
while protecting participants’ confidentiality including the identities of all individuals and
companies.
29
Company-level recruitment
A database o f 612 construction companies with projects in the Central Region
was provided by Sura ARL (Figure 6). Potential participating companies were chosen
based on several factors:
1. Employing more than 20 construction workers (no administrative employees)
2. Involving in commercial or residential projects
3. Being a Sura ARL client for at least one year before the present study
4. Developing construction projects in the Bogota metropolitan area and
surroundings
In addition when several construction companies owned by the same holding
group met the selection criteria, only one company was selected at random to be included
in the sample. Sura ARL’ s workers compensation data contained claims by company
and year from January 2010 to September 30 ,2012. Information included number of
injuries, average number of workers, injury claims whether or not each incident resulted
in lost work time.
Company number o f workers was used as an initial filter in order to select
potential participants. In this first step, 272 companies with more than 20 workers
remained in the database. In the second step, an individual analysis was conducted in
collaboration with Sura ARL’s account executive3 for each company. Then, projects in
3 Sura ARL counts with safety professionals assigned to each client w ho are responsible for integral
customer service by maintaining ongoing contact with the customer, visiting worksites, and conducting
safety activities.
30
the final stages (i.e. landscaping minor finishing) or located outside of the geographical
according to the selection criteria were excluded. Subsequently, a total of 87
construction companies were selected as potential participants.
Additionally, companies were sorted based on the proportion of injuries in the
period of study using a stratified random sample. The criterion chosen to carry out the
stratified sampling was the average of the total number of injuries reported over the total
number of company construction workers in the period 2010-2012. Proportion of injuries
was calculated as the total number of injury claims in the period divided by the total of
workers in the same period, times 100.
Proportion of injuries = (Total injury claims in accounting period) x 100

(Total workers in accounting period)
Potential participating companies were sorted into three groups according to
the 3-year average proportion of claims: low, medium and high. The average proportion
of injuries for the construction sector in Colombia (8.5 injuries per 100 workers) during
the period of analysis (2010 to 2012) was used as the cut-off point from low to medium.
Double of the Colombian proportion of injuries for the sector (17.0 injuries per 100
workers) was used as the cut-off point from medium to high. A detailed calculation of
categories is presented in (Appendix 1).
Then the percentage of all companies in each category was calculated. The
intended sample size was 30 companies, so the size of the sample in each range was
calculated in proportion to the size of the sample frame (Figure 6). After that, random
sampling was applied within each set; companies in each group were numbered and
31
randomly picked, using the RANBETWEEN function (Excel Microsoft Office), to
complete the size of the sample in each group. Expecting a 25% of refusals, about 50%
more companies than the calculated goal were invited to participate.
A letter signed by Sura A R L ’s Bussiness Unit Manager and the researcher was
sent to each selected company’s general manager to invite them to take part in the study
(Appendix 2). The invitation letter provided information regarding the study and
informed them about the confidentiality and voluntary nature of the participation.
Meetings were set up between a company project manager and safety coordinator and the
researcher. These initial meetings aimed to provide an understanding of the study scope
and methodology, potential benefits for the industry, confidentiality, role of Sura ARL in
the study, as well as to answer specific questions. When meeting in person was not
possible, a phone conference was arranged.
Once a company agreed to participate, information regarding the company’s
current projects, stages, and locations were provided and reviewed with the company’s
general manager and/or safety officer. Within the construciton sites that met the criteria
selection, the researcher chose at random the construction site and the specific date to
conduct the study. The sample included only one construction site per company. The
company’s safety coordinator was responsible for informing the worksite personnel about
the study and making logistic arragements in order for the researcher to visit the
worksite.
32
FIGURE 6
Stratified Sample Selection Flowchart
1 612
| Construction
1: companiesinSum
i ARLdatabase
1 1 1
wmmm
companywithno
companieswith
1 272
|fi companiesWith.
Selection criteria:
No. workers> 20 without including
administrative workers
informationabout fewerthan20workers
num berofworkers Ijporethan20workers
I
Verify with SU R A ’s safety
executive account the
wmamm8sm 106
current projects status o f
companieswhichare Nosafetyofficer,
Constructionsites each company
outsideofBogota partofa closetofinishinga
m etropolitanarea holdinggroup projectornot
havingaproject
X
35 (40%) 20 (23%) 32 (37%)
Cluster companies and
3-y Injuiy rate < 8.5 8.5 < 3-y injury rate < 17.0 3-y Injury rate > 17.0
calculate proportions within the
sample frame potential "Low" "Medium" "High"
participants in three groups
18 12 14
Random select invited to participate | invited to participate invited to participate
(Expectedparticipating \ (Expected participating (Expected participating
group companies n—12) companies n=7) companies n=ll)
33
Individual-level recruitment
The intended population for the study of group differences in perceptions of
safety and health was 300 workers, 60 supervisors/foremen, and 30 site managers. At
each construction site at least 10 workers, 1-2 supervisors/foremen, and 1-2 site managers
were invited to voluntarily participate in the safety climate survey.
Surveys were conducted during work hours and on the construction site. Once
on the construction site, the site safety officer introduced the researcher to site managers,
field supervisors and foremen to explain the study as well as its confidentiality and
voluntary nature. In the field, the worksite was quickly reviewed with the safety officer
to find an appropriate place to conduct the survey and interviews. According to each
particular construction site layout, places offering privacy and low noise levels included
the locker room, the safety officer’s office, the cafeteria, the nurse’s office, or the site
manager’s office. When it was not possible to have access to one of these areas, the
survey or the interview was conducted in an isolated place in the field using the typical
environmental noise as a distractor to avoid being heard by others.
The next step was to choose the workers to be surveyed. It is common practice
at the construction sites to monitor workers’ arrival and dismissal hours through use of a
daily log kept in the security gatehouse (Appendix 3). The log allowed us to identify the
number of workers on the worksite at any time. According to the number of workers at
the worksite, and using the RANBETWEEN function (Excel Microsoft Office), a random
sample of workers at each construction site was selected to respond to the survey. If the
34
worker refused to take the survey, a new potential participant was selected randomly
from the daily log form.
The worker selected was contacted in the field by the safety officer and invited
to come to the place chosen to conduct the survey. Once there, and in absence of the
safety officer, the study was explained to the participant and he was told that the survey
sought information that would be useful to improve safety in the construction sector. The
informed consent form was read aloud, and, if the worker agreed to participate, it was
signed.
The survey was conducted as an in-person interviewer-assisted survey and
between December 2012 and April 2013. Survey assistants were safety professionals
from Sura ARL, who provided safety services to companies in the construction sector.
All of them held a degree in Industrial Engineering, specialization in Health and Safety
Management and had at least four years of experience as consultants in the construction
industry. Survey assistants were instructed to provide potential participants with
information such as the goal of the research, contact name and email address of the
researcher, as well as details about how and why the respondent was selected, and when
and where the information provided and how the data would be used. The survey
assistants conducted the survey during one regular visit to the construction. A total of five
survey assistants collected the entire survey sample.

35
PHOTO 1
Construction workers during surveys at the worksite
All survey assistants were trained in human-subjects protections and the survey
protocol. Training consisted of a thorough review of study purpose, survey objectives,
and recruitment protocols. In addition, several line-by-line reviews of the questionnaire
and informed consent protocol as well as realistic practice interviews were conducted.
Measures
The Nordic Occupational Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) was
administered on the construction sites to project managers, site managers, supervisors,
and workers to assess perceptions of safety and health at the worksite. These data were
used to compare perceptions of safety climate across organizational positions.
Perceptions o f Safety and Health
The instrument chosen to assess safety and health perceptions for this study
was the Nordic Occupational Safety Climate-NOSACQ-50 (Appendix 4) which was
developed by the National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NRCWE) in
Denmark (Kines et al, 2010). According to the authors, the NOSACQ-50 encompasses
36
elements from organizational theory, safety climate theory, psychological theory, and
previous research conducted by the authors. It was initially validated with 500
construction workers in the Nordic countries and available in 22 languages, including
Spanish. The NRCWE has compiled a database of survey responses from 1.111
construction workers from 19 studies, eight languages versions, with the present study as
the first in Spanish, which can be used as a benchmarking tool.
The NOSACQ-50 gathers major themes in the operationalization of safety
climate, i.e. perceived management relationship with safety and how workers relate to
safety at work. Perception of the management relationship with safety is reflected in
aspects of management actions such as:
• Priority given to safety in the day-to-day worksite activities
• Being active in promoting safety
• Reacting to unsafe behavior
• Empowering workers and supporting participation
• Treating workers involved in work-related injuries
In turn, workers’ relationship to safety at work is assessed through facets such as the
following:
• Promoting safety, and care for each other’s safety
• Prioritizing safety before production goals
• Acceptance of risk-taking
• Discussing safety issues and learning from experience

37
• Taking safety suggestions from each other seriously
• Considering formal safety systems as effective
The NOSACQ-50 questionnaire
The NOSACQ-50 safety climate questionnaire consists of 50 items across
seven safety climate dimensions (Table 3) and three demographic questions. By
performing a factor analysis on data from the original studies in the construction industry,
Kines et al. (2010) extracted the seven safety climate dimensions. The first section of the
NOSACQ-50 safety climate instrument included the participant’s basic information (year
of birth, gender and job title), while the second part contained the 50 items related to
safety climate perceptions from the 50 items, 22 items elicited management commitment
to safety at the workplace while the remaining 28 items assessed how workers deal with
safety (Appendix 5).

38
TABLE 3
The NOSACQ-50 Safety Climate Questionnaire: dimensions and features. Adapted from Kines et al. 2010
Number of
Dimension Features
items
Workers' perceptions regarding site managers commitment in aspects
such as:
1. Management safety
- Safety priority
priority, commitment, and
- Safety encouragement and response to unsafe actions
competence
- Ability and skills to safety management
- Safety communication
Workers' perceptions about site managers commitment to encourage
2. Management safety
7 workers participation in safety
empowerment
3. Management safety Workers' perceptions about how site managers treat workers
6
justice
4. Workers’ safety Workers' perceptions regarding their commitment to safety and who they
6 take care of each other
commitment
Workers' perceptions regarding how they prioritize safety over tasks
5. Workers’ safety priority
advancement and how they accept to take risks
and risk non-acceptance
6. Safety communication, Workers' perceptions regarding co-workers support, encouraging to talk

learning, and trust in co- 8 about safety, and their ability to guarantee daily safe workplaces
workers safety competence
Workers' perceptions regarding the safety systems effectiveness, benefits
7. Trust in the efficacy of 7 of safety planning and goal-setting tools
safety systems
39
For this study, two modifications were made concerning the background
information and terminology. The background section was expanded and the Spanish
version was revised to adapt to the common terminology at Colombian construction
worksites. Questions regarding construction trades (suggested by NOSACQ-50’
author4), experience in the construction industry, seniority, type of job performed before
being a construction worker, work-related injuries at the current and previous
construction sites, and being a safety committee member were added in order to examine
correlations between demographic variables and safety climate dimensions.
In order to adapt the Spanish version to the Colombian work environment and
construction terminology, the NOSACQ-50 Spanish version was discussed with two
safety experts from Sura ARL and with a group of ten safety executives from Sura ARL
with broad experience in this sector. They were specifically asked to evaluate the
language used throughout the questionnaire. Feedback was incorporated into the original
Spanish version to reflect the appropriate terminology. For example, given the
organizational structure of a construction site which involves site managers, contractors,
supervisors and foremen, the term “management” may address only the top management
leaving aside immediate bosses such as supervisors. Thus, in questions 1 to 22 the term
“management” was replaced by “Manager responsible for the construction site” to allow
including both upper and middle managers (project manager, site engineers, supervisors
and foremen).
4 Unpublished correspondence with Pete Kines PhD, Senior Research at the Norwegian National Research
Centre for the Working Environment (NRCW E) from Norway. July 27,2012 and January 31, 2013.
40
The final instrument comprised 13 background questions and 50 safety climate
perception items (Appendix 6). All responses were made on a four point Likert scale
with strongly disagree, disagree, agree, and strongly agree. As in the original Nordic
version, the instrument preserved items asked in both a positive way and in a reversed
(negated) one. All the items were answered in the same way but scored depending on the
formulation o f the question (Table 4).
TABLE 4
The NOSACQ-50 Questionnaire positive and reversed item according to the scoring
system. Source: Analyzing NOSACQ-50
www.arbeidsmilioforskning.dk/en/Dublikationer/spoergeskemaer
Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly
disagree agree
Score for positive items 1 2 3 4
Score for reversed items 4 3 2 1
Data were collected using QuickTapSurvey (TabbleDubble Inc., 2013), an
application created for collecting survey responses on tablets. The questionnaire was
created on line and downloaded to the tablets carried by the interviewers where responses
41
were collected. The data were stored on the application and exported by uploading to a
secure server at University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Data collection methods and protocols used in this study were reviewed and
approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Massachusetts Lowell
(IRB 12-131-PUN-XPD). All survey assistants were trained in human-subjects
protections and the survey protocol. All respondents agreed to participate via oral
informed consent according to the approved protocols. Participation was voluntary and
confidential and no personal identifiers were collected or associated with survey
responses.
Pilot study
The pilot study was designed for testing adequacy of survey protocol, research
instruments including NOSACQ-50 questionnaire and organizational practices
assessment, and the individual recruitment approach. The pilot study aimed to evaluate
whether once at the construction site, the research protocol was realistic and workable,
identify logistical issues such as getting access to potential participants, availability of a
“private” place to conduct the survey, time and people needed for conducting surveys,
and training survey assistants on how to conduct the surveys.
From the database provided by Sura ARL, four construction companies were
selected to conduct the pilot study. Companies were selected based on the selection
criteria mentioned above. Site managers and safety officers were contacted via phone to
explain the study and the pilot aims and to obtain permission for construction site access.
42
Once on the construction site, the researcher was introduced to site managers to present
the study and obtain authorization to visit the workplace, survey and interview workers,
supervisors (maestros) and site managers. The results from the four companies
participating in the pilot study were excluded from the final sample.
According to the protocol, workers to be surveyed were selected from the daily
log and invited to participate after reading the informed consent. Availability of “private”
places within the construction sites may vary according to project progress. Places
identified as viable to conduct the survey included the dining area, site management
offices, workers changing rooms, or the work area. The dining area was very often
located within the construction facility but a distant from the work area. Although it was
an open area, it was only accessible to workers during meal hours (9:00 am, 11:30 am,
and 2:30 pm). Trailers and provisional facilities used as offices for site managers were an
appropriate option when no people were there. Given the construction site layout,
surveying workers in their work area was also a possibility. Although, they might be
watched by other workers the noisy environment was used as a natural way to avoid
being heard by others around.
Within the four companies, 37 participants were surveyed in order to assess
whether the NOSACQ-50 Spanish version needed adaption to reflect local interpretations
and wording. Given the low literacy level in the construction sector, a self-administered
questionnaire with 16 demographic questions and 50 safety climate items required at least
1 hour of reading and responding, making it less likely to reach the intended sample (10
workers, 2 supervisors and 1 manager). Based on that premise, the survey was conducted
43
through an interviewer-assisted questionnaire, without hard copy. In instead, the survey
software Quick Tap Survey and tablets device (Ipad 2) were used to collect data
electronically. Conducting the survey using this approach reduced the time to 12-15
minutes.
The scale o f responses presented particular confusion to workers when
negative questions were asked. In these cases it was necessary to rephrase the question as
well as the participant’s response to assure that he/she understood the question and the
response matched his/her understanding . After the pilot, these questions were reworded
for ease of understanding.
During the pilot, when participants were asked regarding injuries suffered on
the current or previous construction sites, most of them reported having had no work-
related injuries. However, when examples about minor injuries such as slips, trips, cuts,
hit, or pinch were provided, an important number of participants agreed to have had this
sort of injuries, but they had not reported them because they considered minor injuries as
“just part of the job”. Based on these responses, examples of minor and severe injuries
were included in the questionnaire for all items regarding injuries.
Data analysis
The questionnaire data were exported from QuickTap Survey App into
Microsoft Office Excel and then analyzed by using IBM SPSS Statistics versions 18 and
21. The items were divided into two groups as positive and reversed items and scores
were assigned according to values shown in Table 4. The score for each dimension was
44
calculated as the sum of the positively formulated items plus the sum of reversed
formulated items and then the true mean was calculated as is show in Table 5.
Participants were grouped into three job titles workers, supervisors and
managers. Supervisors and foremen were categorized into one group (supervisors); site
and project managers were grouped as managers. A safety climate mean score was
calculated for each participant, as mentioned above. Safety climate mean scores by
dimension were calculated by aggregating the individual mean scores divided by the
number of items in each dimension. A measure of the total safety mean score was
obtained by aggregating the dimension mean scores.

45
TABLE 5
The NOSACQ-50 Safety climate dimensions positive and reverse items and mean score calculations. Source: Analyzing
NOSACQ-50 www.arbeidsmilioforskning.dk/en/publikationer/spoergeskemaer
Reversed
Reversed formulated
Positively formulated items formulated Mean score calculation
items
items
Dim ension 1- management safety (A 1+A 2+f5-A 31+A 4+f5-A 51+A 6+A 7+f5-A 81+f5-A 911
A l, A 2, A 4, A 6, A7 A 3, A 5, A 8, A9
priority and ability (9 items): Number o f answered items
Dim ension 2 - management safety A 10, A l l , A 12, ( A 10 + A 11+ A 12+C5-A131+A14+C5-A151+A161

A 13, A 15
empowerment (7 items): A 14, A 16 Number o f answered items
Dim ension 3 - management safety A 17, A 19, A 20, ( A 17+C5-A181+A 19 + A 2 0 + f 5 -A 2 11+A221

A 18, A21
justice (6 items): A 22 Num ber o f answered items
Dim ension 4 - workers’ safety (A 23+A 24+(5-A 251+(5-A 261+A 27+(5-A 2811
A 23, A 24, A 27 A 25, A 26, A 28
commitment (6 items): Num ber o f answered items
Dim ension 5 - workers’ safety priority A 29, A 30, A3 1, (Y5-A291+ (5-A301+ f5 -A 3 11+ f5-A 321+A 33+f5-A 341+ T5-A3511
A33
and risk non-acceptance (7 items): A 32, A 34, A 3 5 Number o f answered items
Dim ension 6 - Peer safety A 36, A 37, A38,

fA 36+ A 37+ A 38+ A 39+ A 40+ f5-A 411+ A 42+ A 431
communication learning, and trust in A 39, A 40, A42, A41
Number o f answered items
safety ability (8 items): A 43
Dim ension 7 - workers’ trust in efficacy A 44, A 46, A 48, ( A 44+ f5-A 451+A 46+f5-A 471+A 48+f 5-A491+A501
A 45, A 47, A 49
o f safety system s (7 items): A 50 Number o f answered items
46
The dependent variable was evaluated to see whether the distribution deviated
from a normally distribution. Kolmogorov-Smimov and Shapiro-Wilk tests of normality
showed the data were non-normally distributed. Data and residuals violated the
assumption of normality. Transforming data and robust regression were assessed as
alternatives in order to explore the relationship of the variables under study. First,
logarithm, natural log, and square root transformations were applied to see what effect
they would have on reducing the skewed distribution of the data and induced normality.
The natural log transformation approximated the data to a normal distribution. The
relationships of variables were also explored using robust linear regression which showed
similar results to transforming data in terms of significance of associations. Therefore,
given that robust multiple regression reduces the standard errors and can be directly
interpreted, it was used to test the relationship between dependent variable (safety
climate) and independent variable (job title), and to explore the effect on the association
caused by other independent variables. Linear regression analysis was used to determine
the relative influence of individual factors (age, years worked in construction, years on
the company, months on the worksite, previous work-related injuries, education, and
being a safety committee member) and organizational factors (construction trade) on
safety climate and its seven dimensions in the construction sites.
Variables such as previous injuries suffered on the worksite or other worksites,
and being a safety committee member were dummy coded (0 = Yes and 1= No). In Step
1, safety climate was entered as the dependent variable and job title as the independent
one. In the next steps, individual variables and organizational factors were entered one at
47
a time into the regression in order to evaluate their impact on the association between job
title and safety climate.
Job positions across the construction organizational structure present a clear
differentiation based on education. Requirements for being a site or project manager
include at least having a university degree in Civil Engineering or Architecture, so it was
decided that they should not be entered simultaneously into the regression analysis.
48
RESULTS
Participants’ demographics
A total of 353 construction personnel across 26 construction sites completed
the NOSACQ-50 questionnaire. On average, 10 construction workers, 2 supervisors, and
one manager from each company responded to the survey. Companies from six different
construction trades were surveyed, with more participants from formwork (39.4%),
tunnels and highways (15.9%), and masonry (15.6%)
The mean age of respondents was 36 years (Table 6). the average length of
time in the construction industry was 10 years, average tenure with the current company
was 4 years, and time averaged 8 months at the current construction site. Three quarters
of the respondents were construction workers (n=266), primarily male (98%), with an
average age of 34.5 years. Construction workers had an average 8.6 years in the
construction industry (ranging from 15 days to 49 years); had worked with their current
company an average of 3.2 years (ranging from 15 days to 30 years), and had worked at
the current construction site an average of 7.2 months (ranging from 15 days to 36
months). As might be expected, all site and project managers had an Engineering degree
or higher. O f all the supervisors, 24% had some elementary school education, 48% had
some high school education or high school degree, and 27 % had some college or
technical school education. Twenty four percent of the respondents stated having
suffered work-related injuries in previous jobs while 13% indicated having suffered
injuries at the current construction site. Supervisors had the higher seniority in the
construction industry with a mean of 19 years, six years more than managers’ average
49
(x=13 years), and 12 years more than workers (3c= 8.6 years). Site and project managers
had an average tenure at their current construction site of 1 year (ranging from 1 to 30
months).
Only 15% of the respondents were members of any safety committee,
including the basic emergency response team. There were significant mean differences
among the three job titles on age, years worked in construction, years worked on this
company, and months worked on the worksite. Also composition of the sample in
relation to injuries suffered in previous construction worksites was significantly different
across job titles (%2(2) =7.210,p <0.05).
Associations between the variables
Correlation coefficients among the individual variables and safety climate
dimensions are displayed in Table 7. Total safety climate mean scores were not
significantly correlated with years worked in the construction industry or with either
years worked in the current company but showed modest levels of correlation with age
and months worked on the worksite (r s= 0.113 and r $= -0.130). In general, the seven
safety climate dimensions presented positive and low but significant Pearson’s
correlations (p < 0.1) with each other, ranging from 0.227 to 0.606. Among the seven
safety climate dimensions, management safety empowerment and management safety
justice presented the highest correlation while the lowest was found between peer safety
communication and workers' trust in efficacy of safety systems.

TABLE 6
Distribution of participants’ demographic variables by job title
Job Title
Total
Variables
sam ple M anagers
W orker Supervisors
Participants 353 266(75.4%) 55(15.6%) 32(9.1%)
Age
Mean ±SD 35.9 i 10.7 34.5 ±10.3 41.8 ±10.7 36.5110.5
Median 34.0 33.0 42.0 35.5
G ender
Male 340(96.3%) 259(97.4%) 55(100%) 26(81.3%)
Female 13(3.7%) 7(2.6%) - 6(18.8%)
Years in construction (m ean ±SD)
Mean ±SD 10.61 9.4 8.6 ±7.9 19 ±11.0 12.7 ± 10.0
Median 6.5 20.0 10.0
Years on th e company (m e a n t SD)
Mean ± SD 3 .9 1 6.1 3.0± 6.1 5.4 ±5.5 6.2 ±5.8
Median 2.0 3.0 4.0
Months on th e worksite (m e a n t SD)
Mean iS D 7.9 ±7.4 7.3 ±4.3 8.7 ±7.4 11.5 ± 10
Median 6.0 6.0 8.0
Injuries on previous construction sites (Yes) 84(23.8%) 62 (23.3%) 19 (34.55) 3 (9.4%)
Injuries on th e current construction sites

47(13.3%) 37(13.9%) 7(12.7%) 3 (9.4%)
(Yes)
Company trade
Masonry 55(15.6%) 40(15%) 11(20%) 4(12.5%)
Formwork 139 (39.4%) 105 (39.5%) 21(38.2%) 13(40.6%)
Tunnel-Highway-road 56(15.9%) 42 (15.8%) 9(16.4%) 5(15.6%)
Precast 17 (4.8%) 10 (3.8%) 5(9.1%) 2(6.3%)
Steelwork 48(13.6%) 39(14.7%) 4(7.3%) 5(15.6%)
Elect inst 38(10.8%) 30(11.3%) 5(9.1%) 3 (9.4%)
Education
Elementary school 109 (30.9%) 96(36.1%) 13(23.6%)
Some high school 87 (24.6%) 75(28.2%) 12(21.8%)
Com pleted high school 88(25.0%) 73 (27.4%) 15(27.3%)
Technical/vocational training 31 (8.8%) 21 (7.9%) 10(18.2%)
Bachelor 37(10.5%) - 5(9.1%) 32(100%)
Safety com m ittee m em ber (Yes) 52(14.7%) 37(13.9%) 9(16.4%) 6(18.8%)

51
TABLE 7
Spearman's rho correlation matrix and p values of overall safety climate score and demographic variables (n=353)
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 Age 1.000
2 Years in construction .649“ 1.000
Years on this
3 .424“ .511“ 1.000
company
Months on this
4 .279“ .254" .347“ 1.000
worksite
Management safety
5 .137“ .090 .079 -.119* 1.000
priority
Management safety
6 .075 .022 .083 -.082 .606" 1.000
empowerment
Management safety
7 .066 .039 .045 .588" .540" 1.000
justice .140“
Workers' safety
8 .108* .066 .123* -.070 .564** .511“ .502“ 1.000
commitment
Workers' safety
9 .038 .013 -.013 -.126* .516" .446“ .467** .527“ 1.000
priority
Peer safety
10 .071 .043 .121* -.093 .499“ .396“ .468“ .610** .417" 1.000
communication
Workers' trust in
— — _**
11 efficacy of safety .085 .050 .070 -.021 .314“ .251“ .297 .457" .227** .519“ 1.000
systems
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
52
Instrument reliability
The internal consistency of the instrument items was confirmed by a
Cronbach’s alpha of 0.917. Reliability analysis showed Cronbach alphas greater than 0.6
for the 7 dimensions (Table 8). Examination of the individual Cronbach’s alpha
coefficients revealed moderate consistency in most of the dimensions (a>0.7); relatively
low internal consistency of the peer safety communication dimension for the total sample
(a>0.619), workers (a>0.662), and supervisors (a>0.635); and of the worker’s safety
priority dimension for supervisors (a>0.648) and workers (a>0.624). The management
safety priority dimension presented low consistency for managers (a>0.615).
Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the total sample were close to the values reported by the
NOSACQ-50 authors..
53
TABLE 8
Comparison of internal consistency reliability coefficients from this study with the results from NOSACQ-50 authors.
Cronbach's alpha
Number
Dimension Reported by Total sample W orkers Supervisors Managers
of items
Kines e t al. (n=353) (n=266) (n=55) (n=32)
1 Management safety priority 9

0.87 0.775 0.776 0.803 0.615
2 Management safety em powerm ent 7

0.73 0.653 0.698 0.767 0.796
3 Management safety justice 6

0.71 0.746 0.747 0.718 0.826
4 Workers' safety com m itm ent 6

0.77 0.733 0.721 0.778 0.729
5 Workers' safety priority 7

0.80 0.697 0.648 0.624 0.838
6 Peer safety communication 8

0.79 0.619 0.662 0.635 0.715
7/ Workers' trust on efficacy o f safety 7

systems 0.82 0.738 0.729 0.712 0.842
54
Overall perceptions of safety climate
The total safety climate mean score by job position ranged from 2.83 to 3.06.
Workers had the lowest mean safety climate score both in the total mean safety climate
scores as well as for each one of the NOSACQ-50 seven dimensions. The order of job
positions based on the lowest to highest mean safety climate score was as follows:
worker, supervisor, and manager (Table 9). The workers' safety priority dimension,
which is an indicator of the perceived priority given to safety before production goals,
had the lowest safety climate score of all dimensions (2.47, SD 0.47). By contrast, the
“workers’ trust in the efficacy of safety systems” dimension, which is concerned with the
perceived importance of adequate safety training, status of the safety officer, and
confidence in safety policies, had the highest mean score (3,24, SD 0,39) in total and by
job title (Figure 7).

55
TABLE 9
Safety climate scores o f the respondents by jo b title
Job Title
Total respondents
Mean (SD)
Dimension in- 3 5 3 )
Mean (SD) Worker Supervisor Manager
(n=266) (n=55) (n=32)
Total Safety Score 2.86 (0.31) 2.82 (0.30) 2.93 (0.32) 3.06 (0.31)
Management safety priority 2.90 (0.39) 2.86 (0.37) 2.94 (0.44) 3.20 (0.34)
Management safety empowerment 2.57 (0.46) 2.53 (0.43) 2.63 (0.51) 2.79 (0.54)
Management safety justice 2.77 (0.47) 2.72 (0.46) 2.91 (0.44) 2.94 (0.51)
Workers' safety commitment 3.04 (0.43) 3.00 (0.40) 3.11 (0.49) 3.26 (0.43)
Workers' safety priority 2.47 (0.47) 2.41 (0.44) 2.52 (0.46) 2.87 (0.56)
Peer safety communication 3.03 (0.30) 3.00 (0.31) 3.08 (0.30) 3.13 (0.27)
Workers' trust on efficacy of safety systems 3.24 (0.39) 3.21 (0.30) 3.33 (0.40) 3.27 (0.52)
56
FIGURE 7
Safety climate scores by dimensions and job position
Management safety
priority
3.5
Workers' trust on
3.0 Management safety
efficacy o f safety
empowerment
systems
2.5
Peer safety Management safety

communication justice
Worker
— Supervisor
Workers' safety Workers' safety
Manager
priority commitment
57
Regression analysis
The results of the linear robust regression analysis are presented in Table 10.
At Step 1, it was found that job title was a significant predictor of current safety climate
such that managers reported higher scores of safety climate than supervisors and workers;
and supervisors also reported higher scores than workers. Perceptions of safety climate
were significantly more positive when compared to those of respondents in the supervisor
and worker group. Although there were significant differences among the perceptions of
the three groups (worker, supervisor, and manager) in the total safety climate mean
scores some dimensions do not differ significantly when supervisors and managers were
compared to workers.
At Step 2, age emerged as a low but significant predictor ((5=0.003,/?=0.05)
such that an increment of one year in the participant’s age increases safety climate score
by 0.003 points. At subsequent steps, individual variables were added. However, with
these predictors only years worked at the worksite, months at the worksite, being a safety
committee member, and construction trade were significantly associated with safety
climate. Variables that were not significantly associated with total safety climate mean
scores were years worked in the construction industry and injuries suffered at the current
or previous construction sites.

58
TABLE 10
Robust linear regression analysis o f demographics and safety climate
S tep 1 S tep 2 S tep 3 S tep 4 S tep 5 S tep 6 Step 7 S tep 8 S tep 9 S tep 10
Step P redictors
P P P P P P P P P P
1 Job title
Intercept 2.82* 2.7* 2.81* 2.8* 2.85* 2.9* 2.84* 2.81* 2.69* 2.8*
Supervisors 0.11* 0.09* 0.1* 0.09* 0.12* 0.11* 0.11* 0.11* 0.09* 0.09
M anagers 0.25** 0.24*** 0.24** 0.22*** 0.27** 0.24** 0.25** 0.24** 0.23** 0.04***
2 Age 0.003**
3 Years in construction 0.001
4 Years in this company 0.007**
5 Months in this worksite 0.004***
6 Safety commmitte member
No -0.09**
7 Injuries in this worksite
No -0.012
8 Injuries in previous w orksites
No 0.012
9 Company trade
Elect in st 0.11**
Steelwork 0.14*
P recast 0.70*
Tunnel-Highway-road 0.20*
Formwork 0.09**
M asonry * 0
10 Education
Bachelor 0.23**
Technical 0.01
High shcool 0.04
Elementary 0
*p< 0.001
** p <0.05
*** p<0.10
59
Safety climate dimensions
The NOSACQ-50 safety climate questionnaire comprises three dimensions at
the organizational level and four at the workgroup level. Organizational level dimensions
include management safety priority, management safety empowerment, and management
safety justice. Entering each of the dimensions as the outcome variable and job title as the
independent variable, a regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of
individual factors on the relationship between each safety climate dimension and job title.
The management safety priority dimension intended to measure to what extent
the respondents perceived the commitment of management as far as encouraging
worksite personnel to timely correct safety issues, enforce safe rules, prioritize safety
over production, and possess the knowledge and abilities to manage safety (Figure 8). Job
title differences in safety climate were found still at each safety climate dimension level.
Significantly differences in perceptions of management safety priority ([3=0.344,
/K0.001), where found between managers and workers but not between supervisors and
workers. Individual variables were introduced one at time to the regression to test for
confounding. Age, months worked at the worksite, and being a safety committee member
showed small effect on the association between job title and management safety priority.
The management safety empowerment dimension assessed to which extent
management involved workers in safety decisions, value and trust their abilities and
judgment to contribute to construction site safety (Figure 9). Significant differences were
found between managers’ and workers’ perceptions ([3=0.264,/?<0.001), but not between
60
supervisors and workers. Age and injuries suffered in previous worksite had a small
effect on the association between job title and this safety climate dimension.
The management justice dimension assessed perceptions related to the extent to
which management treats workers fairly when they are involved in accidents (Figure 10).
Significant differences in perceptions of the management justice dimension were found
between managers and workers (P=0.213,/K0.05) and supervisors and workers
(p=0.182,/?<0.01). When individual factors were introduced into the regression months
worked at the worksite showed small effect on the association between job title and
perceptions of the management justice dimension.
The NOSACQ-50 questionnaire includes four dimensions at the work-group
level as follow workers ’ safety commitment, workers ’ safety priority and risk non-
acceptance, peer safety communication and trust in the efficacy o f safety systems. The
workers ’ safety commitment dimension assesses perceptions of how they are committed
with safety, promoting safety and care for each other (Figure 11). The workers ’ safety
priority and risk non-acceptance dimension assesses to the extent to which workers
prioritize safety over production, accept risk-taking in order to get the job done, or do not
show fearlessness (Figure 12).
The peer safety communication dimension explores workers’ perceptions
regarding if they generally discuss safety issues and learn from the experience, take co
workers safety suggestion seriously, and trust in each other’s ability to ensure safety in
every day work (Figure 13). The last work-group dimension is workers ’ trust in the
61
efficacy o f safety systems. This dimension assesses workers’ perceptions about the
importance and effectiveness of formal safety systems, safety committees, and the
benefits o f early planning and training (Figure 14).
Work-group dimensions showed significant differences in perceptions between
managers and workers but not between supervisors and workers across the three of the
four dimensions: workers ’ safety commitment (P=0.250, p<0.01), workers ’ safety
priority and risk non-acceptance (P=0.458,/?<0.001), and peer safety communication
(P=0.126,/?<0.05). Age and years worked in the construction site had a small effect in the
association between job title and workers ’ safety commitment. Months worked in the
construction site and being a member of safety committee showed a small effect on the
association between job title and workers ’ safety priority and risk non-acceptance
dimension. Individual factor did not show any effect on the association between job title
and peer safety communication and trust in the efficacy of safety systems respectively.
The workers ‘ trust in the efficacy o f safety systems dimension showed
significant differences in perceptions between supervisors and workers (P=0.182,/?<0.01;
P=0.118,/?<0.05) but not between managers and workers. There were not found
significant effect of the individual variables into the association between job title and
perception of the trust in the efficacy o f safety systems.

FIGURE 8
Dimension 1 Management Safety Priority scores
1. M anagem ent encourages

em p lo y ees here to w ork in
accordance w ith safety rules -
ev en w hen th e w ork sch ed u le
is tight
4.C
2 . M anagem ent ensures that
9. M anagem ent lacks the
ev ery o n e receiv es the
ability to deal w ith safety
necessary inform ation on
properly
safety
8. W hen a risk is detected, 3. M anagem ent lo o k s th e other

m anagem ent ignores it without w ay w h en so m eo n e is ca reless
action w ith safety
7. M anagem ent ensures thal

safety problem s d iscovered
4 . M anagem ent p la ces safety
during safety
b efore production
rounds/evaluations are
corrected im m ediately
6. W e w h o w ork here f
ii anagem ent accepts
co n fid en ce in the m p lo y e e s here taking risks
m anagem ent's ability to deal w hen the w ork sch ed u le is Manager
w ith safety tight Supervisor
Worker
FIGURE 9
Dimension 2 Management Safety Empowerment scores
10. M anagem ent strives to

d esign safety routines that are
m eaningful and actually w ork
4 XL
16. M anagem ent in v o lv es 11. M anagem ent m akes sure that

em p lo y ees in d ecisio n s regarding everyon e can in flu en ce sa fety in
safety their w ork environm ent
15. M anagem ent never asks

12. M an agem ent en cou rages
em p lo y ees for their op inions
e m p lo y ee s here to participate in
before m aking d ecisio n s regarding
d ecisio n s w h ich a ffect their safety
safety
14. M anagem ent strives foi

M anagem ent n ever con sid ers
everyb ody at the w ork site to havi
em p lo y ees' su g g estio n s regarding
high co m p eten ce concerning
safety
safety and risks
Manager
Supervisor
Worker
64
FIGURE 10
Dimension 3 Management Safety Justice scores
17. M anagem ent co llects

accurate inform ation in accident
investigations
4 .0
3.5 18. Fear o f san ction s (n eg a tiv e

22 . M anagem ent treats co n seq u en ces) from
em p lo y ees in volved in an m anagem ent d iscou rages
accident fairly em p lo y ee s here from reporting
n ear-m iss accid en ts
2 .5
. 2.0
19. M anagem ent listens

2 1 . M anagem ent alw ays
carefully to all w h o h ave b een
b lam es em p lo y ees for accidents
in v o lv ed in an accid en t
^ — Manager
2 0 . M anagem ent looks for
Supervisor
cau ses, not guilty persons, w hen
an accident occurs Worker
65
FIGURE 11
Dimension 4 Workers’ Safety Commitment scores
23. W e w h o work here try hard

together to ach ieve a h igh le v el o f
safety
4 .0
3.5
24 . W e w h o w ork here take jo in t
2 8 . W e w h o w ork here take no
resp onsibility to ensure that the
resp onsibility for each other’s safety
w ork place is a lw a y s kept tidy
27. W e w h o w ork here help each 25 . W e w h o w ork here d o not care

other to w ork safely about ea ch others' sa fety
M a n a g er
S u p e r v iso r
2 6 . W e w h o work here av o id
tackling risks that are d iscovered ■Worker
66
FIGURE 12
Dimension 5 Workers’ safety priority and risk non-acceptance socres
29. W e w h o work here regard

risks as unavoidable
4.(K
3 0 . W e w h o w ork here
35. W e w h o w ork here accept
con sid er m inor accid en ts to b e a
risk-taking at w ork
normal part o f our d aily w ork
34. W e w h o w ork here 3 1. W e w h o w ork here accep t

con sid er that our w ork is dangerous b eh avior as lo n g as
unsuitable for cow ards there are n o accid en ts
33. W e w h o w ork here nevi 2. W e w h o w ork here break

accept risk- taking even i f the safety rules in order to co m p lete
w ork sch ed u le is tight w ork on tim e
Manager
Supervisor
Worker
67
FIGURE 13
Dimension 6 Safety communication, learning, and trust in co-workers safety competence scores
3 6. W e w h o w ork here try to find a

solution i f som eo n e p oints out a
sa fety problem
4 .0 ,
4 3 . W e w h o w ork here can talk W e w h o w ork here feel sa fe

freely and op en ly about safety w hen w ork in g together
4 2 . W e w h o w ork here alw ays 3 8 . W e w h o w ork here h ave great

d iscu ss safety issu es w hen such trust in each others' a b ility to ensure
issu es co m e up safety
41. W e w h o w ork here seldom talk 3 9. W e w h o w ork here learn from

about safety our exp erien ces to prevent accid en ts
Manager
4 0 . W e w ho work here take each Supervisor
others' op in ion s and su g g estio n s
Worker
con cern in g safety seriou sly
68
FIGURE 14
Dimension 7 Workers’ trust in the efficacy of safety systems scores
44. We who work here consider

that a good safety representative
plays an important role in
preventing accidents
4.0„
50. We who work here consider it 45. We who work here consider
important to have clear-cut goals that safety rounds/evaluations
for safety have no effect on safety

that safety training to be good for
safety training to be meaningless
preventing accidents
48. We who work here consid' We who work here consider

that safety rounds/evaluations early planning for safety as
help find serious hazards meaningless — Manager
Supervisor
Worker
69
DISCUSSION
This study examined the perceptions of safety climate in 25 construction
companies in Colombia with a focus on the differences among three groups of
construction personnel: construction workers, field supervisors, and site managers.
Construction personnel were surveyed using the NOSACQ-50 questionnaire developed
by Kines et al. (2010). The overall safety climate (mean=2.86 ±0.31) reported in this
study can be considered as slightly positive (1- 4 Likert response scale, mean=2.5), but
with a substantial window for improvement according to the criteria proposed by the
Kines et al. (2010).
Perceptions of safety climate in this study, as well as in previous studies
(Findley, Smith, Gorski, & O’neil, 2007), varied between job groups. This finding agrees
with the definition of safety as a shared feature of a work group. These findings also
suggest that safety climate in the construction industry is not a homogenous characteristic
across the hierarchy, at least in Colombia. Site and project managers reported higher
safety climate scores than supervisors and construction workers.
In particular, there were major discrepancies between construction workers’
and site managers’ perceptions in the workers ’ safety priority dimension while their
perceptions regarding the workers' trust in efficacy o f safety systems dimension were
quite similar. In contrast to previous studies (Arcury et al., 2012; Wu, Liu, & Lu, 2007),
individual variables such as age, experience and seniority were not significant
determinants of the participants’ perceptions of safety in this material.

70
Differences in perceptions of safety climate may be explained by differences
among the three groups studied in duties, responsibilities and characteristics, as well as
educational background. The organizational hierarchy presents clear boundaries
regarding factors such as tasks performed, educational requirements, experience and
responsibilities. Vertical mobility is almost nonexistent in construction. Being a site
manager or project manager is only possible for those who hold a university degree in
civil engineering or architecture. Wage labor in the construction industry attracts mainly
unskilled manpower; it is very unlikely to find construction workers who hold a
university degree or even a technology degree. Differences in safety perceptions across
the groups may reflect dissimilarities in roles (Huang, Leamon, Courtney, Chen, &
DeArmond, 2011; Wu et al., 2007). For the purposes of achieving project objectives, a
site manager’s major role is to accomplish deadlines and budgeting. Thus, site managers
perform mainly administrative tasks with limited exposure to a hazardous environment,
whereas workers constantly experience the risky conditions of the worksite. Field
supervisors combine low administrative tasks with more operational responsibilities
which require their presence at the actual worksite, allowing them to closely experience
the daily working conditions.
Site managers reported significantly higher perceptions of safety climate than
construction workers. A more positive perception of safety climate may reflect that site
managers are less knowledgeable about actual working conditions and, in turn, that they
have little direct interest in monitoring safety issues at the construction site or in
allocating an appropriate budget for safety issues.

71
Additionally, the fact that the major discrepancy between site managers and
workers was in the workers ’ safety priority and risk non-acceptance dimension may play
a negative role in defining safety priorities. Workers’ and managers’ perceptions that
construction work is unsuitable fo r cowards, and that dangerous behavior is acceptable
as long as there are no accidents, may have negative impacts on safety management
because they could reduce or delay efforts to control hazard exposure through
engineering controls.
Given that there is still no agreement on the dimensional structure of safety
climate, researchers have used a variety of safety climate scales even within the same
industry (Dedobbeleer & Beland, 1991; Jorgensen, Sokas, Nickels, Gao, & Gittleman,
2007; Kines et al., 201 lb). Zohar et al. suggested that safety climate scales are most
useful when developed specifically for a particular industry and that variability of the
content among sectors is not undesirable (Zohar, 2010a). However, despite the
importance that measuring safety climate in construction has taken on recently
(Cigularov, Adams, Gittleman, Haile, & Chen, 2013a; Hon, Chan, & Yam, 2014; Sparer,
Murphy, Taylor, & Dennerlein, 2013), most studies are not comparable because of the
lack of unified scales.
In this study, although the statistical results confirmed the reliability and
validity of the NOSACQ-50 questionnaire, its ability to assess realities in the
construction industry should be discussed. For instance, the organizational structure of
the construction site, based on contractors and subcontractors, and even workers labeled
as “independent contractors”, may create confusion for workers assessing management’s

72
practices and safety attitudes. When workers are asked if “management strives...” or
“management encourages...” who should be the object of their responses? The contractor
who hired and pays them? The field supervisor, who decides task assignments? The site
managers who rarely talk to them or inspect safety conditions of the workplace? The
safety managers or coordinators who set up the safety rules? Respondents may have
different references when they respond to the survey (Sparer et al., 2013). Moreover, the
construction industry’s organizational structure adds particular challenges to measuring
construction workers’ perceptions. Previous studies have demonstrated differences in
safety perceptions across trades (Cigularov, Adams, Gittleman, Haile, & Chen, 2013b).
Workers from several contractors and diverse trades do work simultaneously at
construction sites. Therefore, statements such as “we who work here...” are broad and
may not differentiate among workers from diverse trades, possibly with different cultures
and facing different hazards.
The workers ’ trust in the efficacy o f safety systems dimension obtained the
highest score in all groups. It was also the safety dimension with the lowest discrepancy
between site managers and workers. Perceptions regarding the role played by safety
officers, as well as the effectiveness of safety walkthroughs and safety training, were
scored highly. However, the high values obtained in this dimension could be due to
design. For instance, items such as “we who work here consider safety training to be
meaningless”, can be understood as a question about general perception rather than
about practice implemented at a particular worksite.

73
The results in this study were also compared to the international NOSACQ-50
database compiled by the NRCWE5. The Colombian construction workers reported
significantly lower overall scores than 1,111 Nordic construction workers compiled in the
NRCWE database from 19 studies (8 language versions, none in Spanish). In this
comparison, significantly lower scores were also reported for the specific dimensions of
management safety empowerment (dimension 2), management safety justice (dimension
3) and workers’ safety priority (dimension 5) but significantly higher scores were
reported for workers ’ trust in efficacy o f safety systems (dimension 7). These differences
might reflect the effects of national culture, legislative or regulatory requirements in the
Nordic countries compared to Colombia. Also, NRCWE researchers reported that
companies in their database volunteered to participate. It is highly likely that companies
willing to administer the safety climate questionnaire to their employees have better
safety standards.
Assessments of safety climate perceptions often focus only on workers.
However, since site and project managers make worksite policies and establish work
procedures, while field supervisors execute these procedures at the floor shop (Hoivik,
Tharaldsen, Baste, & Moen, 2009; Huang et al., 2013), it would be relevant to study
those job groups, as well. Investigating the perceptions of representatives of various
hierarchical levels at the construction site may contribute to gaining an understanding
5 Unpublished correspondence with the author, Pete Kines PhD, Senior Research at the Norwegian
National Research Centre for the Working Environm ent., October 23,2013.
74
regarding characteristics of the entire workplace as well as the safety priorities of those
who hold the power and authority to promote changes at the workplace.
In principle, safety climate measures assess workers’ perceptions of the way in
which safety is being operationalized at the work place. Measuring safety climate might
bring advantages over just hazard awareness because it should facilitate identification of
worksite priorities which can be competing with safety. The presence of hazards at the
construction site may share similar root causes. Because of the evolving environment at a
construction site, anticipating hazards can be difficult. Thus, safety climate measures can
be a proactive indicator to identify potential gaps in safety management which may affect
safety conditions at the workplace. However, in order to achieve that goal more fully,
improved precision of the wording of these survey items may be necessary
Strengths and Imitations
Although the companies selected for this study came from the same workers’
compensation insurance company, the sample was stratified on 3-year injury rates to
assure better coverage of the population of interest in terms of injury experience. The 3-
year injury rate was considered to be more representative of a company’s injury history
than the injury rate from a single year, which could be unusually good or bad compared
to the long-term pattern simply because of low absolute numbers.
Results from the pilot study allowed exploration of the particular logistical and
technical issues, as well as an understanding of the items which might potentially have
undesirable impact on the survey administration and results. Rewording and rephrasing
75
questions, providing appropriate prompts, and identifying areas inside the construction
sites which guaranteed worker’ privacy to conduct the survey contributed to reducing
survey time, improving data quality and ensuring confidentiality.
This study also presented several limitations. It was based on a small sample
limited to a specific geographic location. These findings may not be applicable to all
construction workers or to other areas of the country or other countries. Despite these
limitations, the survey responses are indicative of a diverse group of policy-holders a
good insurance company as well as construction field and site managers.
Other strengths of this study include the fact that surveys were conducted inside the
construction site during working hours. This facilitated obtaining the expected sample
and is reflected in the very low rate of refusal (1.1%, or 3 workers from the same
company). Although approaching survey participants inside worksites could potentially
generate discomfort to them, this was not reported during the survey; instead survey
assistants reported great interest among the participants who responded

76
CONCLUSION
The construction industry presents basic differences in both work organization
and process when compared to the manufacturing sector, where the safety climate
concept was originally developed. The multidimensional nature of safety climate and the
complexity of the construction industry need to be addressed in appropriate instruments
designed to capture the day-to-day realities of the construction industry. This study
provides a comprehensive picture of the safety climate in a range of construction
companies with variations in safety performance (3-year injury rate) by assessing
hierarchical groups with clear differences in roles and responsibilities.
The results agree with previous research which describes safety climate as a
shared group perception but not as a homogenous characteristic of the organization.
Understanding differences in perceptions among hierarchical levels may contribute to
designing comprehensive organizational safety interventions which incorporate different
perspectives to improve the commitment to safety at all levels of the organization.

77
CHAPTER II
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAFETY MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES AND SAFETY CLIMATE IN THE CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY
INTRODUCTION
Fatal and severe injuries as well as disabling illnesses disproportionately affect
workers in the construction industry around the world. The poor health and safety record
in this industrial sector is often attributed to particular features of the construction
industry such as the nature of construction operations, dynamic layouts (Gervais, 2003),
deficiencies in the implementation of management systems (including lack of
management commitment to safety, poor training, lack of hazard identification and
control, inadequate approaches of accident investigation), a risk -taking culture, and
specific work organization features (including temporary multi-organizations, contracting
and subcontracting, low-bid based contracts, and an unit-based payment scheme)(Lingard
& Rowlinson, 2005). All these risk factors are very often exacerbated by management
decisions aimed at maximizing project profits by imposing short deadlines and budgetary
constraints.
78
In general, most injuries occur due to a combination of an unexpected event
and ineffective safety measures, rather than a single cause (Hollnagel, 2008). Extensive
research has addressed causes of work-related injuries in order to improve safety
outcomes in the construction industry. Interventions focused on single or multiple factors
have been developed to implement safety measures and decrease injuries. Interventions
such as enforcing the implementation of engineering controls, safety campaigns and
programs, housekeeping, worker training and exercise programs have been evaluated to
corroborate their effectiveness in the complex work environment of construction sites
(Lehtola et al., 2008; Rinder, Genaidy, Salem, Shell, & Karwowski, 2008; Rivara &
Thompson, 2000).
Recently, safety climate has been suggested as a key factor related to safety
outcomes across different industries and environments. Several studies have focused on
how to operationalize and measure safety climate, but to date little research has explored
its potential determinants. Such understanding would be relevant since it may contribute
to identification of safety interventions aimed to enhance workplace safety climate and
therefore lower injury rates. Policies related to the implementation of safety standards,
safety training, resources for safety, safety committees, and safety performance feedback
have been considered as important elements of effective safety programs (i.g. Swuste
and Guldenmund, 2012; Abudayyeh et al 2006;Goldenhar, Moran and Colligan, 2001;
chen, ryan and Kelly 2006; Feng, 2013). Safety climate emphasizes the perceptions held
by employees regarding the importance of safety in their organization (DeJoy, Schaffer,
Wilson, Vandenberg, & Butts, 2004).

79
Safety Management Practices (SMPs)
Safety is a responsibility of top management and not of those with less power
and authority for changing the work place. SMPs encompass a wide range of top-down
activities or initiatives implemented at the work site with the ultimate goal of generating
numerous layers o f barriers between the workers and the hazards (Wachter & Yorio,
2014). Accordingly, upper management should establish and support specific safety
practices and guarantee that they are put into practice at the workplace in order to make it
safer. However, there is no group of practices clearly identified to lead to the desired
safety outcomes, elements such as safety policies, worker participation, training,
communication, planning and control have all been suggested as key aspects for a good
occupational health and safety management system that is capable of reducing workplace
injuries (Femandez-Muniz, Montes-Peon, & Vazquez-Ordas, 2009).
Several SMPs have been incorporated into voluntary or mandatory consensus
standards such as OHSAS 18001:2007 (British Standards Institute), AS/NZS 4801:2001
(Australia and New Zealand Standards), Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health
Management Systems -ILO-OSH 2001- (International Labor Organization), OSHA
Safety and Health Management Systems (United States), and in the upcoming
international standard Safety Management ISO 45001:2016. Some common elements in
a safety management system include (Robson et al., 2007; Thomas, 2012):
• Safety policies
• Hazard identification and control

80
• Risk management
• Goals and objectives
• Safety performance measures
• Management responsibilities, accountabilities and authorities
• Management commitment and resources
• Safety planning
• Employee participation
• Training
Safety Management Practices (SMPs) on Construction Worksites
Rates of work-related injuries can be reduced through technical and
organizational interventions which should be implemented systematically attending to the
hierarchy of controls. In light of the public health primary prevention approach, hazards
can be directly prevented by implementing controls that attack the problem at its source.
Firstly, elimination of hazards through engineering controls. Secondly, reduction of
exposure to hazards through administrative controls, and lastly providing workers with
personal protective equipment according to the type and magnitude of hazards. Several
SMPs successfully applied in the manufacturing sector have been implemented with
relative effectiveness in the construction industry. Practices such as hazard checklists,
work permits, planned inspections, safety training, safety performance indicators, or goal
setting have been suggested as initiatives to reduce injuries and illnesses over time
(Cameron & Duff, 2007; Entzel, Albers, & Welch, 2007a; Hoonakker, P., Loushine, T.,
Carayon, P., Kallman, J., Kapp, A. and Smith, M., 2005; Westgaard & Winkel, 1997).
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Taking safety management systems as a framework, this study assessed
management practices implemented at construction sites including practices focused on
hazard identification and control, management commitment to safety, hazard inspection,
accident reporting and investigation and worker training. This study aimed to examine
the relationship between construction workers’ perceptions of safety climate and
organizational safety practices implemented at the construction site.
Research Questions
This study section focused on the following research questions:
• Are SMPs implemented at construction sites related to with perceptions of safety
climate?
• Are differences in the implementation of SMPs addressed to fall hazards and
ergonomic hazards?
• Are there differences in the relationship between fall hazards and ergonomic
• Are the SMPs implemented associated to construction site injury rates?

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METHODS
Study design and sampling of participating companies
Potential participating companies were recruited through Sura ARL in Colombia which
provides medical assistance and pays medical costs and wages lost for workers injured on
the job. Construction companies had to meet the following criteria of eligibility:
• A minimum number of 20 construction workers (not including administrative
employees)
• Involved in commercial or residential projects
• Sura ARL client for at least one year before the present study
• Construction projects in Bogota and surrounding metropolitan areas
• Construction site with safety officers
• One company per construction holding group
• Construction sites not at the last steps of the project
Criteria and methods for choosing potential participating companies were
explained in detail in Study I. The intended sample comprised a stratified random sample
of 30 construction companies. In the first step, there were 272 construction companies
from an original pool of 612 that had more than 20 workers (without including
administrative personnel). Construction companies located outside of the Bogota
metropolitan area, or without a current safety coordinator, or without current construction
projects were excluded. A total of 86 potential participating companies remained after
these steps. Demographics and injury rate data from 2000 to 2012 from each
83
construction company were provided by the workers’ compensation insurance company
(Sura ARL).
Using the 3-year (2010 to 2012) proportion of injuries these potential
participating construction companies were grouped into three categories: low rate,
medium rare, and high rate. Injury rate for the entire construction sector in Colombia
from 2010-2012 was used as a cut-off point (8.5 injuries per 100 workers). Companies
for which the injury rate was less than 8.5 per 100 workers were classified as “low”,
greater than 17.0 were “high”, and “medium” otherwise. For the purposes of this study,
proportion of injury was defined as the number of injuries divided by the total number of
workers reported during 2010 to 2012. In order to gather the intended sample of 30
construction companies, stratified sample selection was used inviting a total of 45
companies with approximately 15 from each group, expecting a refusal rate around 50%.
Measures
Safety Management Practices (SMPS) assessment tool
Safety practices include a broad range of activities, such as management
participation on walkthroughs or accident investigations, worker involvement in work
procedure modifications, developing procedures for hazard reports and investigation,
conducting meaningful toolbox talks, and addressing resources for safety. In addition
and to provide general data on the nature of the project, information was collected
pertaining to the expected duration, current stage, number of contractors, number of
workers and estimated project budget for each construction site.

84
To evaluate the implementation of different desired safety practices at the
organizational and project levels, an assessment tool was developed to be administered to
safety coordinators at each construction site. Practices incorporated into the tool were
adapted from several sources such as management system audits (ISO 9000, OHSAS
18000), best safety practices reported in the literature, elements for successful safety
programs, special regulatory requirements (mandatory practices, fall prevention
standards), or particular industrial practices (lean construction) [citations]. These SMPs
were sorted into four groups, which represent components contained in common safety
management systems consensus standards. The items included in this study evaluating
each SMPs were chosen through a literature review about the most effective or known
practices administered in the construction industry. Practices were grouped into (Table
1 1 ):
• Practices focused on the construction site hazard profile: this category was
comprised of 32 practices oriented to identify, assess and prioritize hazards at the
construction site as well as how contractors and subcontractors participate in this
process. It also appraised the type of controls implemented to minimize fall
hazards and manual material handling hazards.
• Practices focused on management commitment: this group was comprised of 25
practices reflecting aspects of management duties including safety planning,
safety roles and responsibilities, management participation, and measuring safety
performance.
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• Practices focused on safety systems: this category was comprised of 17 items
assessing practices regarding safety inspections, near-misses and accident report
and investigation, and goal setting.
• Practices focused on people: this category involved 12 initiatives oriented to
improve personnel safety knowledge and skills and worker participation.

86
TABLE 11
Safety Management Practices Assessment Tool. Domains and practices
Safety Management
Practices (SMPs) Practices Items Total
Domains
Hazard identification 4
I. Practices focused on
Hazard assessment oo
defining construction site Hazard prioritization 7 32
hazard profile
i Contractors participation 3
Hazard control 10
Safety planning 4
Safety responsibilities 5
II. Practices focused on Safety committee 25
management involvement
Management participation 7
Measuring safety
performance 4
Goal setting 8
III. Practices focused on Safety inspections 3 17
improving safety system
Accident report and
investigation 6
IV. Practices focused on Workers participation 4 11
IA
improving people skills Training 8
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Pilot the SMPs assessment tool
The assessment instrument was reviewed by four experienced safety
professionals from Sura ARL and it was piloted with safety managers from four
construction companies to clarify and refine. The final assessment instrument consisted
of 86 questions about safety practices requiring “Yes” or “No” answers, indicating the
practice was being followed at the construction site, and seven questions about the
current project stage (Appendix 7). The index of construction site safety practices
implemented was measured as the percentage of “Yes” responses over the total number
of responses. Therefore, companies with higher percentages had more SMPs in place.
When the practice assessed required verification of documents, for instance
discussion of accident investigations or contractor safety performance, safety committee
or project minutes were reviewed with the safety manager. This information included
hazard identification matrix and risk assessment, specific safety programs, meeting
minutes or workers training reports. Records were revised during the time of the
assessment and no hard copies or files were provided by the company to the researcher.
Safety climate survey
To survey employees at all levels about perceptions of safety climate, this
study used the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) developed and
validated by Kines et al. (2010). The NOSACQ-50 was developed by a Nordic network
of occupational safety researchers. It is based on organizational and safety climate theory,

88
psychological theory, previous empirical research, and empirical results acquired through
international studies and a continuous development process (Kines et al., 201 la).
The NOSACQ-50 measures perceptions of safety climate through 50 items
grouped into seven dimensions. Each item uses a 4-point Likert scale that ranges from 1-
4 (strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree). The seven dimensions are:
• Management safety priority, commitment, and competence
• Management safety empowerment
• Management safety justice
• Workers’ safety commitment
• Workers’ safety priority and risk non-acceptance
• Safety communication, learning, and trust in co-workers’ safety competence
• Trust in the efficacy of safety systems
In this instrument, participants are asked to rate both the importance given to
safety by the construction site management (site managers and field supervisors) as well
as the degree to which safety is a real priority of their co-workers. The original
instrument consisted of 50 items measuring safety climate perceptions and three
demographic questions related to year of birth, gender and job position. The
questionnaire is available in 18 languages, among them Spanish. In a first step, the
demographic questions were extended from three to 13 questions. In a second step, the
Spanish version was reviewed by a group of seven safety professionals from Sura ARL
who have broad experience in the construction sector, in order to adapt it to the actual
89
wording and organizational structure of the construction industry in Colombia. For
example, the term “Management” in the original version was replace by “Manager
responsible for the construction site” in order to reflect the organizational structure of a
construction site where site managers, contractors, and field supervisors have authority
over and influence the workers’ job.
In a final step, the instrument was piloted with a group of construction workers,
supervisors and managers from a total of four construction companies. A detailed
description of the pilot study and the NOSACQ-50 questionnaire was included in Chapter
I.
Company injury rates
A database with the workers compensation claims for each company from
2010 to 2012 was provided by the workers compensation insurance company (Sura
ARL). The data included the number of employees and the number of reported injuries
each year. For each company, the 3-year injury rate per 100 workers was calculated by
using the total number of injuries reported from 2010 to 2012 as the numerator over the
total number of employees in the same period which was estimated by adding the number
of workers year by year. Information about hours worked daily or weekly was not
available given that it is not mandatory for companies in Colombia to report to the
workers’ compensation insurance company to report this information.
Injury rate = (Total injuries in accounting period) x 100

90
Data collection
Construction site safety climate
For this study, data from supervisors and managers reported in Chapter II were
excluded and only data from participants identified as construction workers were
included. The survey was conducted as in-person interviewer-assisted from December
2012 to April 2013. Surveys were conducted during work hours on the construction site.
Construction workers to be invited to respond to the survey were randomly selected from
the daily log. If the selected worker refused to take the survey, a new potential
participant was randomly selected from the daily log form with the goals of surveying at
least construction workers per site. Only construction workers performing operational
tasks were included.
The in-person interviewer-assisted survey was conducted by trained
interviewers who were safety and health specialists with broad experience in the
construction industry. Training consisted of a thorough review of the study purpose,
survey objectives, and recruitment protocol. Survey assistants received on average 4
hours of training: 2-hour class room training and 3 hours on site. In addition, several line-
by-line reviews of the questionnaire and informed consent protocol as well as realistic
practice interviews were conducted. Interviewers were instructed to provide potential
participants with information such as overall study objectives, contact name and address
of the researchers, details about how and why the respondent was selected, and the
91
confidential nature of the study. Survey assistants accompanied the researcher during the
pilot study to observe and practice the survey protocols.
Safety management practices (SMPs) assessment tool
The SMPs assessment tool assessing practices at the construction site level was
administered once between October 2012 and April 2013 at each worksite. The
researcher interviewed the construction site safety manager at each construction site and
determined the implementation of specific practices. When the safety manager was not
available, the safety coordinator was the person deemed most appropriate to answer the
questionnaire. Only one respondent was interviewed per workplace.
Permission to conduct the study and access to the construction site and to
survey the safety personnel was previously obtained from the company general manager
or project manager. Once on the workplace the researcher contacted the safety manager
or safety coordinator to inform her/him of the scope of the study, overall objectives and
confidential nature of the information and they were invited to respond to the SMPS
assessment tool. Responding to the SMPS assessment tool took approximately an hour.
Data from the safety climate survey and the SMPS assessment tool were
collected using QuickTapSurvey (TabbleDubble Inc., 2013) an application created for
collecting survey responses on tablets. Both the safety climate questionnaire and the
safety practices instrument were created electronic and downloaded to the tablet where
responses were collected. The data were stored on the App and exported for subsequent
analysis.
92
Data collection methods and protocols used in this study were reviewed and
approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Massachusetts Lowell
(IRB Protocol #12-131-PUN-XPD). All survey assistants were trained in human-subjects
protection and the survey protocol. All respondents agreed to participate via oral
informed consent according to the approved protocols. Participation was voluntary and
confidential and no personal identifiers were collected or associated with survey and
assessment tool responses.
Data analysis
The main objective of this study was to explore the relationship between SMPs
and safety climate perceptions. Along with the overall objective, two additional
questions were explored. First, SMPs and safety climate perceptions as well as each one
of their dimensions were independently analyzed as input variables in relation to injury
rates. Second, discrepancies in safety climate perceptions between managers and
workers were analyzed as independent variables in relation to injury rates. SPSS versions
19 and 21 were used for all statistical analyses.
Safety management practices index
In order to evaluate the overall implementation of SMPS, a single index was
used to express the percentage of items implemented at the construction site. For each
construction site, the SMPS index for the total SMPS implemented and for each group of
practices was calculated by dividing the number of “Yes” response items by the total
number of items, and the resulting number was multiplied by 100.

93
Relationship between SM PS and safety climate
The total number of construction workers surveyed in each company ranged
from 9 to 12. Since by definition, safety climate is a group-level variable, in order to
assign a safety climate score to each company, a company safety climate score was
calculated by averaging individual safety climate scores from all construction workers
who responded to the NOSACQ-50 questionnaire in each company. The standard
deviation was used to explore the variability of individual safety climate scores around
the company’s average safety climate score value. Correlations between company safety
climate score and SMPs scores were assessed at the company level using Spearman’s
correlation coefficients.
An exploratory analysis was initially conducted by viewing scatterplots of
SMPs and total safety climate as well as each safety climate dimensions. Additionally,
given the structure of the data (construction workers and company level), a multilevel
analysis was performed to explore the association between SMPs and Safety Climate
scores. Multilevel mixed model analysis was conducted in SPSS using SMPs as the
predictor variable. The analysis started by clustering the construction workers who
responded to the NOSACQ-50 safety climate survey in each construction company.
Since SMPs were measured at the company level and assuming that this value can be
representative of the practices implemented at the construction site for all workers
throughout the project duration, workers were assigned their company’s SMPs score.
94
Safety climate managers-workers discrepancy
In a second step, the differences in safety climate perceptions between
managers and workers were analyzed to explore their ability to explain variances in
construction company injury rates. The discrepancy in safety climate perceptions
between managers and workers was calculated for each company as the difference
between the average safety climate scores in each group (Warren, 1997). In this analysis,
manager-worker discrepancies in the total safety climate score and in each dimension
were considered as the independent variable to predict injury rate at the company level.
95
RESULTS
Profile of respondents and participating companies
Since safety managers and coordinators were directly dealing with the
implementation of on-site practices and involved in following construction site safety
performance, they were able to provide information regarding safety practices data. A
total of 25 safety managers or coordinators from the same number of construction sites
responded to the SMPS assessment tool. Sixty percent of them were safety coordinators
while 36% were safety managers and only 1 respondent was a worker in charge of safety.
Fifty-two percent of the respondents were female. Respondents mean age was 32.1
years; they had on average 5.6 years of experience in safety and had less than two years
working in their current position. From the total of respondents, 52% were engineers
with graduate studies in Occupational Health and Safety, 36% were safety technicians,
and 12% (3 respondents) had no formal studies in the safety field.
Almost half of the respondents (48%) reported to have other responsibilities
than safety such as managing workers’ recreational activities (e.g. monthly birthday
celebrations), implementing wellness programs, or accomplishing tasks to be comply
with the environmental management system (OHSAS 14000). They also conducted
administrative safety tasks such as daily verification that new workers have been enrolled
in the workers’ compensation system before entering the worksite as well as checking
that contractors have paid their dues with the workers’ compensation insurance company
on time.
96
Safety management practices (SMPs) implemented
As reported by safety managers and coordinators at each construction site, the
domain of practices focused on improving management commitment and safety
participation resulted in the highest score while practices to improve worker safety skills
resulted in the lowest score (Table 12). Among practices focused on improving
management participation, defining roles and responsibilities throughout the
organizational structure obtained the highest score. Safety planning and management
participation were scored lower in this set of practices. Across all four dimensions,
implementation of planning tools such as goal setting, contractor participation, and
worker participation obtained the lowest score.
The average percentage score in domain I was 40.6%. In this domain, hazard
prioritization obtained 19.5% and contractor participation in identifying, prioritizing and
controlling hazards at the construction site received the lowest percentage score (12%) in
this set of practices and in total. Domain II presented the higher percentage of
implementation (58%). Safety responsibility practice achieved the highest score (76.0%)
in this domain. Conducting safety committee meetings at the company level or at the
construction site level is a common practice as well (64.8%). In contrast, safety planning
got the lowest score (45.0%) and high variability among these construction companies.
In domain III goal setting was the lowest percentage of implementation (6.0%)
whereas conducting safety inspections was the practice most often implemented (81.3%).
In the domain IV, all of the practices obtained values lower than 30% of implementation.
97
TABLE 12
Safety management practices (SMPs) scores1 in 25 participating construction companies

in Colombia2
SMPs No. Mean Median SD Range Min Max

Practices
Domain items (% ) (% ) (% ) (% ) (% ) (% )
I . Hazard identification 4 36 50 35 100 0 100
2. Hazard assessm ent 8 50 50 22 63 25 88

I. Practices
focused on 3. Hazard prioritization 7 20 13 20 63 0 63
construction
4. Contractors
site hazard 3 12 13 12 38 0 38
participation
profile
5. Hazard control 10 51 50 15 50 30 80
Dom ain score 32 41 44 16 59 16 75
S afety planning 4 45 50 39 100 0 100
S afety responsibilities 5 76 72 12 28 60 88
II. Practices S afety com m ittee 5 65 68 36 88 12 100

focu sed on
M anagem ent
m anagem ent 7 48 57 29 100 0 100
participation
involvem ent
M easuring safety
4 56 75 32 100 0 100
perform ance
D om ain score 25 58 56 20 72 16 88
G oal setting 6 0 14 50 0 50
8
III. Practices Safety inspections 81 100 26 100 0 100
3
focused on
im proving A ccid en t report and
43 50 24 100 0 100
safety system investigation 6
D om ain score 17 32 35 14 53 12 65
4. Practices W orkers participation 4 23 25 30 100 0 100

focu sed on
Training 8 30 25 11 38 13 50
im proving
p eop le skills D om ain score 12 27 25 15 58 8 67
Each score is expressed as a percentage of the total number of practices assessed in each
domain
2 A detailed report of responses by set of practices is showed in Appendix 8.
98
Practices related to control fall hazards and ergonomic hazards
Implementation of SMPs aiming to minimize fall hazards were compared with
the level of implementation of SMPs addressing ergonomic hazards, more specifically
manual material handling (MMH) hazards. Results presented in Figure 15 show that
practices aimed to reduce fall hazards received far more attention that those focused on
MMH hazards.
In addition, when safety controls were implemented they were mainly oriented
to provide personal protection or promote worker safety attitudes rather than the
implementation of engineering or administrative controls. For instance, although body
harnesses and connectors were provided in all companies evaluated, little attention was
given to provide appropriate anchor points undermining the comprehensive personal fall
protection system concept. With respect to MMH hazards, although working in pairs to
handle heavy loads was identified as an option, this was mainly a worker decision which
was not enforced by supervisors. For example, no additional information was provided
to workers regarding what should be considered a “heavy” load in order to ask for
assistance or in turn offer it to coworkers.

Percentage o f im plem entation n0
oSp
M N > u j ^ i n a ) ' s i o o i o o
osP o vP o sP o nC o sp o sp o \p o \o o spo sp 1
^ q\ qS qN qN (p, qv 0V (Js ©N
CO
O
Hazard 3
O'
identification
O
rt
Hazard priorities 3
3
3
Safety program rT
3
Engineering
controls &
o
3
O
Safety procedures &0
*0
co
PPE
o
o 3
3
CO
3
r>
Cl
Work in groups
S'
o O
3 <T>
FIGURE 15
o O.
Hazard analysis o 3
3 o
r®
*3
3^
Goal-setting plan aC>
O
3‘
Accident C
coL
O
investigation o_
o'
3 O-
Worker participation o'
hazard identification 3' 3
c
W orker suggestion 3 ,
hazard control 3
B
o
Identify training 3.
needs PL
Specialized training
3
OQ
3*
Induction training
■ MMH hazards
CL
Site m anagem ent CO
zr
01 training
Q.
in
3
to
Ol vO
VO
100
Company safety climate score
Results of the total safety climate scores disaggregated by each construction
company are shown in and for each safety climate dimension in Appendix 9. Variability
in safety climate scores within construction workers at each company was low in most of
the companies as is shown in Figure 16. The total company safety climate score ranged
from 2.49 to 3.49 with a mean of 2.83 and SD 0.21). When scores were analyzed by
safety climate dimension, the lowest mean score was for the workers ’ safety priority and
risk non-acceptance dimension (x=2A, SD= 0.21) while the highest mean scores were in
the workers ’ trust in the efficacy o f the safety system dimension (x=3.0, SD= 0.27) (Table
14).
101
FIGURE 16
Construction workers’ total safety climate score: variability by company

(n=25)
4.50
4.00
Total Safety Climate S co re
3.50
3.00
Oo
(> O U
2.50
2.00
1.50
n— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— I— i— i— i— i— i— i— i— r
1 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
C o n stru ctio n C o m p a n y
102
TABLE 13
Descriptive of total safety climate scores in 25 Colombian construction companies
T otal S afety C lim ate Score (P o ssib le range 1 to 4)

C om pany
N o. Standard
M ean M edian M in im u m M axim um
w orkers D eviation
1 11 2.72 0.27 2.79 2.17 3.16

2 10 2.71 0.19 2.77 2.43 3.04
3 10 2.74 0.13 2.81 2.50 2.90
4 10 2.95 0.10 2.94 2.82 3.16
5 10 2.77 0.11 2.81 2.59 2.91
6 12 3.03 0.57 3.03 2.31 3.73
7 10 2.71 0.16 2.72 2.35 2.91
8 10 2.58 0.21 2.62 2.17 2.83
9 10 2.80 0.21 2.75 2.55 3.25
10 9 2.87 0.12 2.88 2.71 3.06
11 10 3.25 0.23 3.28 2.89 3.50
12 10 2.74 0.35 2.67 2.33 3.52
13 11 2.64 0.12 2.64 2.40 2.80
14 12 2.69 0.17 2.67 2.35 3.01
15 9 2.76 0.10 2.74 2.62 2.92
16 9 2.97 0.16 2.97 2.75 3.19
17 10 2.90 0.14 2.88 2.66 3.14
18 12 2.89 0.09 2.89 2.74 3.09
19 11 2.57 0.23 2.61 2.13 2.83
20 10 2.49 0.11 2.49 2.33 2.69
21 10 3.49 0.20 3.39 3.23 3.79
22 10 2.91 0.15 2.94 2.64 3.13
23 10 2.88 0.31 2.90 2.37 3.43
24 10 2.70 0.15 2.70 2.46 2.92
25 10 2.99 0.32 3.08 2.48 3.37
103
TABLE 14
Descriptive statistics of the safety climate scores in 25 construction companies in Colombia
95% Confidence
Std. Interquartile
Mean Interval for Median Minimum Maximum
Deviation Range
Mean
Total Safety Climate Score 2.8 2.7 to 2.9 .21 2.8 2.5 3.5 .23
Management safety
2.9 2.8 to 3.0 .24 2.9 2.4 3.5 .31
priority
Management safety
2.5 2.4 to 2.7 .29 2.5 2.1 3.3 .27
empowerment
Management safety
2.7 2.6 to 2.8 .23 2.7 2.3 3.5 .27
justice
Workers’ safety
3.0 2.9 to 3.1 .26 3.0 2.7 3.8 .27
commitment
Workers’ safety priority
2.4 2.3 to 2.5 .24 2.4 2.0 2.9 .29
and risk non-acceptance
Safety communication 3.0 2.9 to 3.1 .22 3.0 2.7 3.6 .27
Trust in the efficacy of

3.2 3.1 to 3.3 .27 3.2 2.9 3.8 .23
safety systems
104
Company SMPs and safety climate
A multilevel comparison was conducted and most of the correlations between
SMPs scores and safety climate scores were weak at both the company (n=25) level. At
the company level (n=25), the Spearman correlation between total SMPs and total safety
climate scores was weak (Table 15), for company total SMPs with all seven dimensions
of safety climate except of the Workers ’ Safety Commitment dimension (r =0 .408;
p=0.043) as shows Figure 18.
Spearman correlations were also calculated between each SMPs domain and
the seven dimensions of safety climate. The Workers ’ Safety Commitment dimension
exhibited stronger correlations with all four SMPS domains and it was significant for
Practices Focused on Management Commitment (r =0 .415; p=0.039)). The Practices
Focused on Management Commitment also showed moderate Spearman coefficients for
four Safety Climate dimensions: Management Safety Empowerment (r=.343; p=093)
(Figure 19), Management Safety Priority (r = .332; p=.105), Management Safety
Commitment (r = .237; p=.25), and Workers Trust in the Efficacy o f Safety Systems (r =
.216; p=.30).
A multilevel analysis was conducted using linear mixed models to investigated company
SMPs score was a predictor of company safety climate overall score. SMPs scores was
used as the independent variables while construction workers’ scores were clustered at
the company level and introduced into the analysis as the dependent variable to examined
the linear regression association. Results from the multilevel analysis in Table 16
105
showed that company safety climate scores were independent of the SMPs company
score.
Correlations examined at the individual level (n=266) exhibited similar trends.
There was no correlation at all between total SMPs and total safety climate scores (Figure
17- Table 17). SMPs focused on improving management commitment showed low but
statistically significant correlations with Total Safety Climate Score and with four
dimensions: Management Safety Commitment, Management Safety Empowerment,
Workers ’ Safety Commitment, and Workers ’ Safety Priority.

106
TABLE 15
Spearman rho correlations of safety management practices (SMPs) scores and set of practices to company safety climate score and
dimensions for Colombian construction companies (n=25)
Company Safety Climate Score

Safety Management Total Safety 1. 2. 3. 4. Workers 5. Workers 6. Safety 7. Trust in th e
Practices SMP Score Climate M anagem ent M anagem ent Management Safety Safety Communication efficacy o f
Safety Safety Safety Justice C om m itm ent Priority Safety System s
Com m itm ent Empowerment
Total S a fety M an agem en t
.1 8 0 .1 0 2 .2 2 1 -.0 9 4 .4 0 8 * .1 7 0 .0 9 9 .1 4 1
Practice (SMP)
1. Practices focused on
.0 7 0 - .0 7 2 .1 0 4 -.0 0 9 .2 4 4 .0 2 4 .0 1 9 .0 4 0
hazards profile
II. Practices focused
.2 4 0 .2 3 7 .3 4 3 .0 0 0 .4 1 5 * .3 3 2 .1 6 2 .2 1 6
m anagem ent com m itm ent
III. Practices focused safety
.1 3 3 .0 4 2 .1 4 7 -.1 5 9 .3 8 4 .0 9 1 .1 3 9 .0 3 4
system s
IV. Practices focused on
.2 1 2 .2 1 7 .0 9 5 -.0 7 9 .3 6 6 .1 1 4 .0 7 2 - .1 1 3
workers skills
**. Correlation is significant at th e 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at th e 0.05 level (2-tailed).
107
TABLE 16
Mixed model linear regression of (SMPs) scores and company safety climate score and dimensions for Colombian construction
companies (n=25)
Independent
variable Dependent variable bo p-value b p-value
Total Safety Climate 2.74 0.000 0.0018 0.549

Management safety priority,
commitment, and competence 2.78 0.000 0.0046 0.653
Management safety empowerment

2.35 0.000 0.00084 0.312
Management safety justice

oatety 2.7 0.000 0.0047 0.817
Management
practices Workers’ safety commitment
2.82 0.000 0.0023 0.244
Workers’ safety priority and risk
non-acceptance 2.33 0.000 0.000 0.623
Safety communication, learning,
and trust in co-workers safety
competence 3 0.000 0.000 0.928
Trust in the efficacy of safety
systems 3.22 0.000 0.0003 0.942
108
FIGURE 17
Scatter plot analyzing the linear relationship between company safety climate score and
SMPs score for 25 Colombian construction companies
3 .5 0 -
Company Total Safety Climate score
3 .2 5 -
3 .0 0 -
y=2.?1 +2.83E-3**
2 .7 5 -
10.0 20.0 3 0 .0 4 0 .0 5 0 .0 60.0 70.0
Company Total SMPs score

109
FIGURE 18
Scatter plot analyzing the linear relationship between company safety climate score
(Workers’ safety commitment) and SMPs score for 25 Colombian construction
companies
3 .7 5 “
Company Safety Climate score - 4. Workers' Safety
3 .5 0 -
Commitment
3 .2 5 -
OO
3 .0 0 ' y = 2 ,7 7 + 5 .7 E - 3 * X
2 .7 5 '
10.0 20.0 3 0 .0 4 0 .0 5 0 .0 60.0 70.0
Company Total SMPs score

110
FIGURE 19
(Management safety empowerment dimension) and SMPs score for 25 Colombian
construction companies
Company Safety Climate score -2. Management Safety
Q
Empowerment
o O
y=2.38+3.76E-3*X o
o
O
°o o
o O
o
o
o
1 0 .0 2 0 .0 3 0 .0 4 0 .0 5 0 .0 6 0 .0 7 0 .0
Com pany Total SM Ps sc o re

Ill
FIGURE 20
(Worker’s safety commitment dimension) and SMPs score for domain II (Practices
focused on management commitment) for 25 Colombian construction companies
3 .7 5 '
3 .5 0 -
rr
■ 4 -i

° £ 3 .2 5 -
5—
oin ■
at |
i i
lo o o
3 .0 0 “
y= 2.75+ 4.44E -3*X
(/)
>>
c
IS
CL. 2 .7 5 "
E
o
o
0 20 40 60 80 100
Com pany SM Ps sco re - II P ractices fo c u se d on M anagem ent

Commitment
112
TABLE 17
Spearman rho correlations of safety management practices (SMPs) scores and set of practices to company safety climate score and
dimensions for a sample of 266 Colombian construction workers
Company Safety Clim ate Score
Safety M anagem ent 1. 2.

3. 4 . W o rk e rs 7 . T r u s t in t h e
Practices SMP Score T o ta l S a f e ty M anagem ent M anagem ent 5. W o rk e rs 6 . S a fe ty
M anagem ent S a fe ty e ffic a c y o f
C lim a te S a fe ty S a fe ty S a fe ty P rio rity C o m m u n ic a tio n
S a f e ty J u s tic e C o m m itm e n t S a f e ty S y s te m s
C o m m itm e n t E m p o w e rm e n t
Total S a fety M an agem en t

0 .0 4 3 0 .0 3 9 .1 1 1 * - 0 .0 1 4 .1 4 7 * * 0 .0 3 7 - 0 .0 2 8 - 0 .0 0 4
Practice
1. P r a c tic e s f o c u s e d o n
- 0 .0 0 2 - 0 .0 0 8 0 .0 1 9 0 .0 1 1 .1 1 4 * - 0 .0 1 4 0 .0 3 6 0 .0 4 7
h a z a r d s p ro file
II. P ra c tic e s f o c u s e d
.1 8 5 * * .1 6 7 * * .2 1 9 * * 0 .0 4 8 .2 2 6 * * .1 4 2 * 0 .0 5 8 0 .0 5 3
m a n a g e m e n t c o m m i tm e n t
III. P r a c tic e s f o c u s e d
- 0 .0 2 2 - 0 .0 0 6 0 .0 2 5 - 0 .0 4 6 0 .0 8 5 - 0 .0 1 7 - 0 .0 0 4 - 0 .0 9
s a f e t y s y s te m s
IV. P r a c tic e s f o c u s e d o n
0 .0 5 2 0 .0 6 9 0 .0 4 6 - 0 .0 2 8 0 .0 7 3 0 .0 7 5 - 0 .0 3 4 - 0 .0 9
w o r k e r s skills
**. Correlation is significant at th e 0.01 level (1-tailed).
*. C orrelation is significant at th e 0.05 level (1-tailed).
113
Company SMPs and injury rates
Small negative correlations, but not statistically significant, were found at the
company level (n=25) between total SMPs as well as the four separate sets of practices
with the 3-year company injury rate x 100 workers (Table 18- Figure 21). The strongest
association with the 3-year company injury rate was found for the specific SMPs focused
on improving the safety system (Figure 22).
TABLE 18
Spearman rho correlations of 3-year injury rate per 100 workers to safety management
practices (SMPs) scores and its domains from 25 Colombian construction companies
1. P ractices II. P ra c tice s III. P ra c tice s IV. P ractices

T otal S a fe ty
fo c u s e d on fo c u s e d f o c u s e d s a fe ty fo c u se d on
P ra c tice S c o re
h a z a rd s p rofile m anagem ent s y s te m s w o rk e rs skills
3 -y e a r In ju ry r a te
-.2 5 3 -.2 6 7 -.0 5 6 -.3 4 6 -.2 0 3
x 1 0 0 w o rk e rs
* * . C o r r e la tio n is s ig n if ic a n t a t t h e 0 .0 1 l e v e l ( 2 -t a ile d ) .
*. C o r r e la tio n is s ig n if ic a n t a t t h e 0 .0 5 l e v e l ( 2 -t a ile d ) .
114
FIGURE 21
Scatter plot analyzing the linear relationship between company 3-year injury rate and
overall SMPs score for 25 Colombian construction companies
5 0 .0 0 -
4 0 .0 0 -
3-year injury rate x 100 workers
3 0 .0 0 -
20 .00 -
10 .00 -
.00-
10.0 2 0 .0 30.0 40.0 5 0.0 60.0 70.0
Company total SMPs score

115
FIGURE 22
SMPs score (Domain III. Practices focused on improving safety systems) for 25
Colombian construction companies
5 0 .0 0 -
4 0 .0 0 -
3-year injury rate x 100 w orkers
3 0 .0 0 -
20 .00 -
10.00
.00-
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Company SMPs scores III. Practices focused on improving

safety system s
116
At the individual level (n=266), there was a small negative and statistically
significant correlation between the 3-year injury rate x 100 workers and total SMPS
scores, and with each set of SMPs except the SMPs focused on improving worker skills
(Table 19).
TABLE 19
Spearman rho correlations of 3-year injury rate per 100 workers to safety management
practices (SMPs) scores and its domains from a sample of 266 Colombian construction
workers
II. Practices focused III. Practices IV. Practices

Total Safety 1. Practices focused
management focused safety focused on
Practice Score on hazards profile
commitment systems workers skills
Injury rate 3-year

-.134* -.348** .145* -.304" -.020
x 100 workers
**. C o r r e la tio n is s ig n ific a n t a t t h e 0 .0 1 le v e l ( 2 -ta ile d ).
*. C o rrela tio n is s ig n ific a n t a t t h e 0 .0 5 le v e l ( 2 -ta ile d ).

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Safety Climate and injury rates
The 3-year company injury rate showed a moderate negative correlation
(r=-.262; p=0.20) with total safety climate as well as with most of its dimensions (Table
20 - Figure 23). Most correlations were much smaller at the individual level. However in
contrast to the company level analysis, the dimensions of Safety Communication and
Workers Trust in the Efficacy of Safety System were positively correlated with injury
rate (Table 21).

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TABLE 20
Spearman rho correlations of 3-year injury rate per 100 workers to safety management practices (SMPs) scores and its domains
from a sample of 266 Colombian construction workers
1. M a n a g e m e n t 2. M a n a g e m e n t 4 . W o rk e rs 7 . T ru s t in t h e
T otal S a fe ty 3. M a n a g e m e n t 5. W o rk e rs 6 . S a fe ty
S a fe ty S a fe ty r S a fe ty e ffic ac y o f
C lim ate S a fe ty Ju stic e S a fe ty P rio rity C o m m u n ic a tio n
C o m m itm e n t E m p o w e rm e n t C o m m itm e n t S a fe ty S y s te m s
3 -y e a r In ju ry r a te
-.2 6 2 -.3 0 9 -.2 6 3 -.3 4 2 -.3 7 8 -.1 4 8 -.0 9 8 -.0 2 5
x 1 0 0 w o rk e rs
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
TABLE 21
Spearman rho correlations of 3-year injury rate per 100 workers to safety management practices (SMPs) scores and its domains
from a sample of 266 Colombian construction workers
1. M a n a g e m e n t 2. M a n a g e m e n t 4. W o rk e rs 7. T r u s t in t h e
T otal S a fe ty r * c x 3 - M anagem ent 5. W o rk e rs 6 . S a fe ty
S a fe ty S a fe ty S a fe ty e ffic ac y o f
C lim ate S a fe ty Ju stic e S a fe ty P rio rity C o m m u n ic a tio n
C o m m itm e n t E m p o w e rm e n t C o m m itm e n t S a fe ty S y s te m s
I n ju r y r a te 3 _ y l0 0 .1 0 6 .0 6 2 .0 8 1 -.0 6 0 .0 4 0 .0 1 0 .1 4 9 ' .2 1 0 "
**. C o rre la tio n is sig n ific a n t a t th e 0.01 le v e l (2 -ta ile d ).

*. C o rre la tio n is sig n ific a n t a t t h e 0.05 le v e l (2 -ta ile d ).
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FIGURE 23
Company Safety Climate score for 25 Colombian construction companies
5 0 .0 0 -
4 0 .0 0 '
3-year injury rate x 100 w orkers
3 0 .0 0 -
20 .00 -
F 6 9 .2 8 + -1 8 .7 5 * x
10 .00 -
2 .5 0 2.75 3 .0 0 3 .2 5 3.50
Company total safety climate score

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Manaeer-Worker Safety Climate discrepancy and injury rates
Manager-discrepancies in perceptions of safety climate were compared to
company 3-year injury rate. Spearman correlations were low and statistically not
significant (Table 22). However, the scatterplot showed that those companies where
manager-worker discrepancies were closer to zero tend to exhibit low injury rates while
as manager-worker discrepancies increase, companies experienced higher injury rates.
TABLE 22
Spearman rho correlations o f 3-year injury rate per 100 workers to Manager-Worker
Discrepancies in Safety Climate Scores from 25 Colombian Construction Companies
1. Management 2. Management 4. Workers 7. Trust in the

Total Safety 3. Management 5. Workers 6. Safety
Safety Safety Safety efficacy of
Climate Safety Justice Safety Priority Communication
Commitment Empowerment Commitment Safety Systems
3-year Injury rate

.233 .194 .155 .325 .060 .222 -.039 -.145
x 100 workers
**. C orrelation is significant a t th e 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. C orrelation is significant a t th e 0.05 level (2-taited).
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FIGURE 24
Manager-Worker Discrepancies in Safety Climate Scores for 25 Colombian Construction
Companies
50.00-
3-year injury rate x 100 workers
40.00-
30.00-
20.00-
10 .00 -
.00-
Manager-Workers Discrepancies in Total Safety Climate

Scores
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DISCUSSION
This study covered 25 construction companies in Bogota, Colombia, where the
implementation of SMPs was measured, at one point in time, by self-reports from safety
managers. These assessments were compared with the perceptions of safety climate from
266 construction workers on the same sites who responded to the NOSACQ-50 Safety
Climate questionnaire (Kines et al., 2010). The primary goal of this study was to explore
whether the SMPs implemented at each construction site were related to the company-
specific average of the worker’s safety climate scores and to the company recorded injury
rate.
Contrary to expected, the overall results failed to show an association between
safety climate scores and the SMP score. However, there was a positive correlation for
the workers’ Safety Commitment dimension with the total SMP score as well as two SMP
domains: those focused on defining the construction site hazard profile and those focused
on improving management commitment to safety. As expected, there was a negative
correlation between SMPs implemented and the company injury rate. In contrast to
previous research, the correlation between total safety climate scores and the company
injury rate was modest (and statistically not significant) at the company level. There was
no association at the individual level, either for the overall score or for five of the seven
safety climate dimensions.
This study presents several limitations. First, although the workers surveyed
were randomly selected, assigning a company safety climate score based on a small
group of workers may not be fully representative. Second, different assumptions were
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required to conduct the individual-level analysis. Given that SMP was a variable
measured at the company level, assigning the company SMP score to each worker
ignores the likely variability among workers. Third, the SMPs assessment tool designed
for this study was not previously validated. Safety managers might not have fully
understood all of the items, might have varied in their criteria for determining compliance
with particular SMPs, or might even have had a vested interest in reporting what they
believed to be appropriate practices, regardless of what was actually being done.
However, it covers a wide range of practices, which represents a potential strength of this
study. Finally, the power of this study to examine the association between SMPs and
safety practices (company-level analysis) was limited due to the small number of
companies (n=25).
Lack of correlation may have been due to a variety of reasons, including
measurement error, lack of power, or lack of a true association. The safety climate
instrument might not have been able to capture the reality of the organizational structure
at the construction site. Safety climate is suggested as a multilevel model which can be
investigated separately at organization and subunit levels (Zohar & Luria, 2005; Zohar,
2008). At the construction site several units can often be found based on trades,
contractors or subcontractors. However, the NOSACQ-50 questionnaire examines safety
climate at the organizational level but deals with management as a homogenous group,
which is far from the reality on a large construction worksite.
Promoting practices aimed to increase management participation and engage
both managers and supervisors in safety activities is likely to be associated with some
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increments in workers’ perceptions of safety climate. This finding is consistent with the
safety climate concept which states that perceptions of safety are constructed by workers
during manager-worker daily interactions and not through the formal policies, procedures
and practices enacted by top management.
Safety practices implemented in the workplace might be interpreted as the
applied expression of upper management’s commitment to safety and can be expected to
have a relationship even if the top management played no role at all. Previous research
has suggested positive correlations between safety programs and practices with
perceptions of safety climate (Arcury et al., 2012; DeJoy et al., 2004(Gershon et al.,
2000). This study found low to moderate but mostly non-statistically significant
correlations between SMPs with safety climate at the company level and at the worker
level. Potential explanations for the lack of correlation between SMPs and safety climate
may be found in the safety climate concept, the limitations of the data collection
instrument, and/or the basic assumptions to conduct the analysis.
According to Zohar, workers gather their perceptions of safety priorities in the
workplace during supervisor-worker interactions and through observations of
supervisor’s safety behavior (Zohar, 2003). In this context, safety climate would mainly
capture safety practices carried out by middle or upper management in direct contact with
workers and not necessarily by a relationship with other personnel, such as the safety
officer, who have little or no authority over workers. The SMP assessment tool used in
this study measured mainly those practices promoted at the management level but not
necessarily implemented through site managers or supervisors. For example, a basic job
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safety analysis conducted by a field supervisor or site manager and his crew could be
more effective in terms of transmitting the right message about the importance given to
safety by the management than a highly technical job safety analysis elaborated only by
the safety manager.
Stating a company policy, procedure or practice by itself is not a way to
influence worker’s perceptions of safety climate. For it to become a source of safety
climate perceptions requires that they are consistently communicated, promoted,
followed and enforced by upper and middle management in the workplace (Neal, Griffin,
& Hart, 2000; Zohar, 2003b). Most safety practices are introduced on-site by safety
coordinators who often work in parallel but independently or with limited collaboration
from field supervisors and site managers. Although, these SMPs are regularly
communicated verbally to workers by the safety coordinator, there can be a disconnection
between messages divulged by the safety coordinator and daily practice.
The relationship between manager-worker safety climate differences and injury
rate was also examined in this study. Although the supervisor manager-discrepancies in
perceptions of safety climate were statistically not significant when associated with
companies’ injury rate, they showed a slight trend. In some companies, where both the
managers and the workers perceptions of safety in the work environment coincided, there
seemed to be a lower injury rate. A congruent perception of safety climate among site
managers and construction workers, rather than large differences, seems to be associated
with the occurrence of injuries in the workplace. However, additional research is needed
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to examine this potential association as well as to identify specific safety climate
dimensions related to this correlation.
Establishing specific and measurable goals to improve safety at the
construction site by anticipating potential hazards may be a valuable safety practice at
hazardous construction sites (Cameron & Duff, 2007). Among the SMPs assessed,
implementation of safety goal-setting was the practice with the lowest score in all of the
companies. These general results seem to indicate that safety planning is not very often
considered as a practice that can add value to safety management, or alternatively that
safety managers value it in theory but do not have the time or knowledge to carry it out.
Appropriate safety planning could take advantage of the rigorous planning process
conducted for the worksite project management which is used to describe in detail each
stage and tasks required. Work in collaboration with project management would allow
safety coordinators to identify potentially hazardous situations in advance and work
proactively to reduce their potential negative effects on workers’ health and safety.
Although safety inspections was the practice most commonly implemented,
their effectiveness in identifying and controlling hazardous conditions is questionable.
Similar injuries happened regularly at the same construction sites or at others site under
the same company. Information from worksite accident investigations or from previous
construction sites was not proactively integrated into new safety checklists in order to
disseminate learned lessons. For example, a finger amputation was reported during the
maintenance operations of a portable concrete mixer. Results from the accident
investigation showed the need to protect mobile parts with casings. Safety
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recommendations were implemented only at that construction site and inspections were
not performed on similar equipment in other construction projects run by that company.
A month later another finger amputation was reported during a similar operation at a
different construction worksite from the same company6.
Participating companies had a much higher implementation of SMPs focused
on preventing fall hazards, in comparison to those aimed to prevent MSD hazards.
Differences in mandatory regulations to reinforce fall hazard controls, in contrast with the
absence o f an ergonomic standard, may be part of the explanation. Following recent
promulgation of fall prevention legislation, in 2008, the Colombian Ministry of Labor has
been particularly committed to improving working conditions for those workers exposed
to heights through formulating, disseminating and enforcing standards. These standards
are primarily focused on implementing engineering and administrative controls as well as
personal protection to minimize fall hazards, particularly in the construction sector. The
impact of new legislation on improving working conditions and safety outcomes should
be studied more in Colombia in order to provide data to official policy makers.
The fact that fall prevention practices receive more attention than those focused
on ergonomic hazards may also be embedded in the construction industry culture and
daily realities. Although both types of hazards can have negative and severe health effects
on workers, their occurrence has a different timeline. While the materialization of fall
hazards is imminent and frequently results in severe and fatal injuries, the effect of MSD
6 Information taken from a com pany’s injury reports and accident investigation reports during the SMPs
assessment.
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hazards is very often a medium- or long-term process which regularly exceeds the
construction project life time and can become a concern for the future employer rather
than the current. This consequence-based approach may affect employer motivation for
investing in a particular set of safety practices to reduce ergonomic hazard exposure,
giving priority to acute safety instead.

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CONCLUSION
This study evaluated whether safety practices promoted by Colombian
construction companies were associated with workers’ perceptions of safety climate.
Implementation of safety management practices is commonly promoted as a successful
approach to reduce negative safety outcomes. However, their association with workers’
general perceptions was not strong or consistent in this study population. Measuring
safety climate in the construction industry is complex and requires instruments able to
capture these complexities. Revised or expanded assessment methods and metrics might
be useful. Exploring organizational variables that can be associated with safety climate
could be a relevant input to gain understanding regarding how workers form their
perceptions of safety climate at the workplace.

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CHAPTER III
SAFETY CLIMATE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH FALL AND
MANUAL MATERIAL HANDLING HAZARDS IN THE
INTRODUCTION
The construction process is comprised of a variety of phases which bring
together specific types of hazards not only for those performing a specific task but also
for all those sharing the work environment. There are a number of risk factors at each
construction worksite which continuously expose construction workers to potential
injuries with a wide array of health and life consequences. Risk of injury or occupational
illness can come from different sources such as building design, construction methods,
materials, tools and equipment, or from environmental conditions (i.e., extreme heat or,
windy or rainy weather). Hazards are often materialized, as clearly evidenced by the 806
fatal events that occurred within the construction sector in US, the highest annual count
of fatal injuries in the country in 2012 (U.S. BLS, 2014). In developed and developing
countries construction is ranked among the most hazardous industries. In the United
States, the construction industry ranked fourth for highest fatal work injury rate of 9.8 per
100,000 full-time equivalent workers following agriculture (22.8), transportation (14.6)

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and mining (15.9). In 2012, the incident rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and
illnesses for the construction sector in the US was 143.4 cases per 10,000 full-time
workers, which was the second highest rate after the transportation sector (222.9)(U.S.
BLS, 2014). In Colombia, in 2011, the construction industry ranked second most
hazardous with indicators such as a non-fatal injury incident rate of 127 cases per 1,000
worker and 55 fatal cases reported, representing a fatal injury rate of 6.8 events per
100,000 workers (Fasecolda, 2014).
Poor safety performance in the construction industry is very often attributed to
the nature of the work. However the principle of “to higher risks stronger controls” is not
being applied. The public health model of primary prevention reminds us that the
presence of hazards in a work system is typically the root cause of accidents; therefore
reduction of hazards at the source should be preferable to “control” of workers’
behaviors. Accordingly, most of the existing and successful approaches for managing
occupational health and safety indicate that hazard identification and control are the
primary and most effective means for improving safety within the workplace
(Mistropoulos, 2009; Khanzode, 2011). The residual risk due to limitations in
completely controlling hazards at the source has been attempted to be reduced by creating
bridges with rules, regulations, behavior-based safety, and/or other health and safety
management approaches.
Under the behavior-based approach, the concept of a “safety climate” was
constructed for manufacturing workers assuming that through interactions with the work
environment, workers develop perceptions and expectations regarding management

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safety priorities and behave accordingly (Dedobbeleer & Beland, 1991b; Zohar, 2010a;
Zohar, 1980b; Zohar, 2002). Safety climate is a construct to measure the importance
given to safety in relation to other organizational priorities by measuring a group’s shared
perceptions of the work environment (Fogarty and Shaw, 2010; Zohar, 2010). It has also
been considered a relevant element in the study of health and safety because it has been
suggested as a link in the injury/illness cause-effect pathway which influences workers’
attitudes and behaviors and thus precedes injury occurrence. It allows exploration of the
role models or behaviors that are supported by the organization, ultimately revealing the
informal policies and practices stemming from middle management levels (Zohar and
Luria 2004).
Safety climate is considered to be a measure of the “true priority of safety”
(Cooper and Phillips 2004) or “safety temperature” because it assesses how the
organizational environment is experienced by the different groups (Tomer and Pousette
2009). It encompasses both the environmental conditions and the organizational norms
that sanction or support safety-related behavior and thereby influences the likelihood of
injuries (Kapp, 2012; Payne et al., 2009). On this basis, it is expected that the presence of
hazards in the worksite contributes to employee perceptions of safety climate.
Fall hazards in the construction industry
Historically, falls from height have been one of the leading causes of worker
deaths on construction sites, followed by being struck by object, electrocution, and
caught-in/between (U.S. BLS, 2014). The 2012 injury and illness data released by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that 279 out of the 806 total deaths in the
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construction industry in the US were caused by falls. In Colombia, according to the
Colombian Insurance Companies Association (FASECOLDA), almost half of all fatal
injuries from falls occurred among workers in the construction industry (Fasecolda,
2014).
The most frequently cited standard by Federal OSHA in fiscal year 2013
(October 1, 2012 through September 30,2013) were due to fail in fall protection and
hazard communication. Similar to U.S. OSHA regulations, Colombian fall protection
regulations call for specific controls when workers are exposed to work at height of 6 feet
or more. These regulations define the specific hazards of the industry and outline
acceptable ways of providing protection, all of which are based on the public health
hierarchy of controls. They range from elimination to providing personal protective
equipment. Some of the fall exposures discussed in the Colombian fall protection
regulations including excavations zones, formwork and reinforcing steel, hoist areas,
leading edges, precast concrete erection, floor/roof openings, roofing work, unprotected
sides and edges, and wall openings
There are, however, some examples of situations where exposure to risk factors
related to work at heights can be identified at a regular construction site including
windows or wall openings without guardrail, floor holes without cover, performing steel
erection, working off of concrete forms, working on rebar assemblies, working on ladders
or scaffolds, working over dangerous equipment, and housekeeping near openings.
Since working at heights is an essential part of most construction jobs, risk
factors associated with falls are present in different amounts almost throughout the entire
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construction project life time. In addition to the hazard exposure associated with tasks
being performed, construction workers are also exposed to additional hazards just by
virtue of coming onsite. Although unattended hazards do not necessarily always lead to
injuries, they may be relevant in providing an overall picture of the importance given to
safety by the management level.
Ergonomics in the construction industry
Numerous construction tasks pose significant ergonomic risk factors. Most
tasks are very physically demanding (Gibbons & Hecker, 1999). Workers in the
construction field are exposed to a number of recognized occupational risk factors for
back pain such as heavy work, materials handling, pushing, and frequent lifting. The
construction job is physically demanding, where workers are frequently injured and
disabled, and exposed to risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) (Entzel,
Albers, & Welch, 2007b; Holmstrom & Ahlborg, 2005; Kramera et al., 2010). Sprains
and strains are the leading cause of both acute and chronic non-fatal injuries among
construction workers (Lingard & Rowlinson, 2005). The workplace factors ranked as
most related to MSDs include: working in the same position, bending or twisting,
working in awkward positions, carrying' lifting or moving heavy materials or equipment,
and reaching or working overhead or overextension.
Manual Material Handling (MMH) risk factors. Handling heavy materials or
equipment has been considered as one of the top work-site problems resulting in minor to
moderate work-related injuries (Lingard & Rowlinson, 2005). The nature of the project
and the methods of construction can determine the extent of MMH at the worksite. For
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instance, pre-assembly methods may reduce the burden of MMH hazards in comparison
to on-site methods (Manu, Ankrah, Proverbs, & Suresh, 2010; Perttulaa, Meijamab,
Kiurulaa, & Laitinen, 2003). The construction worksite is constantly changing workplace
with elements such as rough provisional roads or stairs and slippery or uneven surfaces,
both of which may increase the effort required by the construction worker to move these
heavy loads. The flow of materials, coordination of tasks, and scheduling of work
activities can all also contribute to risk associated with MMH on a construction site.
Although established threshold limits for handling loads have been questioned because
weight is only one factor contributing to injuries in MMH (Lingard & Rowlinson, 2005),
Colombian legislation still retains this approach. Under Colombian safety legislation,
limits suggested for the weight of loads to be handled by men are 25 pounds for lifting
and 50 pounds for carrying. Lower limits corresponding to half of the limits for men are
stipulated for women (Ministerio de Proteccion Social Colombia, 2006). However, at
construction sites these threshold limits are unlikely to be applied because materials and
tools very often exceed those limits or because managers and even workers may consider
them a low limit for construction workers (see Chapter V).
These are some examples of situations where exposure to hazards related to
MMH can be identified at a typical construction site: carrying cement bags, moving
heavy materials (e.g. bricks or concrete to upper floors), lifting and moving aluminum
formwork components, lifting and moving steel bars, carrying concrete wheelbarrows,
holding and manipulating concrete pumping hoses, holding heavy tools (e.g. chipping
hammers, jack hammers, etc.), or raking concrete

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Safety Climate and hazards at the worksite
In addition to the risk factors associated with construction tasks, there are
various factors in the organization of work that may contribute to the hazardous
environment at the construction site. For example, supervisors’ pressures to increase job
pace even to the detriment of workers’ safety, may bring as a consequence a reduction in
worker’s control over the tasks. Similarly, particular crew practices where coworkers and
supervisors may reward dangerous behaviors and push workers to go beyond their
reasonable limits. In the last decades, workers’ shared perceptions of safety priorities at
the workplace have been added as a contributing factor to safety performance (Flin,
Meams, O'Connor, & Bryden, 2000b)(Meams, Kathryn, Silvia A. Silva and
M.Luisa,L.Melia, 2008). Supervisor-worker daily interactions are considered the primary
source from where employees gather insights into what is important in the organization in
terms of safety [citation]. However, company policies and practices may not only transfer
to workers via supervisor-worker interactions. Company safety priorities may also be
tacitly communicated to workers through actions implemented to provide a safer
workplace. For instance, this can be done by implementing initiatives such as hazard
identification and control, accident investigation and timely implementation of corrective
actions, or creating effective mechanisms to facilitate worker participation in safety. This
may be particularly true in the construction industry since work organization and physical
layouts of the worksite reduce considerably the number of daily supervisor-worker
interactions, and co-workers social environment. In this context, workers’ continuous
interactions with the conditions of their work environment conditions may provide
clearer messages regarding a company’s safety priorities. For instance, the presence of
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floor or wall openings remaining uncovered for days and weeks, equipment without
safety guards, tools in disrepair, or defective equipment can send strong messages about
priorities at the worksite.
Creation and continually update of the hazard profile of a worksite can be a
fundamental factor in the overall safety management process. It should allow
establishing the current safety status of the worksite and choosing the appropriate
measures for protection and preventions to guarantee workers’ safety. Once the presence
of hazards and their level of mitigation have been identified, worksite hazard profiles can
be evaluated using quantitative and qualitative approaches, failures in hazard mitigation
at the workplace can be perceived by workers as manifestation of the priority given to
safety by the management level. The presence of hazardous conditions can be explicit
indicators of real priorities at the workplace.
The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between perceptions of
safety climate and presence of hazards at the construction workplace in order to test
whether higher safety climate scores are associated with a lower presence of hazards in
the workplace.
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Research Questions
This study focused on the following research questions:
• Are workplaces conditions associate with perceptions of safety priorities at the
construction site?
• Are there differences in the relationship between workplace conditions and
perception of safety in the workplace by job title?
• Does the presence of specific fall hazards have an association on perceptions of
safety priorities at the construction site?
• Does the presence of specific ergonomics hazards related to construction workers’
perceptions of safety priorities at the construction site?
• Are there differences in the relationship between fall hazards and ergonomic
• Is the presence of hazards in the workplace related to injury rates?

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METHODS
In order to examined the relationship between the presence of hazards at a
construction site and the employees’ perceptions of safety climate, a hazard observation
tool was used to report the presence of hazards, and the Nordic Occupational Safety
Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) safety climate questionnaire (Kines et al., 2011)
was applied to assess perceptions of safety climate among construction site personnel.
The study was conducted with construction companies in the metropolitan and
surrounding areas in Bogota, Colombia. Data were collected regarding the presence of
hazards at the construction site, as well as construction personnel’s perceptions of safety
climate. Construction sites were visited from October 2012 to April 2013. All study
instruments and protocols were approved by the University of Massachusetts Lowell
Institutional Review Board (IRB #12-131-PUN-XPD).
Study design and study population
This was a cross-sectional study comprised of construction companies in
Bogota, Colombia. Participating companies were selected from a database provided by
Sura ARL, a private workers’ compensation insurance company in Colombia. Criteria
and methods for selecting potential participating companies were explained in detail in
Chapter I. The intended sample was a stratified random sample of 30 construction
companies. Potential participating companies had to meet the following criteria of
eligibility:
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• A minimum number of 20 construction workers (not including administrative
employees)
• Involved in commercial or residential projects
• Sura ARL client for at least one year before the present study
• Construction projects in Bogota and surroundings metropolitan area
Exclusion criteria included:
• Currently not having a safety coordinator at the construction site
• Construction projects very close to completion (finishing stages)
• When companies were owned for a holding group, only one company of that
group was selected.
Safety climate measures were conducted with personnel from different job
titles (construction workers, field supervisors, and site managers) at each construction
site. The intended population for the study of perceptions of safety climate was 10
workers, 1-2 supervisors/foremen, and 1-2 site managers at each construction site.
Measures
Data on the presence of relevant hazards and perceptions of safety climate
among construction personnel were collected at the construction sites. Walkthrough
observations were conducted at the construction sites to collect data on the individual
hazard profile. Safety climate along with demographic information were collected from
construction workers, field supervisors and site managers at the construction site. The
141
NOSACQ-50 safety climate questionnaire was used to collect data regarding perceptions
of safety among project managers, site managers, supervisors, and workers. Responses
were recorded anonymously, and oral informed consent was collected before taking the
survey.
Hazard situations observation
Recognizing hazards in the workplace is critical to establishing the
construction site hazard profile and beginning the risk management process. With the
objective of ascertaining the construction site hazard profile, a walkthrough was
conducted at each construction site. The walkthrough checklist was comprised of a
limited list of common hazard situations usually present at construction sites. Using the
definition of hazard as a basis, a hazard situation referred to a source of danger, or more
specifically a condition or circumstance, present at the work area which could lead or
contribute to the risk of being injured. Hazard situations were considered regardless of
whether or not there were workers in that specific location at time of observation.
Observations were conducted throughout the construction site during working
hours to identify types of fall and ergonomic (MMH hazard situations. In addition to the
presence of the hazard situations at the workplace, controls were also reported according
to the hierarchy of controls such as elimination, engineering controls, and administrative
controls or PPE. Therefore, every latent hazard was recorded along with existing
controls. The tool assessed a total of eleven hazard situations which involved six fall and
five MMH situations. The assessed types of fall hazard situations were:
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• Working/walking on surfaces near sides/edges or wall openings
• Working/walking on surfaces with floor openings/holes
• Working/walking on leading edges
• Working on formwork and reinforced steel, precast concrete structures
• Working near excavation areas
• Working outside of the building structure
The assessed types of MMH hazard situations included:
• Climbing or descending with loads (i.e., planks, tools, materials, concrete
buckets)
• Handling heavy equipment or tools
• Handling heavy materials
• Carrying heavy loads (cement bags, bricks)
• Lifting heavy loads (approx. more than 10 pound, i.e. cement bags, bricks)
The walkthrough was conducted once at each construction site during work
hours by the researcher. Observations were recorded while walking along through the
construction site. No specific routes were predefined to conduct the observations rather
the researcher stopped in all areas of the construction site to record and photograph
hazard situations. Thus, observations represented a moment-in-time snapshot.
Walkthrough observations took 1 to 3 hours according to the construction site size. The
following details were collected for each construction site: date of inspection, description
of the construction project, current stage, estimated budget, type of hazard, hazard
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situation, and area where the hazard situation was presented. When it was possible
hazard situations photo records were included.
The presence of hazards was assumed as a measure of hazard profile of the
construction site. In order to characterize the construction site hazard profile both
qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. In the quantitative approach, worksite
hazard profiles were characterized in terms of two criteria: the presence of hazard
situations (i.e. working off of building structures, working on rebar assemblies, carrying
cement bags) and implemented hazard controls (i.e. hole covers, guardrails system,
personal fall arrest systems (PFAS), no control). This combination of data constitutes a
hazard situation. For instance, lack of guardrails at the door of the elevator pit was
counted as a hazard situation on each story of the building where that condition was
identified. Areas around excavation zones were counted as a hazard situation for falls
only when a location could be considered to be a permanent (e.g. materials storage area)
or temporary (e.g. unloading materials area) “workstation”, or a facility that workers
regularly go to (bathrooms or dinner areas). Repeated hazard situations on the same story
of the building, such as several wall openings were counted as one hazard situation.
Regarding MMH, for instance, each worker observed lifting heavy materials was counted
as a hazard situation. An example of no control would be holes “protected” only with
safety signage tape. In order to generate an estimate of the hazard profile, proportion of
hazards controlled through elimination and engineering controls, personal protective
equipment, or not controlled was calculated out of the total number of hazards identified.
144
In the qualitative approach, two criteria were involved in rating the hazard
profile of the construction site: type of hazards present at the time of the observation and
type of control measures implemented to reduce these hazards (i.e. elimination,
engineering controls, personal protective equipment, and not control). The combination
of this two criteria were used to rate the hazard profile at each construction site as low,
moderate or high. For example, high hazard profile was defined as a worksite with hazard
situations present and poorly or not controlled. Poorly controlled hazard situations
included incomplete PFAS or PFAS not appropriately worn by workers. A construction
site rated as a high hazard profile requires high reliance on workers safety attitudes and
less effective controls. A construction site rated as moderate hazard profile presents
hazard situations controlled through well implemented personal fall arrested systems. A
construction site rated as low hazard profile entails hazard situations that are minimized
or eliminated through engineering controls. A construction site rated as a low hazard
profile has more effective controls and requires minimal reliance on workers’ safety
attitudes.
Perceptions o f safety climate
This study used the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50)
developed and validated by Kines et al. (2011), and available in Spanish. The NOSACQ-
50 measures perceptions of safety climate through 50 items grouped into seven
dimensions. Each item has a 4-point Likert scale that ranges from 1 to 4 to indicate
strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree respectively. The seven dimensions
are as follows:
145
• Management safety priority, commitment, and competence
• Management safety empowerment
• Management safety justice
• Workers’ safety commitment
• Workers’ safety priority and risk non-acceptance
• Safety communication, learning, and trust in co-workers’ safety competence
• Trust in the efficacy of safety systems
In this instrument, participants are asked to rate both the importance given to
safety by the construction site management (site managers and field supervisors) as well
as the degree to which safety is a real priority among their co-workers. The original
NOSACQ-50 instrument consisted of 50 items measuring safety climate perceptions and
three demographic questions related to date of birth, gender and job position. The
questionnaire was adapted to the Colombian construction sector environment (Appendix
6). In a first step, the demographic questions were extended from three to 13 questions.
Given that variables such as experience working in the construction sector, having
suffered previous work-related injuries, and education level have been linked to safety
climate perceptions in previous studies, a set of items inquiring into these questions were
added to the instrument.
In a second step, a translated Spanish version was reviewed by a group of
seven Colombian safety professionals with broad experience in the construction sector, in
order to adapt it to the actual wording and organizational structure of the construction
146
industry in Colombia. A detailed description of the pilot study and the NOSACQ-50
questionnaire was included in Study I.
The safety climate survey was conducted once at each of the participating
construction sites among workers with three job titles including construction workers,
field supervisors, and site managers. Construction workers that were invited to respond to
the survey were randomly selected from the daily log. If the selected worker refused to
take the survey, a new potential participant was randomly selected from the daily log
form. All randomly selected workers who agreed to participate responded to the
NOSACQ-50 safety climate questionnaire with an in-person interviewer from December
2012 to April 2013. Surveys were conducted during work hours on the construction site.
Company’s safety climate score was obtained by aggregating responses by each
construction site. The safety climate data used in this study corresponded to data
reported in Study I. Responses were recorded without names attached.
The in-person interviewer-assisted survey was conducted in Spanish by trained
interviewers who were safety and health specialists with broad experience in the
construction industry. Training consisted of a thorough review of the study purpose,
survey objectives, and recruitment protocol. In addition, several line-by-line reviews of
the questionnaire and informed consent protocol as well as realistic practice interviews
were conducted. Interviewers were instructed to provide potential participants with
information such as overall study objectives, contact name and address of the researchers
as well as details about how and why the respondent was selected, and the confidential
nature of the study. Survey assistants accompanied the researcher during the pilot study
to observe and practice the survey protocols (Chapter II).

147
At each company on average 10 construction workers, 1 field supervisor and 2
site managers responded to the survey. Results from Study I suggested that perceptions of
safety climate are not homogeneous across job titles thus, for this study, mean company
safety climate scores were calculated at three groups: workers, supervisors and managers.
Based on individual responses, company safety climate scores were created for each
specific hierarchy-based groups by adding individual safety climate results within a
company and then dividing by the total number of respondents in each specific job title.
Final company safety climate score means ranged from 1 to 4 where higher scores imply
a stronger safety climate. When more than one field supervisor or site manager answered
the NOSACQ-50 Questionnaire, individual scores were averaged to compute the safety
climate score at the supervisor and manager groups respectively.
Data analysis
The overall objective of this study was to assess the relationship between the
presence o f hazard situations in the construction site and perceptions of safety climate.
Both the presence o f fall and MMH hazards were independently analyzed in relation to
safety climate scores at the worker, supervisor and manager group. Additionally, the
presence of hazards was analyzed as an independent variable in relation to company
injury rates. SPSS versions 19 and 21 were used for all statistical analyses.
In order to achieve the study objective, qualitative and quantitative approaches
were used to assess the company hazard profile were analyzed in relation with safety
climate scores. For the quantitative approach, the percentage of hazard situations in
which engineering controls or personal protective equipment were used, as well as the
148
percentage of hazard situations where a hazard was simply present (non-controlled) was
calculated. Percentages were calculated as the number of hazards situations controlled in
each category (or no-controlled) over the total of hazard situations identified. Univariate
robust linear regressions were used to test the relationship between company hazard
profile (qualitative and quantitative) and work-group safety climate scores (worker,
supervisor and manager). Additional analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship
between company hazard profile (qualitative and quantitative) and injury rate.
Independence o f observations at the company level is assumed because of
sampling and data collection procedures, however the assumption of normality of
residuals was checked and it could not be assumed. Therefore, the Generalized Linear
Model with robust regression was used to examine relationships between construction
site hazard profile (quantitative and qualitative approaches) and work-group safety
climate scores. The Generalized Linear Model with normal distribution and identity link
(a general linear model) was chosen because it is a flexible generalization of ordinary
linear regression that allows incorporation of non-normally distributed residuals and
categorical and continuous independent variables.

149
RESULTS
Hazard situations were observed in a total of 25 construction sites. In each
construction site, the construction site hazard profile was estimated qualitatively and
quantitatively, including six types of fall hazards and five types of MMH hazards. A
total of 340 participants, among them 256 construction workers, 53 field supervisors and
31 site managers, responded to the NOSACQ-50 safety climate questionnaire. The work
group safety climate score means were as follows: construction workers (2.8 ± 0.22),
field supervisors (2.9 ± 0.26), and site managers (3.1 ± 0.29).
Fall hazard situations observations
In general, implemented controls at the construction sites studied vary widely
by type of hazard assessed Table 23. However, the percentage of hazard situations non
controlled was higher than the percentage of implemented controls (engineering or PPE)
in most of the situations with exception of working o ff building structures.
Working/walking on surfaces with floor openings/holes was the hazard situation most
commonly observed while working near excavation areas was the least represented at all
of the construction sites assessed.

150
TABLE 24 Table 24 shows data for individual construction sites. The
implementation of engineering controls to reduce fall hazard situations varied widely by
construction site ranging from 0% to 89% (mean 18.6%, standard deviation 22.6). The
percentage of implementation of personal protective equipment (PPE) ranged from 0 to
80% (mean 24.9%, standard deviation 29.6) while hazard situations without control had
an average of 56% with a standard deviation of 35.1. At the work-group, managers
attained the highest mean safety climate score. The 3-year injury rates also varied widely
between construction sites with some companies having higher injury rates than the
industry average (3-year injury rate for the construction sector in Colombia, 8.7 per 100
workers as presented in Chapter III).

151
TABLE 23
Summary of fall hazard situations and implemented control in 25 Colombian construction companies
No. Implemented PPE Non-control

Hazard situation Hazard situations Engineering
Controls % % %
identified
1. Working/walking on surfaces near wall

87 23% 2% 75%
openings
2. Working/walking on surfaces with floor

126 33% 3% 64%
openings/holes
3. Working/walking on leading edges 101 8% 18% 74%
4. Working on formwork and reinforced

steel, precast concrete structures 44 11% 39% 50%
5. Working near excavation areas 5 40% 0% 60%
6. Working off building structures 58 98% 0% 2%

152
TABLE 24
Construction site fall hazard profile (quantitative and qualitative approach), mean safety climate score by work-group, and 3-year
injury rate per 100 workers for 25 construction companies in Colombia
C o m p a n y fa il h a z a rd s p ro f ile G r o u p -le v e l m e a n s a f e ty c lim a te s c o r e 1
C om pany
C om pany Q u a n tita tiv e A p p ro a c h
Q u a lita tiv e 3 - y e a r in ju ry r a te
N o. W o rk e rs S u p e rv is o rs M a n a g e rs
H azard s itu a tio n s % E n g in e e rin g % ppE % H a za rd s n o A p p ro a c h p e r 100 w o r k e r s
id e n tif ie d c o n tro ls im p le m e n te d c o n tro lle d
1 8 12.5 37.5 5 0 .0 High 2.7 2.7 3.0 32.1

2 5 20.0 8 0 .0 0 .0 M o d e r a te 2 .7 3.1 4 1 .2
3 16 0 .0 25.0 7 5 .0 M o d e r a te 2.7 2.9 3.4 22.3
4 31 64.5 19.4 16.1 M o d e r a te 3 .0 2.9 3.1 1 0.0
5 37 37.8 0 .0 6 2 .2 M o d e r a te 2 .8 3.0 3.2 9 .9
6 7 14.3 71.4 14.3 Low 3 .0 2.9 3.0 10.2
7 6 0 .0 0 .0 100.0 Low 2 .7 2.8 3.2 1 8.7
8 9 0 .0 0 .0 100.0 High 2 .6 2.9 3.8 1 .0
9 33 33.3 6.1 60.6 M o d e r a te 2 .8 3.3 2.9 24.9
10 5 0 .0 8 0 .0 2 0 .0 M o d e r a te 2 .9 3.0 3.3 10.6
11 9 88.9 11.1 0 .0 lo w 3.3 3.2 2.9 1 0.6
12 43 0 .0 7.0 9 3 .0 High 2.7 3.1 2.9 4 7 .1
13 33 15.2 3.0 8 1 .8 High 2 .6 2.5 2.9 5 .0
14 28 28.6 0 .0 71.4 High 2 .7 2.9 2.8 2 6 .0
15 20 4 0 .0 5 .0 5 5 .0 High 2 .8 2.4 3.7 28.2
16 5 0 .0 8 0 .0 2 0 .0 M o d e r a te 3 .0 3.2 3 .4 17.1
17 10 4 0 .0 30.0 3 0 .0 M o d e r a te 2.9 2.9 2.8 0 .5
18 41 12.0 22.0 6 6 .0 High 2.9 2.9 2 .9 2 2 .9
19 40 0 .0 2.9 97.1 High 2 .6 2.7 2.9 1 3.6
20 35 14.0 3.0 83.3 High 2.5 2.5 2.4 30.3
21 5 20.0 4 0 .0 4 0 .0 Low 3.5 3.5 3.2 6.6
22 2 0 .0 0 .0 100.0 M o d e ra te 2.9 2.9 2.9 3 .0
23 4 0 .0 25.0 75.0 M o d e ra te 2.9 3.1 2.8 5.3
24 4 0 .0 0 .0 100.0 High 2 .7 2.9 2.9 0 .0
25 4 25.0 75.0 0 .0 Low 3 .0 3.2 3.1 8.4
M ea n 18 ± 14 1 8 .6 ± 2 2 .6 24.9 ± 2 9 .3 56.4 ± 3 5 .1 2 .8 ± 0 .2 2 2.9 ± 0 .2 6 3 .1 ± 0 .2 9 ± 16.2 ± 1 2 .8

1 The v a lu e s p re s e n te d re p re s e n t th e m e a n of e a c h g ro u p s u rv ey ed , o n a v e ra g e 1 0 w o rk ers, 2 field su p e rv is o r, a n d 1 fie ld m a n a g e r a t e a c h co m p an y .
153
Manual material handling risk factors
Hazard situations at each construction site were identified based on five types
of ergonomic risk factors associated with MMH (Table 25). The largest number of hazard
situations identified was related to handling heavy materials (179 hazard situations).
Most of hazard situations were non-controlled and mechanical aids were used mainly
during climbing or descending materials. Safety climate score means and standard
deviations for construction workers, field supervisors, and site managers are also
presented in Table 24.
Table 26 shows data for individual construction sites. The implementation of
engineering controls (mechanical aids) varied widely by construction site ranging from
0% to 100. Percentage o f implementation of work procedures such as working in pairs to
lift or move heavy loads was very low and even it was not implemented in many of the
construction sites observed. Table 4 also shows the qualitative rate for MMH hazards at
each construction such as low (7 sites), moderate (9 sites), and high (9 sites).
154
TABLE 25
Summary of manual material handling hazard situations and implemented controls in 25 Colombian construction companies
No. Hazard Use of mechanical Work Non-control

Type o f Hazard situation
situations aids % procedures % %
1. Climbing or descending with

loads 98 43% 4% 52%
2. Handling heavy equipment or

tools 68 22% 3% 75%
3. Handling heavy materials

179 16% 3% 80%
4. Carrying heavy loads

61 18% 11% 70%
5. Lifting heavy loads

57 4% 7% 89%
155
TABLE 26
Construction site MMH hazard profile (quantitative and qualitative approach) for 25 construction companies in Colombia
C om pany MMH h azard profile W ork-group m e a n safe ty c lim a te s c o re 1
C om pany
C om pany Q u a n tia tiv e A pproach 3 -y e a r injury
No. Q ualitative ra te p e r 100
Hazard W orkers S upervisors M anagers
% Engineering % Work % H azards no A pproach w o rk e rs
situ a tio n s
c o n tro ls p ro c e d u re s c o n tro lle d
id e n tifie d
1 10 30.0 0.0 70.0 M o d erate 2.7 2.7 3.0 32.1
2 8 50.0 50.0 0.0 lo w 2.7 3.1 41.2
3 18 10.0 10.0 80.0 High 2.7 2.9 3.4 22.3
4 1 0.0 0.0 100.0 Low 3.0 2.9 3.1 10.0
5 19 20.0 20.0 60.0 High 2.8 3.0 3.2 9.9
e 12 40.0 10.0 50.0 Low 3.0 2.9 3.0 10.2
7 4 0.0 0.0 100.0 M o d erate 2.7 2.8 3.2 18.7
8 17 10.0 0.0 90.0 High 2.6 2.9 3.8 1.0
9 38 10.0 0.0 80.0 High 2.8 3.3 2.9 24.9
10 7 90.0 10.0 0.0 Low 2.9 3.0 3.3 10.6
11 14 40.0 0.0 60.0 M oderate 3.3 3.2 2.9 10.6
12 4 0.0 0.0 100.0 Low 2.7 3.1 2.9 47.1
13 41 20.0 0.0 80.0 High 2.6 2.5 2.9 5.0
14 39 20.0 10.0 70.0 M oderate 2.7 2.9 2.8 26.0
15 13 20.0 20.0 60.0 M oderate 2.8 2.4 3.7 28.2
16 10 100.0 0.0 0.0 Low 3.0 3.2 3.4 17.1
17 16 30.0 0.0 70.0 M oderate 2.9 2.9 2.8 0.5
18 25 20.0 0.0 80.0 High 2.9 2.9 2.9 22.9
19 59 10.0 0.0 90.0 High 2.6 2.7 2.9 13.6
20 42 20.0 0.0 80.0 High 2.5 2.5 2.4 30.3
21 13 20.0 10.0 70.0 M oderate 3.5 3.5 3.2 6.6
22 13 50.0 10.0 50.0 High 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.0
23 12 0.0 20.0 80.0 M oderate 2.9 3.1 2.8 5.3
24 12 0.0 20.0 80.0 M oderate 2.7 2.9 2.9 0.0
25 16 20.0 0.0 80.0 Low 3.0 3.2 3.1 8.4
Total 463
M ean 25.2 ±25.7 7 .6 1 1 1 .6 6 7 .2 1 2 8 .8 2.8 ± 0.22 2 .9 ± 0 .2 6 3 .1 1 0 .2 9 1 6 .2 1 1 2 .8

1 The values presented rep resen t the mean of each group surveyed, on averag e 10 w orkers, 2 field supervisor, and 1 field m anager a t each com pany.
156
Relationship between safety climate scores and construction site hazard profile
Fall hazards
The Generalized Linear Model results showed that there was a statistically
significant association between worker-group safety climate score means and the
proportion of implemented engineering controls but not a statistically significant
association for either the supervisor-group or manager-group. The scatter plot (Figure
26) shows that worker-group’s safety climate score means seemed to increase as the
proportion of implemented engineering controls increased as well. Although supervisor-
group’s safety climate score means showed a similar trend to worker-group’s, the trend
was weaker. In contrast, manager-group’s safety climate score means presented a
slightly negative trend (Figure 27).
The scatterplot showed that worker-group’s safety climate score means
increased as the proportion of implemented fall protection increased as well (Figure 28).
The statistical analysis showed a significant association between these variables.
Supervisor-group’s and manager-group’s safety climate score means showed a similar
trend than worker-group’s (Figure 29-Figure 30).
The scatterplots showed that all work-group’s safety climate score means had
an inverse relationship with the proportion of non-controlled hazards at the construction
site (Figures 31-33). The work-group safety climate score means decreased when the
proportion of non-controlled hazard increased at the construction sites. The statistical

157
analysis showed a significant association for the entire work-group safety climate score
means with exception the of manager-group safety climate score means (Table 27).
158
FIGURE 25
Scatter plot between worker-group’s safety score means and proportion of

implementation of engineering controls for fall hazard situations identified at 25
Colombian construction companies.
3.50“
W ork er’s safety climate score m ean s
3.25“
3.00“
y=2.76 +0.39 x
2.75-
2.50“
.00 .20 .40 .60 .80 1.00
Proportion of implemented engineering controls

159
FIGURE 26
Scatter plot between supervisor-group’s safety score means and proportion of

3.4
climate score m ea n s
y= 2.9 +0.28 x
3 .0 “
S u p erv iso r-g ro u p ’s safety
2 .8 -
2 .6 -
2 .4 -
2 . 2-1
.00 .20 .40 .60 .80 1.00

160
FIGURE 27
Scatter plot between manager-group’s safety score means and proportion of

3.75
M an ag er-g ro u p ’s safety climate score m ean s
3.50
y=3.07 - 0.36 x
3.25
3.00
2.75
2.50
.00 .20 .40 .60 .80 1.00

161
FIGURE 28
Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between worker-group’s safety score means
and proportion of implementation of fall protection for fall hazard situations at 25
W ork er-grou p ’s safety climate score m ea n s
3.50
y=2.76 +0.28 x
2.75'
.00 .20 .40 .60 .80
Proportion of implemented fall protection

162
FIGURE 29
Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between supervisor-group’s safety score
means and proportion of implementation of fall protection for fall hazard situations at 25
3.4-
climate score m ean s
3.2”
y=2.76 +0.28 x
3.0“
S u p erv iso r-g ro u p ’s safety
2 .8 "
2 .6 -
2.4“
00 .20 .40 60 .80
Proportion o f im p lem en ted fa ll p rotection

163
FIGURE 30
Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between manager-group’s safety score
means and proportion of implementation of fall prevention for fall hazard situations
identified at 25 Colombian construction companies.
3,75-
M a n a g er-g ro u p ’s safety climate score m ean s
y=3.0 - 0.21 x
i.0 0
2,50-
.00 .20 .40 .60 .80
Proportion of implemented fall protection

164
TABLE 27
Results of the Generalized Linear Model regression of the association between work-group safety climate scores
and fall hazards profile (qualitative approach) at 25 construction sites in Colombia.
95% Confidence Interval

Work-group Hazard profile b Std. Error Sig.
Lower Upper
Intercept 3.09 0.12 2.86 3.32 0.00

High (n=lO) -0.41 0.12 -0.65 -0.17 0.00
Workers
Moderate (n=10) -0.24 0.12 -0.48 0.00 0.05
Low (n=5) 0
Intercept 3.12 0.10 2.92 3.32 0.00

High (n=10) -0.38 0.13 -0.62 -0.13 0.00
Supervisors
Moderate (n=10) -0.10 0.11 -0.32 0.13 0.40
Low (n=5) 0
Intercept 3.08 0.04 2.99 3.17 0.00
High (n=10) -0.08 0.13 -0.33 0.18 0.56
Managers
Moderate (n=10) 0.01 0.08 -0.15 0.17 0.89
Low (n=5) 0
165
FIGURE 31
Scatter plot worker-group’s safety score means and proportion of fall hazard situations
non-controlled at 25 Colombian construction companies.
3 .5 0 -
Worker-group’s safety climate score means
3 .2 5 -
3 .0 0 -
2 .7 5 -
2 .5 0 “
.00 .20 .40 .60 .80 1.00
Proportion of hazard situations non-controlled

166
FIGURE 32
Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between supervisor-group’s safety score
means and proportion of fall hazard situations non-controlled at 25 Colombian
construction companies.
Supervisor-group’s safety climate score means
3 2”
30-
y=3.03 - 0.36 x
2 .8 '
2 .6 -
2.4
00 60 100

167
FIGURE 33
Scatter plot exploring the linear relationship between manager-group’s safety score
means and proportion of fall hazard situations non-controlled at 25 Colombian
3 .7 5 -
Manager-group’s safety climate score means
3 .5 0 -
3 .2 5 - y=3.12 - 0.11 x
3 .0 0 -
2 .7 5 -
2 .5 0 -
.0 0 .2 0 .40 .60 .80 1 .0 0

168
Using a qualitative approach, the fall hazard profile of the 25 construction
companies was clustered into low (n=5), moderate (n=10) and high (n=10). Table 27
shows that worker-group’s safety climate score means were higher for construction sites
classified as low hazard profile and lower for moderate and high hazard profiles.
Worker-group’s safety climate score means were more homogenous for moderate and
high hazard profile and presented more dispersion for low hazard profile construction
sites. Supervisor-group’s safety climate score means presented the same trend but
slightly higher safety climate score means were observed for all hazard profile
construction sites. Manager-group’s safety climate score means were homogenous for
low and moderate hazard profile but showed higher dispersion in construction site
clustered as high hazard profile. Particularly, in the manager-group, two construction
sites obtained the highest score means and one from the same group obtained the lowest
one.
The Generalized Linear Model results showed an inverse relationship between
work-group safety climate score means and construction site fall hazard profiles.
Worker-group’s safety climate score means were significantly different for companies
with low, moderate and high hazard profile. Supervisor-group’s safety climate score
means were significantly different between companies with low and high hazard profile.
Differences in manager-group’s safety climate score means were close to zero and non-
significantly different.
169
FIGURE 34
Scatterplot of construction sites hazard profile (qualitative approach) and worker-group

safety climate score means at 25 Colombian construction companies.
3 .5 0 -
Workers Total Safety Climate Score Mean
3 .2 5 -
3 .0 0 -
2 .7 5 -
2 .5 0 -
Moderate
Construction Site Fall Hazards Profile

170
FIGURE 35
Scatter plot of qualitative construction sites hazard profile and supervisor group safety
climate score mean among Colombian construction companies (n=25)
3 .4 -
Supervisor’s Total Safety Climate Score
3 .0 -
2 .0 '
2 .6 -
2 .4 -
2 . 2-1
Low Moderate H igh

171
FIGURE 36
Scatter plot of qualitative construction sites hazard profile and supervisor group safety
climate score mean among Colombian construction companies (n=25)
3.75-
Manager’s Total Safety Climate Score Mean
3.25-
3.00"
2.7 5 -
2.50-
Low Moderate High

172
Manual material handling hazards
The Generalized Linear Model results indicated that there was a weak and not
a statistically significant association between worker-group safety climate score means
and the proportion of implemented engineering controls (mechanical aid) or work
practices. The relationship between presence of non-controlled MMH hazards at the
workplace and workers safety climate means was negative but not statistically significant.
Similar results were found for the supervisor-group and manager-group (Table 28).
According to Figure 37, Figure 38, Figure 39, worker-group’s safety climate
score means seemed to increase as the proportion of implementation of mechanical aids
increased as well. The majority of construction sites had low implementation of hazard
controls. A noticeable trend in these data was that there no construction sites having high
implementation of mechanical aids and high safety climate scores. The Generalized
Linear Model results showed that none of the associations between any of the work
groups safety climate score means and MMH hazard controls were statistically
significant.
A qualitative approach was also used to assess construction sites hazard profile
regarding to the presence of MMH hazards at the 25 construction sites. Construction
companies were clustered into low (n=7), moderate (n=9) and high (n=9) based on the
types of hazards and controls implemented. Table 29 shows that worker-group’s safety
climate score means were slightly higher for construction sites classified as low hazard
profile in comparison with those clustered as moderate and higher. However the
difference in safety climate scores means between company-group was not statistically
173
significant. Scatterplots shown that worker-group’s safety climate score means tended to
be homogenous for construction sites with low and high hazard profiles but not for those
clustered as moderate (Figure 40). Supervisor-group’s safety climate score means
presented the same trend although higher dispersion was presented in safety climate
scores means for companies with moderate and high hazard profile (Figure 41). Manager-
group’s safety climate score means showed higher dispersion in construction site
clustered as high hazard profile.

174
TABLE 28
Results of the Generalized Linear Model regression of the association between work-group safety climate score means and MMH
hazard profile at 25 construction sites in Colombia.
Work-group Type o f control bo b,

ui Std. Error - 95% Confidence Interval Sig.
Lower Upper
Engineering 2.77 0.05 2.68 2.87 0.000
controls
(mechanical aids) 0.22 0.09 0.05 0.39 0.010
Workers 2.84 0.05 2.74 2.93 0.000

Work procedures
-0.08 0.22 -0.51 0.36 0.732
2.93 0.08 2.79 3.08 0.000
Non-control
-0.16 0.10 -0.35 0.04 0.114
Engineering 2.89 0.06 2.77 3.02 0.000
controls
(mechanical aids) 0.15 0.11 -0.07 0.36 0.187
Supervisors 2.94 0.06 2.81 3.07 0.000

Work procedures
-0.20 0.73 -1.63 1.23 0.779
3.03 0.09 2.86 3.21 0.000
Non-control
-0.15 0.12 -0.38 0.07 0.188
Engineering 2.99 0.08 2.84 3.15 0.000
controls
(mechanical aids) 0.24 0.14 -0.04 0.53 0.089
Managers 3.03 0.07 2.89 3.16 0.000
Work procedures
0.38 0.40 -0.39 1.16 0.331
3.23 0.09 3.06 3.40 0.000
Non-control
-0.26 0.14 -0.53 0.02 0.065
175
FIGURE 37
Scatter plot between worker-group’s safety score means and proportion of

implementation of engineering controls for manual material handling hazard situations
3.50-
Worker-group’s safety climate score means
3,25-
3.00"
2.75-
2.50
.00 20 .40 .60 .80 1 00
Proportion of implementation of mechanical aids

176
FIGURE 38
Scatter plot between supervisor-group’s safety score means and proportion of

implementation of mechanical aids for manual material handling hazard situations
3 .4 -
Supervisor-group’s safety climate score means
y=2.89 - 0.15 x
3.2"
3.0-
2 ,8 “
2 .6 “
2.4'
20 .40 60 .80

177
FIGURE 39
Scatter plot between manager-group’s safety score means and proportion of

implementation of mechanical aids for manual material handling hazard situations
375-
Manager-group’s safety climate score means
3.50
y= 2.99 - 0.24 x
3.25-
2 .75 -
2.50-
.00 .20 .40 .60 .80

178
TABLE 29
Results of the Generalized Linear Model regression of the association between group-level safety climate score means and MMH
hazard profile (qualitative approach) at 25 construction sites in Colombia.
Work-group Hazard profile b Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval Sig.

Lower Upper
Intercept 2.89 0.04 2.81 2.98 0.00
High (n=9) -0.18 0.06 -0.31 -0.06 0.00
Workers
Moderate (n=9) 0.01 0.10 -0.19 0.20 0.95
Low (n=7) 0
Intercept 3.05 0.05 2.95 3.16 0.00
High (n=9) -0.21 0.10 -0.40 -0.03 0.03
Supervisors
Moderate (n=9) -0.12 0.11 -0.34 0.09 0.26
Low (n=7) 0
Intercept 3.13 0.06 3.01 3.25 0.00
High (n=9) -0.11 0.14 -0.38 0.16 0.42
Managers
Moderate (n-9) -0.09 0.11 -0.30 0.12 0.41
Low (n=7) 0
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FIGURE 40
Scatterplot of construction sites MMH hazard profile (qualitative approach) and worker-
group safety climate score means at 25 Colombian construction companies.

Score M ea n
3 .5 0 " o
3 . 25 "< o
Workers Total Safety Climate
O
3 .00 "
§
o 8 8
o 8
2 .75 - o
8 §
o
8
2 50 - o
Low M oderate H igh
C onstruction S ite M M H H azards P ro file

180
FIGURE 41
Scatter plot of qualitative construction sites MMH hazard profile and supervisor group
safety climate score mean among Colombian construction companies (n=25)
o
S u p erv iso r’s Total Safety Climate S co re
o
0
o
o
o
o
o o
o
8
oo
o o
o
o
o
o
o
o
L ow M oderate H igh

181
FIGURE 42
Scatter plot of qualitative construction sites MMH hazard profile and supervisor group
safety climate score mean among Colombian construction companies (n=25)
75-
Climate Score M ea n
M a n a g er’s Total Safety
oo-
75“
50-
Low M oderate H igh

182
Non-controlled hazards and injury rates
Spearman correlations calculated between construction company 3-year injury
rate per 100 workers and the proportion of fall hazards non-controlled was negative and
low (r= -0.139) and not statistically significant (p=0.506) (Figure 43). The correlation
between construction company 3-year injury rate per 100 workers and the proportion of
MMH hazards non-controlled was weak (r= -0.029) and not statistically significant
(p=0.889) (Figure 44).

183
FIGURE 43
Scatter plot between company injury rate per 100 workers and proportion of non-
controlled fall hazard situations identified at 25 Colombian construction companies.
50.0
site injury rate per 100 w ork ers
40.0
30.0
2 0 .0 -
Construction
1 0 .0 -
Proportion of non-controlled fall hazard situations

184
FIGURE 44
Scatter plot between company injury rate per 100 workers and proportion of non
controlled MMH hazard situations identified at 25 Colombian construction companies.
50 0 "
site injury rate per 100 w o rk ers
40 0“
30 0 -
20 0 -
Construction
10 0 -
0-
00 20 40 60 80 1 00
Proportion of non-controlled MMH hazard situations

185
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the presence
of fall and MMH hazards on construction sites and perceptions of safety climate at
different hierarchical levels at 25 Colombian construction companies; as well as the
relationship between the presence of hazards and recorded injury rates. The presence of
hazards at each construction site was assessed qualitatively and quantitatively while
perceptions of safety climate were measured at worker, supervisor and manager groups
using a previously validated tool.
The hazard profile at these construction sites was significantly associated with
safety climate. Overall, the relationship between company safety climate score and
implemented fall hazard controls varied as expected (i.e. higher safety climate score was
associated with greater implementation of engineering controls; and lower safety climate
score means were associated with higher presence of non-controlled hazards), while the
association with manual material handling risk factors did not. In other words, both
workers’ and supervisors’ overall safety climate scores were positively associated with
the implementation of fall hazard controls at their company. Additionally, workers’ and
supervisors’ overall safety climate score were inversely related to the presence of non
controlled fall hazards at the workplace. However, manager’s safety climate score means
were independent of the company’s level of implemented fall hazard controls, as well as
of the presence of non-controlled fall hazards at the workplace.
In contrast, the presence of manual material handling risk factors at the
construction site was not correlated with safety climate scores. These associations
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approached zero and were not statistically significant for any job title. Additionally, the
presence of hazards at the construction site was not significantly associated with
company injury rates.
Safety climate research has been mainly oriented to test its role with respect to
safety outcomes. Relatively little attention has been given to potential factors that can
determine safety climate and how workers form perceptions of safety at the workplace.
Although co-workers’ social interactions and leader-worker communication have been
suggested as the mechanisms through which workers form perceptions of safety climate
(Sparer, Murphy, Taylor, & Dennerlein, 2013; Zohar, Huang, Lee, & Robertson, 2014),
results from this study show that workers’ and supervisors’ perceptions of safety climate
are also associated with the presence of potential serious acute injury (fall) hazards at the
construction worksite. This may indicate, as Smith et al (2006) stated, that worker’s
interactions with hazards in their workplace are likely important factors that formulate
perceptions of safety climate, beyond supervisor-worker communication.
These findings are consistent with results reported by DeJoy et al. (2004), who
found a significant negative relationship between potential hazards in the workplace and
safety climate in the retail industry. Neitzel et al. (2006) also found lower safety climate
scores in workplaces with higher noncompliance for fall protection. The association
between the presence of hazards and safety climate may exist in the construction industry
for various reasons, such as the nature and structure of the construction worksite.
Controlling hazards is a management responsibility; the on-going presence of non-

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controlled hazards at the workplace may tacitly communicate to workers that safety is
given a low priority by management.
Several studies have suggested that organizations with strong safety climate
report lower injury rates (i.e. Gillen, Baltz, Gassel, Kirsch, & Vaccaro, 2002; Gyekye &
Salminen, 2009; Varonen & Mattila, 2000). However, a previous study in this
dissertation (Chapter III) as well as other studies have not found a significant association
between worker’s perceptions of safety climate and company injury rates (Smith, Huang,
Ho, & Chen, 2006). These results would suggest that the presence of hazards in the
workplace can be a potential mediator of the association. A meta-analysis conducted by
Beus et al. (2010) revealed that injuries were more predictive of organizational safety
climate than safety climate was predictive of injuries. In fact, Smith et al. (2006) reported
that the relationship between safety climate and injury was reduced and not significant
when the degree of hazard in the industry was controlled (Smith, Huang, Ho, & Chen,
2006).
However, the relationship of hazards to perceptions of safety climate was not
homogeneous for all types of hazards present at the construction sites. The presence of
fall hazards was significantly and negatively associated with safety climate, while the
presence of MMH risk factors was independent of safety climate scores. Differences in
associations between these two types of hazards may be due to how differently they are
perceived. While fall hazards may be seen as a risk with the potential to severely or
fatally injure any worker at the workplace and therefore should be controlled at
management levels; MMH risk factors may be viewed as a normal part of the job. For
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instance, qualitative data obtained separately (see Study IV) showed a wide-spread
assumption that lifting heavy loads is to be expected and that only “weak ” workers will
be negatively affected.
Management is assumed to exert a crucial influence on organizational safety
performance given that they establish and define priorities of the organization (Fruhen et
al, 2013; Gillen, 2010). Perceived management commitment to safety was identified by
Beus et al. (2010) as the most robust predictor of occupational injuries. A construction
site has both supervisors and managers, middle and upper management respectively, but
while supervisor safety climate score means were associated with the presence of hazards
in the workplace, managers’ were not. The independence of manager safety climate
score means with respect to the presence of hazards may reflect differences in roles
between site managers and field supervisors. Although construction managers might be
aware of the hazards (Gillen, 2004), they are primarily responsible for administrative
tasks involving mainly project budget, deadlines and managing contactors. In turn, field
supervisors are responsible for following tasks performed on-site which implies more
time in contact with workers and facing the daily construction environment.
A range of safety, health and ergonomic hazards are inherent to construction
processes. Many of these hazards originate from aspects such as the nature of the work,
work procedures, workplace layout, materials and tools. The walkthrough observations
conducted during this study attempted to estimate the magnitude and frequency of
hazards at the participating construction site that could be directly compared to
perceptions of safety climate. However, assessing the construction site hazard profile had
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important challenges which likely introduced limitations. First, measuring the presence
or absence of hazards at one single point in time may not be sufficient to adequately
characterize hazards, particularly those found in dynamic workplaces such a construction
sites. A comprehensive assessment of construction site hazard profiles would require
many observations at different points in time throughout each project stage. Second,
although counting the number of hazards and the types of controls provides quantitative
data, information about managements’ commitment to safety, the hazard counting
approach may overestimate a particular hazard situation (i.e., lifting loads; if many
workers are performing the same task during the time of observation). Qualitative
characterization of these observations was also considered, in order to avoid this problem.
A mixed methods approach might provide a more comprehensive assessment of the on
going presence or absence of hazards and thus more accurately reflect management’s
commitment to safety. Future methodological investigations would be desirable to
generate a more accurate and reliable observation protocol.
The importance of safety climate as an assessment tool should go beyond
anticipating workers unsafe/safe behaviors. Although the need for conducting
interventions to improve safety climate has been suggested in the literature (Huang, et al
2009), given that safety climate is conceptualized as an indicator of safety perceptions,
we believe that it does not merit binge the direct target of any intervention. For the
particular dynamics of the construction industry, the relevance of safety climate might lie
instead in its ability to detect safety gaps in the initial steps of the injury causal pathway.
This is likely associated with injuries and is therefore critical to improving safety at the
workplace.
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Strengths and limitations
A particular characteristic of the construction industry is the evolving nature of
hazards over a project’s lifetime. The hazard observation approach used in this study was
a static metric which only provided a short-term snapshot of the conditions on the
construction site. Fall hazards are related to the physical work area conditions, are
available for observation at any time during working hours, and may be general to all
workers and staff at that section of the worksite. In contrast, MMH hazards are linked to
specific tasks and even hours, so their presence might be more easily overestimated or
underestimated. Distribution of material was the first thing in the morning at most of the
construction sites. At this time, both use of mechanical aids and manual material
handling had peak occurrences. Thus, the time of observation can affect the estimation of
MMH hazards. In order to have a better assessment of the presence of MMH hazards, a
mixed model approach can be used or workers’ self-reporting of MMH hazards can be
incorporated.
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CONCLUSION
This was an exploratory study to evaluate whether safety climate was
associated with the presence of observed hazards in the construction workplace. The
presence o f hazards can be understood as practical expression of management’s
operationalized commitment to safety. With 266 workers surveyed from 25 construction
companies, this study provided an initial step in identifying potential determinants of
safety climate additional to communication or leadership styles identified in previous
studies. Measuring hazard exposure brings specific challenges; using a mixed methods
approach may reduce the challenges inherent especially in the construction setting.
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CHAPTER IV
A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETY IN THE
INTRODUCTION
Construction is consistently ranked among the most dangerous industries in
both developed and developing countries and remains a major human, social and
economic problem. Important safety, health, and ergonomic hazards are continuously
present at construction sites. The effects can range from minor to severe and fatal
injuries among construction workers as well as supervisor and managers, although in a
smaller proportion. Injuries by way of sharp, heavy and/or vibrating tools, falling from
heights, slipping and tripping, frequent manual handling of heavy loads, and exposure to
noise, vibrations, dust are some of the hazardous situations faced by thousands of
construction workers around the world.
As safety has approach have evolved, causes of injury in the construction
industry have been analyzed and explained using technical, human factors, management
systems, and cultural approaches (Borys, Else, & Leggett, 2009). The high work-related
193
injury rate has been attributed to a great number of factors, all of which can act
individually or collectively, such as inherent characteristics of the constructive process,
high mobility of the workforce, inadequate training, high levels of subcontracting, risk-
oriented attitudes, tight deadlines, and restricted budgets (Hinze, Devenport, & Giang,
2006; X. Huang & Hinze, 2003; Lingard & Rowlinson, 2005; Reyes, San-Jose,
Cuadrado, & Sancibrian, 2014; Swuste, Frijters, & Guldenmund, 2012). Enhancing safety
within construction work environments requires a comprehensive understanding of the
various factors associated with injuries. Work-related injuries are the result of multiple
factor occurring or interacting at a specific time in a particular worksite. A complete
understanding of these contributing factors is needed in order to intervene not only on
those associated with individual characteristics but also at the higher environmental and
organizational levels that contribute to injury occurrences.
The socio-ecological model (SEM) has been suggested as an appropriate model
for public health promotion and injury prevention because it incorporates multiple levels
affecting health and safety at the worksite. The construction industry is a complex sector
with particular characteristics (i.e., construction process, multiple contractors and
subcontractors, piecework pay, changing layouts) directly or indirectly affecting safety
decisions.
The social-ecological model was used in this study to classify qualitative data
regarding barriers and challenges for safety at the construction sites. This model
considers interplay between individual, relationship, community, and societal factors
(CDC, 2013). The socio-ecological model was adopted as the framework to emphasize
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the importance of context and multiple levels of influence in determining safety (Stokols,
1992).
For the purpose of this study, the four-level model was used according to CDC
guidance (CDC, 2013). The first level is the individual, which includes the
characteristics that influence behavior such as knowledge attitudes, skills, and beliefs.
The second level is interpersonal processes, such as worker-worker and worker-
supervisor relationships. The third level is organizational, which includes rules, policies,
and formal and informal structures. The fourth level is societal, which includes the
cultural context and national policies on safety and health.
Using the socio-ecological model as a framework, this study examines
construction workers’, field supervisors’, and site managers’ perceptions of work
practices and potential factors related to safety in order to gain understanding of the
underlying priorities competing with safety at the construction worksites.

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METHODS
The purpose of this study was to examine and describe construction
personnel’s perceptions of safety in the construction industry. To obtain the data, a
qualitative approach was used to collect information on barriers and incentives to
improve safety on construction sites. In-depth guided interviews were conducted to
identify general perceptions of safety among construction workers, their field managers,
and site supervisors. Construction site personnel were asked to describe the kinds of
practices implemented at their construction site as well as the types of situations
experienced at their workplace. All participants participated voluntarily and provided oral
consent, as approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of
Massachusetts Lowell (IRB 12-131 -PUN-XPD). No compensation was provided to the
participants.
Study design and sample population
This study was conducted among construction companies in Bogota,
Colombia. Potential individual participants were selected from 25 construction
companies previously recruited for Study I, all of which were customers of the largest
private worker’s compensation company in Colombia. One construction site per
company was selected to be part of the sample. On average, a medium-size construction
site (50-100 workers) has 2 supervisors and 2 site engineers. The intended sample in each
construction site was two construction workers, one field supervisor and one site
manager. Thus, the total intended sample was comprised of at least 50 workers, 25 field
supervisors and 25 site managers. Site managers were civil engineers or architects with
196
the main responsibility of monitoring construction operations and guarantying project
deadlines and budget. In turn, supervisors (called in Colombia “maestros de obra”) were
personnel with responsibilities of managing contractors, assigning tasks, and supervising
daily work progress.
Potential participants to be interviewed were chosen at random among workers,
supervisors and managers who had previously responded to the NOSACQ-50 safety
climate questionnaire (Chapter II). Construction workers to be interviewed were
randomly selected from the group of workers surveyed (Chapter II). A site manager and
a field supervisor at each worksite were invited to participate in the interviews and where
there were two or more field supervisors, the potential interviewee was randomly
selected. When a potential participant refused to participate, a new individual was
randomly selected.
Data collection
In-depth interviews were conducted at the construction sites from November
2012 to April 2013. Interviews were conducted individually with construction workers,
field supervisors and site managers during work hours and lasted approximately 45-90
minutes each. They were conducted and audio-recorded by the researcher on construction
sites in office areas or site areas where privacy was guaranteed. Informed consent was
discussed with participants prior to conducting the interviews and permission for
recording was obtained. After obtaining oral consent, a recorder was activated and the
interview commenced. When participants did not agree to have the interview recorded,
the researcher took notes. The researcher led the interview from a script or guide
197
developed for this project based on the safety climate and safety practice questionnaire
used in Chapter I and Chapter II (Appendix 10).
Based on a semi-structured interview guide interviewees were asked about
topics mentioned above through open-ended questions designed to motivate detailed
responses. Interviewees (construction workers, foremen, and site managers) were first
asked general questions such as the nature of the construction project, expected end dates,
personnel, and about their experience and qualifications. Interviewees were also asked
about their previous knowledge about safety, and how safety could influence the day-to-
day progress.
Prior to use, the interview guide was pilot-tested in four construction sites with
a total of two workers and two supervisors to assess the value and clarity of the questions
as well as to estimate the duration of the interview. Based on the pilot results, the script
was revised to eliminate redundant or ambiguous questions. The final guide was
comprised of four sections with questions about types and potential causes of injuries the
subject had experienced or knew about; the role of workers, field supervisors, site
managers, and safety coordinators in health and safety on site; safety practices
implemented at the construction site; and barriers and opportunities to make construction
sites safer.
Data analysis
Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim by the researcher using the
Dragon Naturally Speaking Premium 11® software package. No participant names or

198
specific construction site references were associated with transcripts but letters were
assigned to distinguish interviewer’s comments from participant’s ones. The process of
categorizing qualitative data was completed with the software package QSR NVivo 10®.
NVivo 10© uses a tree-node system to designate categories or themes (nodes) and
relationships (hierarchical parent-child nodes). A broad tree node was constructed for
coding data based on the four levels of the socio-ecological model; within each level,
emergent themes related to safety climate, safety practices, and barriers to improve safety
were included. Quotes were selected that summarized other comments, were
presentations of specific feelings, or described an uncommon view. The quotes included
were translated from Spanish and adapted to English.

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RESULTS
Data for analysis came for 53 transcribed interviews conducted with
construction personnel, including ten construction workers, 18 field supervisors, and 25
site managers. Given that the interviews took on average one hour, it was not possible to
reach the expected number of workers. This limitation was stated by supervisors not by
workers. Since the interview was intended to identify safety practice or safety barriers
most o f the emergent themes were identified around the organization (Table 30). Details
regarding themes identified for the individual, inter-personal, organizational, and societal
level are discussed in sections below.

200
TABLE 30
Summary of themes identified from the qualitative data organized around four-level
socio-ecological model: workers, field supervisors and managers from 25 Colombian
Socio-Ecological Model Cited by

inemes
Level Worker Supervisor Manager
Non-injury concept ✓
Individual
Leading by example V ✓ ✓
Supportive social environment V •/

Inter-personal
Blaming for injuries S S
Lack of articulation between

trade training vs. safety training V
Training S ✓
Contractors safety performance
Contractors hiring practices ✓
Safety responsibilities ✓ •/
Organizational
Risk perception S ✓ •/
Safety staff authority and power ■/ ✓
Safety budget and cost-benefit

relationship
Housekeeping s S ✓
Lack of management learning V
Societal New safety legislation

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Individual level
Non-injury concept
Several comments reflected workers’ beliefs about minor injuries, which are
often viewed as normal occurrences inherent in the construction industry. Injuries such as
lacerations (usually to fingers and hands), stubs, slips or sprains were considered too
small to be reported. Workers accepted these injuries as expected events that happen to
all construction workers. Additionally, participants considered that repeated reporting of
injuries might put those workers in an unfavorable situation, given that both employers
and coworkers might see them as complainers or as weak.
Interviewer: In these years working in the construction industry, have you suffered work-
related injuries?
Worker: No.
Interviewer: You have been worked in the construction fo r more than 8 years and
haven’t you had injuries?
Worker: No. I haven’t had injuries in all this time
Interviewer: Haven’t you have any injury such as scratches, slips, cuts, hits with
object...
Worker: Oh yeah, yeah, o f course, I have had those but not injuries!
2 02
Leading by example
Workers and field supervisors repeatedly recognized that site managers play a
critical role in supporting the accomplishment of safety goals on sites. The participation
of site managers in safety activities, as well as their visibility as safety leaders, was
deemed to be very limited. Although site managers were identified as responsible for
accomplishing the overall project goals, safety goals were considered outside of their
management scope. In fact, site managers stated that they were not taught about safety
during their undergraduate or graduate studies. Managers mentioned learning how to
anticipate and deal with project risks (anticipating uncertain events that are inherent to a
project in order to optimize them for successfully achieve project goals) but not those
related to worker safety. Instead, sole responsibility for the safety of workers was held
by identified safety staff.
Managers were identified by workers as only sporadic participants in safety
activities. Site managers with the strongest commitment to safety were characterized by
workers and supervisors as those who engaged in informal safety chats with workers,
called workers’ attention to using PPE, participated in safety walkthroughs, and
supported safety coordinators in decisions to penalize those contractors who broke safety
rules. Those attitudes were also considered by workers as an expression of interest and
respect for workers.

203
Project manager: I didn ’t like to wear safety boots or glasses. I used only to wear the
hard hat and walk around the construction site in sneakers. When you do that, you don't
have authority to ask workers to use PPE. Now, after many years o f working in the
construction industry, I wear safety boots, but it took me a lot o f time to understand that I
have to lead with my example.
Interviewer: During your undergraduate or graduate studies, did you take any subject
related to safety?
Site manager: No, I didn’t. I f you check in any curriculum in civil engineering or
architecture there are no safety-related courses. Everything that I know about safety, I
learned it here at the construction sites.
Interviewer: Did you attend safety trainings?
Project manager: I have tried to attend some trainings but I don’t have too much time
because I am the project manager and my responsibility is the overall project.
Sometimes the safety coordinator invites me b u t... for example, they set an 8-hour fall
protection training only fo r site and project managers. So, I went one day but I couldn’t
be there more than two hours and to this day, I haven’t finished that training. But we
have a high quality safety coordinator; he knows everything about safety and fall
protection, so I think that is more important than me attending a safety course.

204
Supervisor: I am the field supervisor here. I don’t want that people get injured on my
construction site. Thus I have to know about safety because i f I give an order and I don’t
know what hazards that task involves, and I don’t tell them [workers] about which PPE
to wear, they will think that I know nothing about safety and that I don’t care about them.
Inter-personal factors
Supportive social environment
Group pressure, especially on new and young workers, to rush or to expose
themselves to hazards was pointed out among both workers and supervisors. For instance,
lifting heavy loads without asking for help was identified as a behavior adopted in order
to avoid being ridiculed by co-workers or labeled as a weak worker by supervisors.
Workers also mentioned that calling out a co-worker on their unsafe attitudes was as an
intrusion on one another’s job and could lead into interpersonal conflicts. Workers
recognized, as a key point, that field supervisors and safety coordinators have to work in
collaboration because in some cases they can receive contradictory instructions regarding
how to follow safety procedures.
Worker: Sometimes you see some people working unsafe and you tell them “look man,
please anchor yourself. That’s why the company gave you a harness. ” And they respond
with swear words such as don 7 be nosy... it is none o f your business... and many other
words that because I respect you I cannot repeat.

205
Site manager: So, i t ’s very difficult to modify the construction workers ’ culture. You hear
a worker challenging his co-worker with something like “I bet you are not able to lift
that. ” And sometimes as a site manager I think, " if this worker can do that task why
cannot the other do it as well? ” I never think “this worker needs help, ” instead, I think
"... maybe he is not the right person for this work. ”
Interviewer: When you need to move heavy materials, do you ask fo r help or do you offer
help to other workers?
Worker: I f it is a new worker, I wait for a while; i f I see that he really tried but he
couldn 7 then I offer to help him. Because...you know... all these new workers -
sometimes they are younger than me but they don 7 want to push themselves. This is
construction and they think they are in an office. However, when I know that something
is certainly heavy I don 7 wait until he asks me fo r help, I immediately stop what I am
doing and I go to help my coworker.
Blaming workers fo r injuries
Some managers and supervisors considered work-related injuries at the
construction site to be due to worker distraction on the job. They stated that even though
workers receive detailed instructions to be attentive to workplace hazards, they easily
forget to do so. Although some workers admitted that they needed to pay more attention
to safety conditions while performing certain tasks, they thought that being blamed for
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injuries was not only unfair but also undermined their motivation to participate actively
in safety activities, to report unsafe conditions at the worksite or suggest controls.
Worker 1: I do think that training is very important in order to learn how to do things
safely and not get injured. What happens here it is that they [safety coordinators] come
and meet us all and they scold us. They tell us that we always do the wrong things and
that we do not care about safety. So then, you don’t want to ask fo r or say something, the
only thing you want is that the training meeting ends quickly and you can go back to
work.
Worker 2: When somebody gets injured, they [safety coordinators] investigate what
caused that injury. What happens is that they always fin d that the cause o f the injury was
that we [workers] did something wrong. They said that we are the ones who cause all o f
the injuries.
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Interviewer: I knew that you suffered an injury here in the worksite?
Site manager: Yes, I did. I was supervising the work progress and I stuck my foot in a
hole in the floor. I was out for a week.
Interviewer: Why do you think that happened?
Site manager: Because the hole was uncovered.
[At the end of this interview the topic of work-related injuries was taken up again.]
Interviewer: Construction workers have high work-related injury rates, why do you think
that happens?
Site manager: Because they do not pay attention. They don’t care about their own safety.
You can see them in the worksite walking distracted. And I know that the safety
coordinator is always talking with them about safety but everything seems to go in one
ear and out the other.
Organizational factors
Lack o f articulation between trade and safety training
Participants spoke about how construction workers typically learn the trade
through observation. Given that there are no specific educational requirements for being
a construction worker, most workers started in the field by doing non-specialized basic
tasks as laborers or helpers. Workers identified observation as the standard learning
approach and senior workers as their mentors. They also mentioned that while they
208
learned how to do the job in the field, safety procedures and practices were taught in the
class room by safety officers or external consultants. Safety training was sometimes
considered as broad and usually without connection to the tasks being performed, which
ultimately impeded its implementation once on the worksite.
Worker 1 :1 know that the winch helper had a severe injury. He suffered an
amputation o f one o f his fingers while he was working with the winch. He was not the
winch operator. He was the helper but he had seen many times how the main operator
ran the winch. One day while the main operator was having lunch, the helper started to
operate the winch. The thing is that the operator earns more so i f you learn fast you can
enhance your wage. The winch got stuck and the helper tried to unblock it and got his
hand on to the pulley and suddenly the pulley worked and trapped his fingers amputating
one. He was not authorized to operate that machine but he assumed he knew how to do it
because he had seen the operator many times.
Worker 2: You learn how to do a job looking at or working with senior workers.
Sometimes when one o f the seniors leaves the job or misses a day, the supervisor comes
to you and says “you have been working with so and so, do you want to try? ” O f course,
you want that! And you know that you have to be careful to have no injuries.
Training
Several comments reflected the importance that participants gave to proper
training. Workers valued good training. In particular, fall protection training was
deemed helpful to enhance safety in their daily tasks. However, some participants felt
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that training was often conducted only in order to demonstrate compliance with
management safety system (i.e. OHSA 18000) requirements. These workers mentioned
that sometimes, especially for the safety staff, it was very important to get a signature in
the training logs while none or little attention was given to ensuring appropriate and
effective training that they [workers] could apply when they went back to work.
Supervisor: In this construction site, every morning, they [safety coordinators] bring all
the workers together in the yard. Right now we have 160 workers, and they are put all
together. I see them from here [supervisor’s office] and some o f them are talking, and
others even cannot hear him. Do you think that actually that is useful fo r workers to
improve their safety? They can train workers in small groups o f about five in the course
o f the day. That would be more useful and it doesn't affect the work progress.
Worker: I know how to read and write but I couldn ’t take the fa ll protection training test.
I didn’t have enough time to respond to all the questions. All o f us who took the test
failed it. I was afraid to ask fo r an oral evaluation. Then we came to the construction site
and talked with the site manager. She hired a fall protection trainer and he came here to
the worksite and trained us very well but outside on the concrete slab. After that we went
to the training center and all o f us passed the test.

21 0
Site manager: I sent twelve workers to take the fall protection training. Two o f them
failed it. They did not pass the written test. They could barely read and write. I did not
want them to feel like they were wasting their time because they spent two days and they
did not pass it. So, I hired a safety instructor to help them prepare fo r the test and when
they went the next time they asked for an oral examination. They passed it and received
the certification.
Supervisor: I think that these daily talks are not very important because everybody here
is taking care o f safety, the engineer [site manager] and the contractors.
Contractors ’ safety performance measures
Participants reported that companies often did not have specific indicators to
measure contractor compliance with safety rules. Contractors’ performance measures
were mainly oriented to evaluate their performance in terms of job quality and ability to
meet deadlines rather than safety outcomes. Although participants indicated that monthly
meetings were conducted to follow up on injury records, in general, reporting high injury
rates did not represent a situation where the contractors’ continuation in the worksite
should be evaluated.
Several managers spoke about the usefulness of lean construction, a
management approach adapted from lean management to follow contractors’ work
performance. Although, by definition, lean construction has been oriented to reduce

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losses due to delays and quality issues, a component related to safety was included in
some construction sites. This safety component was included to measure housekeeping
at contractor-specific job areas. However, some participants criticized the effectiveness of
this indicator, given that important safety outcomes such as injury rates were not
considered.
Site supervisor; I have never heard about ending a contractor’s job contract because o f
[poor] safety. When a contractor doesn 't meet safety requirements and i f he is a good
contractor, we talk with him and with the safety officer to look fo r way to help him to
comply with safety. To be honest, when a contractor’s contract is cancelled it is because
he didn't reach the work progress expected.
Interviewer; Have you ever fired any contractor or subcontractor because o f his safety
performance?
Safety officer: Some o f them have gotten verbal warnings.
Interviewer: Is there any cost fo r contractors?
Safety officer: In some way, because we remove the worker that broke the safety rules;
that affects contractor’s deadlines, that is a kind offinancial fine because they have to
hire another one or pay overtime to reach the deadlines on time. But we have never had
to fire a contractor because o f safety.

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Contractors ’ hiring practices
Participants mentioned the informal hiring process that is typically conducted
by contractors in the construction industry. They stressed the common idea that nothing
more than strength was required to become a construction worker. According to
participants, every Monday several unemployed workers would wait outside of the
construction site boundaries in order to talk with contractors about being hired. No
formal hiring practices were considered by contractors. This also brings job insecurity
for current workers who could easily be replaced.
Interviewer: How do you select workers fo r your crew?
Contractor: Usually, every Monday morning you can fin d a bunch o f workers at the
construction site main door. Usually, they are workers coming from other construction
sites and they come because the job is running out there or because they had an issue
with somebody and they come here because this is a new construction site and they know
they can be hired.
When I arrive, I look at them and talk to them. After that I know who is apt to work here.
I verbally arrange the price o f the job and i f he accepts, I talk with the safety officer to
make all the paperwork to enroll him in social security [workers compensation and
health system].
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Safety responsibilities
Several comments reflected how safety responsibilities, both operative and
administrative, are mainly leaded by safety coordinators and in some cases by workers
with occasional support from site managers and site supervisors. Contractors mentioned
that they were only responsible for providing safety personnel when explicitly required
by the general contractor. They also described cases where they assigned safety
responsibilities to workers without safety knowledge or experience, and sometimes to
those whom they considered too weak to perform construction tasks. Safety coordinators
have to distribute their time between time-consuming administrative tasks such as
checking contractors’ social security payments and conducting on-site safety tasks
focused on hazard identification and control. Although site managers have direct control
over contractors, their responsibilities rarely involve researching or following
contractors’ safety performance. Even though site managers recognized their
responsibility for everything happening in the construction sites, they stated that they
were mostly focused on the construction process with limited interaction with safety
coordinators.
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Interviewer: Do you have a safety officer in your crew?
Formwork contractor: Yeah, although not exactly. Since I am the largest contractor here,
the general contractor requests that I assign one o f my workers who will be responsible
fo r checking the safety o f my other workers. So, I have one worker who works twice per
week with the GC Safety coordinator. They go together, up and down doing safety
inspections. He also has to check that the crew members are correctly anchored and
wearing harnesses.
Interviewer: How did you select this “safety officer”?
Formwork contractor: You know that we work at heights and these workers earn good
wages. I f you do safety activities, I will pay you less because you are not exposed to this
high risk. So they do n ’t want to leave their job just for going around walking with the
safety coordinator. You know that construction is not for everybody. You have to be a
hard worker. So, I looked at all o f my workers and sought the feeblest and I chose that
person.
Interviewer: Who trains him to conduct safety activities?
Formwork contractor: I don’t know. I guess it was the safety coordinator but you don't
really need to know too much to do safety checks.

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Risk perception
Participants’ comments reinforced the general perception that the construction
industry is only for strong and tough men. Respondents in all three groups, also
described cases where working conditions make it difficult to comply with safety
standards. Participants recognized the construction site as a place with multiple hazards.
Although participants identified the potential danger of fall hazards, ergonomic risk
factors such as award postures or lifting heavy loads were not necessary identified as
dangerous situations. For example, lifting more than 50 kilograms was considered a
proper load for a construction worker. In most cases, implementing practices such as
working in pairs to lift heavy loads was considered unnecessary by site managers and
field supervisors.
Worker: A form piece weighs about 25 kg; it is designed to be held by one person. That
does not work fo r two people because it is awkward and very difficult due to these limited
spaces. I f you grab a big formwork, it gets easier to manipulate it only by yourself. That
task is not fo r two people. It has always been done in that way.
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Interviewer: Why do you think workers lift or move loads without help?
Safety officer: First, we need to change site managers' minds, then supervisors ’ minds.
Because they are who push workers. It is right there where we must start the change.
You know... workers... they do everything under their capacities and even beyond their
limits. So, we need to change managers ’ minds because they have to think more about
workers.
Workers: Sometimes you are moving very heavy loads with a lot o f effort and the
engineer [site manager] passes nearby you and instead o f asking other worker to help
you, he cheers you on "go, go, you can do it. ”
Interviewer: Do workers work in pairs to move heavy materials?
Site manager : No. You know that this is the construction industry. This is for strong men.
I never put two workers to do a job that only one worker should do. I don 7 know how
much a worker should lift but I have been in the construction sector fo r 20 years and I
know from my experience that if you are not able to lift at least your own [body] weight
you are not good fo r this job.

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Safety sta ff authority and pow er
Participants in the three groups described the role of the safety staff as critical
in achieving safer construction sites. Safety coordinators were considered professionals
with enough knowledge and background to manage construction site safety. Most of the
site managers stated that in case of conflicts between safety and production, safety
aspects prevailed over production goals and even that safety coordinators had the
authority to stop tasks temporarily until safety requirements were met. Although field
supervisors recognized the authority of safety staff, they did not consider that safety
personnel had enough power to stop unsafe activities without direct authorization from
field supervisors.
Safety personnel who exhibited strong attitudes towards preserving workplace
safety, such as continuously demanding that contractors meet safety practices or those
who did not issue writing work permits until all of the requirements were met, were
defined as personnel with difficulties in understanding the complexity and priorities
demanded by the construction process and lacking in flexibility. A project manager
complained about safety personnel attitudes as adding barriers to perform tasks while not
offering potential solutions very often. Most of the participants considered that safety is
externally imposed more than an integral part of the construction process.

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Interviewer : Could you please draw this construction site organizational chart?
Site manager: Sure. [He drew it without the safety coordinator]
Interviewer: Where should the safety coordinator be in this chart?
Site manager: Ohhh, you are right. But...you know ...Ididn’t include him because...I
know that I am the manager here and sometimes he reports to me but I am not really his
supervisor. He has a supervisor in the main office who is the HSE Manager. But... here
in the worksite... Now, I guess I should be more in contact with him... You are right I
didn't include him but I should do it...
Interviewer: Could you please draw this construction site organizational chart?
Safety coordinator: [He drew it but he did not include himself on it]
Interviewer: Where should you be in this chart?
Safety coordinator: Ahh... I am in the construction site... but... I report to the HSE
manager who is not here at the worksite...I have to report to the site manager as
well... but... when you asked me to draw the construction site organizational chart, I
thought it was only fo r the construction process.

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Site manager: All o f the safety coordinators in this company have a monthly 2-hour
meeting. I know that they talk about the injuries that happened. Since the company has
the same contractors in each construction site, they talk about contractors ’ safety
performance. Not about all o f them. Only about those who had safety issues. I f he is not
in compliance with safety requirements in other worksites, the HSE manager informs me
and I talk with him.
Interviewer: Can this contractor be fired?
Site manager: No. In this company we want to have few contractors and to do that we
have to guarantee them that they will have enough work with us. Then, a contractor
works in all construction sites from this company, not only at one. Usually, the
contractor fires the worker who committed the safety issue and hires a new one. There is
not a contractor getting fired.
Interviewer: Do you share results from accident investigation?
SC: No. We do our own investigations but we don ’I share results with other safety
coordinators. Sometimes, I know what happened in other worksites because I talked with
other safety coordinators but that is not official.

2 20
Safety budget and cost-benefit relationship
Site and project managers were asked about the basis behind the budget
allocated to safety activities. Some of them expressed that there were some standards to
estimate percentage of budget needed to fulfill project safety requirements based on the
type and size of the project. They also reported that the budget was spent mainly on
personal protective equipment such as safety glasses, respirators and gloves. When
questions were raised regarding budget for reducing hazards through engineering
controls, such as guardrails, site and project managers agreed that it was not necessary to
specify a budget for that because their policy was that everything needed to improve
safety should be purchased, no matter the costs. In that case, it is possible to use the
contingency budget from the project site budget. However they did not have a clear
estimation o f the actual amount required to implement engineering controls in their
current construction sites. In turn, field supervisors reported that project budget to
procure safety items or hire safety staff was only included in the budget when it was
demanded in the contract.

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Interviewer: Do you have a budget to implement fa ll prevention barriers?
Safety officer: No, I don't have a budget but I work in collaboration with the field
supervisor. I know when and where they will remove planks. I check the area and I
know how many wood strips I will need to make a good and safe guardrail. I estimate
budget and time and I talk with the supervisor so he includes all the materials that I need
in his suppliers and he gives one or two workers fo r one day to make up and install all
the protections.
Interviewer: During my walkthrough, I saw that you install wire mesh in the internal hole
such the elevator pit but only every other story.
Safety officer: Yes, we do. I know that the legislation indicates that we must cover holes
in every story but that is expensive so we decided with the site manager that we will
install the mesh every other story. I f a worker falls, he only wouldfall one story and he
would suffer only minor injuries.
Site manager: What happens here is that when you plan the construction site activities
you do it based on the shortest time so you have to think about the fastest workers. You
have to plan based on the faster one not on the slower one. So, you always think about
the best worker you have and expect that the slower one will increase his productivity.
But certainly, I think that is the rule in any construction worksite.

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Others
Housekeeping
Participants uniformly identified proper housekeeping as an important practice
enhancing safety at the construction sites. They emphasized the importance of neatness to
prevent injuries in the construction sites. Examples of workers who suffered fall-related
fatal injuries after tripping over debris bunches were discussed during the interviews. In
most of the construction sites, housekeeping was identified as a critical element and the
primary responsibility of contractors and subcontractors, who can put pressure on
workers to keep a tidy work area. Linking contractor’s work payment to not only to the
quality of the job but also to neatness was a successful practice mentioned by field
supervisors that promoted daily clean-up. For instance, when the work area was in
disarray at the time o f accepting contractor’s job, a fine was imposed on the contractor.
The amount of this fine was used to pay an additional helper who cleaned up the work
area.
Lack o f management learning
Site managers and field supervisors reported having little to no contact
discussing safety issues with their counterparts from other construction sites owned by
the same company. For instance, accident investigation reports, even those investigating
fatalities, were rarely shared with other construction sites. Participants also stated that
when a construction site wrapped up, no “safety lessons learned” were discussed for
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existing or new sites. Most of that information was collected by the safety coordinator
but very often was lost due to the high mobility of safety coordinators.
Societal Level
Recent legislation sanctioned by the Colombian government, which stated
construction companies’ obligations to identify and control fall-related hazards at the
worksite, was considered by all participants as a positive step to improve construction
safety. Many workers expressed that since the law had been promulgated, they had
received specific training as well as proper personal fall protection equipment. They
considered this kind of law effective in protecting workers’ health and safety. Field
supervisors from contractors considered the current fall protection legislation an
economic burden for their business due mainly to construction workers’ mobility. From
the managers’ perspective, this legislation impacted project variables since costs
associated with purchasing fall protection equipment and workers training had to now be
included in the project budget. Others considered that although purchasing personal fall
arrest system (PFAS) and other fall safety equipment had a high initial cost, it was easily
amortized over the project lifetime and in fact represented a very small percentage in
relation to the construction project’s total cost.
No other issues were raised by any participant about the larger cultural or
national context of workplace safety or the construction industry.

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DISCUSSION
This study examined the perceptions of 53 Colombian construction workers,
field supervisors, and site managers about workplace safety. Using the socio-ecological
model as a framework, qualitative analysis of the interviews identified factors which may
compete with safety at numerous levels.
At the individual level, the perception that minor injuries were a normal part
of the construction job emerged during interviews but was not tacitly manifested by
workers. Site managers’ and field supervisors’ lack of safety leadership was also
discussed by workers as an obstacle to promote safety at the construction sites. Although
managers were not inclined to view their own lack of commitment with safety as a reason
for poor safety conditions, they identified the need for greater involvement in supporting
worksite safety personnel and promoting safety activities. The challenges of providing
and accepting respectful feedback from co-workers were reported by workers as barriers
to improve inter-personal social support for safety.
A significant number of factors reported by participants were clustered under
the organizational level. Although generalizability of these qualitative data can be
limited, these results are consistent with findings of other investigations which concluded
that the primary responsibility for safety laid on the organization. While several
participants in all groups valued good training as a practice to enhance workers’ safety
skills, the training approaches implemented were criticized because they did not account
for workers’ specific needs, educational levels, or production goals. Informal cost-
benefit analysis assessment was identified as a common practice which sometimes

225
hindered the implementation of safety controls. Similarly, safety coordinators were
identified as people with important safety backgrounds but without sufficient authority to
actually reinforce safety rules at the construction sites.
At the societal level, recently issued legislation stipulating fall prevention and
the inclusion o f independent workers in the workers compensation system was
highlighted as a new opportunity to make construction sites safer. It could be that
respondents thought of this law primarily because it was a recent change. Other aspects
of the national and cultural situation, even if very different from those in other countries,
might be so taken for granted that they would not be consciously noticed.
There are both strengths and limitations to the qualitative data collected in this
study., These data only represent the views of construction personnel from one specific
country and therefore may not be generalizable to countries with more developed safety
culture. Workers were randomly invited to participate; however, only one worker was
interviewed at each construction site and therefore their views may be not representative
of the full spectrum of workers’ perspectives in those sites. The scope of the questions
asked which were oriented more to individual and organizational level without force the
discussion to macro-level such as the role of the governmental institutions, the workers’
compensations companies, and the community.
Strengths of this study include that participating construction companies were
stratified by injury rate category (low / medium / high), which may achieve a sample with
a range of experiences and perspectives common to the construction industry, rather than
only those with particularly good or weak safety performance. Secondly, data were
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collected from 53 individual participants from different hierarchical groups, giving an
opportunity to capture a variety of perspectives of construction safety.
Some of the study findings are consistent with points already made by previous
investigators (Marucci-Wellman, 2008; Moore, Cigularov, Sampson, Rosecrance, &
Chen, 2013). For example, accepting a certain level of injuries is not exclusive to the
construction industry The non-injury concept can be identified in other sectors; for
instance, finger cuts and small bums might be also considered as normal injuries for
kitchen workers or in particular . In different industries, certain types of injuries may be
assumed as part of the job because they happen frequently to most of the workers and are
of low severity (Curtis Breslin, Polzerb, MacEachen, Morrongiello, & Shannona, 2007).
Reasons for these perceptions may range from cultural aspects of the construction
industry such as machismo, passing by organizational aspects such as barriers to
reporting or the lack o f diffusion of reporting procedures, until reaching individual
factors such as fear of retaliatory actions by supervisors and managers (Moore et al.,
2013; Roelofs et al., 2011).
It is important to note that if minor injuries are not reported, the underlying
causes may not be investigated and therefore remain uncontrolled. Rather than “normal,”
these recurrent minor injuries may provide evidence of systematic failures by individuals
or in a set of features at the construction site: for example, worksite layouts that do not
change to respond to the evolving work environment of the construction site, exposing
workers to additional hazards during their daily walks; lack of maintenance programs for
small tools; or failures in the housekeeping program. The implementation of controls to

227
minimize minor injuries may also avoid that these undesired events might occasionally
scaled to much more severe injuries that could have been prevented with more energetic
reporting and investigation.
Despite severe and fatal injuries being investigated systematically, similar
types of injuries repeatedly happen in every construction site. Very often, accident
investigations focus mainly on the presumed unsafe acts of the worker rather than
inquiring into potential contributing factors such existing uncontrolled hazards, failures in
safety control barriers, or gaps into the safety management (Lundberg, Rollenhagen, &
Hollnagel, 2009). The results of investigations based on such inadequate approaches may
be pre-determined to include findings that the victim was at fault or that the incident was
just an unfortunate situation that could not be helped. One way to reduce the likelihood of
similar injuries occurring at the same construction site could be to discuss “lessons
learned” from injuries that may have occurred at other sites run by the same company.
Power and authority are highly hierarchical in construction. Although the role
of the safety and health coordinator is essential on the construction site, his/her authority
to execute safety procedures is limited. In the organizational hierarchy, safety coordinator
positions have low authority and limited power. Safety and health staff are perceived as
detached from the construction process (“production”). This is the case even though
company policies state that safety managers or safety coordinators have the right to take
disciplinary actions in response to a perceived safety violation. In practice, unsafe actions
from employees, contractors or subcontractors have to be reported to the field supervisor
or to the site managers who evaluate appropriate disciplinary actions for the worker(s),
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subcontractor, or contractor. Disciplinary actions are made based on how this could
affect the project’s deadlines and budget. For instance, similar safety violations can
receive different consequences - from a verbal warning to a fine - whether it comes from
a contractor who is perceived as essential or not.
The budget is a construction site priority that constantly competes with safety
(Lopez-Alonso, Ibarrondo-Davila, Rubio-Gamez, & Garcia, 2013). Investment on
controls based solely on monetary criteria may interfere with the quality and
effectiveness o f those controls (Feng, 2013; Loosemore & Andonakis, 2007). Further,
inadequate controls mainly oriented to fulfill the administrative requirements of safety
standards may create a false sense of safety among workers and even managers, thus
increasing workers’ exposure to hazardous conditions.
The construction industry presents important challenges to provide safer
workplaces to workers. Barriers but also motivations can be identified at different
organizational level. In light of selecting safety interventions, these organizational levels
should be both targeted and involved. Qualitative data provided the opportunity for richer
exploration of the priorities and the challenges faced at the constructions. Safety
legislation enforced by the governmental offices and promoted by other key stakeholders
such as insurance companies may contribute to awareness construction companies
regarding the need of implementing effective safety measures.

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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS
The construction industry is a complex environment with several challenges to
improve its poor safety record. Because a construction site is a constantly changing
environment with multiple hazards, timely identification of safety deviations could
contribute to the implementation of effective safety interventions. Thus, the need for
indicators to measure how well safety is managed in this dangerous industry is essential.
In the last few years, safety climate has emerged as a construct associated with safe
behavior and therefore potentially useful to avoid undesirable safety outcomes. It is also
suggested that safety climate is able to differentiate between companies with good or
poor safety performance. However, some potential ambiguities in the construct and how
it is measured lead to challenges in interpretation. We proposed a new empirical model
that seeks to resolve some of these ambiguities.
Previous research has reported an association between safety climate and injury
rates. In this study, injury data from a worker’s compensation insurance company was
used to examine this association. No association between workers’ safety climate scores
and reported injuries was identified. However, there was a trend that construction sites
where workers and managers agreed on their safety climate scores presented lower injury
rates. Further research should expand the number of companies to explore this analysis.
230
Given that safety climate is designed to measure the priority given to safety over
other organizational variables, it has been mainly addressed to identify differences in
perceptions of safety between work-groups, without examining organizational causes of
the perceived place given to safety. Often safe behavior may conflict with other
organizational priorities such as production goals, ease of carrying out work tasks, time
and other costs. Impediments to work safely in the construction sector may be more
associated with upstream causes than workers’ desires.
Several studies have focused on validating scales of safety climate and designing
diagnostic tools for either general industry or a particular industry, but few have tackled
potential predictors of safety climate. It is suggested that workers form their perceptions
of safety climate on the basis of manager-worker interactions. So far, limited research
has been focused on examining the influence of the work environment in workers’
perceptions of the importance given to safety by top management.
Unlike the theoretical safety climate framework which emphasizes safety climate
as a predictor of workers’ safe behavior and injuries, this study proposed an empirical
model focused on antecedents of safety climate. This model was proposed in order to
examine potential associations of safety climate with the construction work environment
that could positively or negatively influence workers’ perceptions of safety priorities.
This study focused on assessing differences in perceptions of safety climate
across personnel in the construction industry, as well as investigating potential
associations between safety climate, safety management practices and hazards at the
construction site.
231
As expected, this study showed that construction workers, field supervisors and
managers differed in their perceptions of safety priorities, probably in part because of
their differences in roles and responsibilities across the organization. This study also
benchmarked Colombian construction workers’ scores with data on Nordic construction
workers, surveyed using the same safety climate instrument. Colombian construction
workers scored lower than their Nordic counterparts, which might be explained by
cultural and safety regulation differences.
Assessing perceptions of safety climate at several organizational levels adds new
perspectives to understand the gaps in safety performance at the construction sites. It
might also help to design specific safety interventions to fit different groups as well as to
engage construction personnel with authority to promote real and sustainable changes in
the work environment. Instead of blaming workers for injuries and addressing only
immediate causes, a broad perspective may help to disclose underlying contributory
factors that promote workers’ unsafe attitudes.
Fall hazards and manual material handling risk factors at the worksites were
assessed through walkthrough observations and analyzed using both quantitative and
qualitative approaches. The construction industry is a complex sector, which was
reflected in the challenges encountered in measuring the presence of these hazards and
their controls. The data collected for fall hazards supported the assumption that workers
at construction sites with higher levels of non-controlled hazards score lower in safety
climate. However, the findings for manual material handling were inconclusive.
232
This study provided partial support for the empirical model proposed. Although
workers’ safety climate scores were independent of an overall measure of safety
management practices implemented at the construction site, an association between
observed hazards and safety climate was identified. However, since this was a cross-
sectional study, the role of observed hazards as a predictor of safety climate cannot be
confirmed. .
Observed hazards at the worksite were associated only with workers’ safety
perceptions. These findings may provide support to the safety climate literature, which
usually focuses on employees’ perceptions of safety rather than managers’ perceptions.
However, assessing and integrating top management’ perceptions into the company
safety climate profile can contribute to understanding priorities of those who state
policies and procedures, and have the authority to enforce changes in the work place.
The construction sites present multitude of hazards and better and accurate
methods for characterizing them on-site are required. This study investigated a
qualitative and a quantitatively approach independently. A hazard exposure assessment
approach using mixed methods might be a better way to reflect the reality at the
construction site. The potential causes of the independence between working conditions
and managers’ perceptions of safety climate deserve attention. Additionally, more data
needs to be collected to better understand the potential relationship between worker-
manager’ perceptions of safety climate agreement and company’s injury rate.
Further research should be done to refine the empirical model proposed in this
study and to investigate other potential associations between work environment variables
233
and perceptions of safety climate among construction workers and other construction
staff. For instance, this study found an association between the presence of non
controlled hazards and workers’ perception of safety climate. This finding could be
added to the empirical model to examine the impact of the type of hazard controls in
workers’ perceptions of safety.

234
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APPENDIX 1
3-year injury rate calculations for sample selection

247
Potential participating companies: 87 construction companies
Injury rate (injury per 100 workers) = (Total injuries in accounting period! x 100
Injury rate 2012 = (Total injuries in 2012) X 100

(Total workers in 2012)
3-year Injury rate = (Injuries in 2010 + Injuries in 2011 + Injuries in 2012) x 100
(Workers in 2010 + Workers in 2010 + Workers in 2010)
Injury rate Colombia construction sector* 2010 : 7.7 injuries per 100 workers
Injury rate Colombia construction sector *2011 : 8.8 injuries per 100 workers
Injury rate Colombia construction sector *2012 : 9.0 injuries per 100 workers
Injury rate Colombia construction sector 2010-2011-2012 : 8.6 injuries per 100 workers
* Source: Federacion de Aseguradores Colombianos Fasecolda. www.fasecolda.com

248
om pany Group 3-year 2010- Group

3-year injury rate injury rate 2012
No. 2012 2012
1 0 .0 0 Low 0 .0 0 Low
2 1 .4 1 Low 1 .4 1 Low
3 6 7 .7 8 High 6 7 .7 8 High
4 1 9 .0 9 H igh 1 9 .0 9 H igh
5 3 0 .3 0 H igh 3 0 .3 0 High
6 0 .8 8 Low 0 .8 8 Low
7 0 .0 0 Low 0 .0 0 Low
8 2 .6 8 Low 7 .8 6 Low
9 7 6 .4 4 High 7 6 .4 4 High
10 2 2 .7 4 High 2 2 .7 4 High
11 7 .8 6 Low 7 .8 6 Low
12 2 2 .9 3 High 4 1 .2 8 High
13 1 5 .9 1 M e d iu m 1 5 .9 1 M e d iu m
14 0 .9 6 Low 0 .9 6 Low
15 1 3 .5 8 M e d iu m 1 3 .5 8 M e d iu m
16 7 .9 2 Low 1 1 .8 9 M e d iu m
17 6 .5 5 Low 8 .5 5 Low
18 1 9 .4 6 High 2 5 .7 1 High
19 2 3 .1 5 H igh 2 3 .1 5 High
20 3 .0 1 Low 5 .9 6 Low
21 0 .4 1 Low 0 .4 1 Low
22 2 4 .8 6 High 2 4 .8 6 High
23 8 .6 3 M e d iu m 8 .6 3 Low
24 2 .3 7 Low 2 .3 7 Low
25 0 .0 0 Low 0 .0 0 Low
26 0 .0 0 Low 0 .0 0 Low
27 0 .0 0 Low 0 .0 0 Low
28 0 .0 0 Low 0 .0 0 Low
29 1 2 .2 8 M e d iu m 1 2 .2 8 M e d iu m
30 0 .5 0 Low 0 .5 0 Low
31 1 .4 6 Low 2 .1 5 Low
32 2 .1 6 Low 2 .1 4 Low
33 1 .2 6 Low 0 .0 0 Low
34 4 .2 3 Low 6 .3 8 Low
35 2 .7 9 Low 3 .0 0 Low
36 2 .5 8 Low 1 .9 6 Low
37 6 .3 1 Low 1 3 .4 0 M e d iu m
38 5 .2 2 Low 4 .7 9 Low
39 6 .8 8 Low 7 .6 6 Low
249
Company Group 3-year 2010- Group

3-year injury rate Injury rate 2012
No. 2012 2012
40 6.63 Low 7.00 Low

41 7.86 Low 10.19 Medium
42 5.33 Low 2.75 Low
43 5.27 Low 2.34 Low
44 30.62 High 47.93 High
45 16.34 Medium 24.10 High
46 8.19 Low 6.47 Low
47 6.63 Low 3.13 Low
48 10.97 Medium 20.12 High
49 9.87 Medium 9.86 Medium
50 9.09 Medium 7.45 Low
51 10.23 Medium 8.95 Low
52 6.08 Low 3.89 Low
53 23.63 High 41.56 High
54 9.92 Medium 0.19 Low
55 9.49 Medium 2.23 Low
56 41.23 High 96.86 High
57 8.43 Low 1.82 Low
58 26.46 High 46.81 High
60 12.09 Medium 4.95 Low
61 10.63 Medium 5.81 Low
62 10.82 Medium 1.10 Low
63 56.76 High 118.47 High
65 10.02 Medium 0.00 Low
66 31.50 High 44.02 High
68 26.04 High 31.27 High
69 10.59 Medium 3.50 Low
70 24.55 High 31.98 High
71 38.36 High 68.27 High
72 24.43 High 29.15 High
73 36.97 High 49.83 High
74 18.70 High 15.47 Medium
75 8.03 Low 4.87 Low
76 28.18 High 37.15 High
77 17.10 High 12.36 Medium
250
Company _ . . ^ Group 3-year 2010- . . Group

3-year injury rate Injury rate 2012
No. 2012 1 1 2012
78 9.27 Medium 2.84 Low
79 22.31 High 13.74 Medium
80 32.08 High 32.25 High
81 47.09 High 60.36 High
82 34.24 High 24.64 High
83 23.90 High 1.97 Low
84 46.93 High 31.51 High
85 20.46 High 18.65 High
86 35.25 High 2.59 Low
87 73.49 High 26.19 High
251
Comparison 3-year injuiy rate and 2012 injury rate
120
110
100
90
No. injuries per 100 worker s in 2012
80
70
60
50
40
30 ♦♦
20
10.
CL
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Colombian construction sector Injury rate (injuries per

100 workers)
C ut-off p o in t 2012 in jury ra te (8.5)
No. injuries per 100 workers in the period 2010 -2012
C ut-off p o in ttw ic e 2012 injury ra te (17.0)
“ “ ““ “ C ut-off p o in t 2010-2012 injury r a te (9.0)
C ut-off p o in ttw ic e 2010-2012 in jury r a te (18.0)
252
Comparison 3-year injury rate and 2012 injury rate (detailed)
♦
♦ ♦
♦
♦♦
No. injuries per 100 worker s in 2012
♦ ♦
♦
♦
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
* ..."4
►
♦♦♦
♦ ♦
♦ ♦
♦
♦
♦
♦ ♦ ♦
♦ ♦
♦ A ♦ ♦ ♦
♦ ♦
♦
l --- i *...........................
O 10 20 30 40
Cobmbbn constructbn sector injury rate (injuries per

Low Medium High
100 workers)
C u t-o ff p o i n t 2 0 1 2 in ju r y r a t e (8.5)
No. injuries per 100 workers in the period 2010 -2012 C u t-o ff p o i n t tw ic e 2 0 1 2 in ju r y r a t e (1 7 .0 )
C u t-o ff p o i n t 2 0 1 0 -2 0 1 2 in ju r y r a t e (9.0)
C u t-o ff p o i n t tw ic e 2 0 1 0 -2 0 1 2 in ju r y r a t e (18.0)
253
Stratified sample selection
3-years vs. 2012 Proposed Sample Invited

No. companies % Final Sample
injury rate (n=30) companies
Low-Low 32 37% 11 8
18
Low-Medium 3 3% 1 1
Medium-High 2 2% 1 1
12
Medium-Low 11 13% 4 4
Medium-Medium 7 8% 2 2
High-High 27 31% 9 9
14
High-Low 2 2% 1 1
High-Medium 3 3% 1 1
Grand Total 87 30 44 27
254
APPENDIX 2
Potential participants’ companies’ invitation letter

255
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256
APPENDIX 3
Daily log form used to randomly select potential participants

K ^ v * .,» , * W - .«, L.'*V » ' ..<■ • ■,
258
APPENDIX 4
NOSACQ-50 Safety Climate Questionnaire
English version
NOSACQ-50-
English
N o rd ic o c c u p a tio n a l s a f e ty c lim a te
q u e s tio n n a ire
The purpose of this questionnaire is to get your view on safety at this workplace. Your
answers will be processed on a computer and will be dealt with confidentially. No
individual results will be presented in any way. Although we want you to answer each and
every question, you have the right to refrain from answering any one particular question, a
group of questions, or the entire questionnaire.
I have read the above introduction to the questionnaire and agree to n y

complete the questionnaire under the stated conditions______________________
The questionnaire is developed by a Nordic working group of work environment specialists

with financial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers
Page 1/8
Examples of how to register your answers
disagree agree
Put only one X for each question
I Management encourages employees
□ □ 0 □
here to work in accordance with safety Correctly
rules - even when the work schedule is m arked
tight
ii We who work here break safety rules in

order to complete work on time ■ □ □ e r c
If you put an X in a wrong box, fill
in the whole box and put a new X
in the correct box
B a c k g ro u n d in fo r m a tio n
A Y ear o f birth? 19 |____ |____|
B A re y o u CH M ale d l F em ale
C D o you h ave a m anagerial p o sitio n , e.g . m anager, j- i r -i Y eg ^ h?

supervisor?
Page 2/8
In the following section please describe how you perceive that the managers
and supervisors at this workplace deal with safety. Although some questions may
appear very similar, please answer each one of them.

disagree agree
1. Management encourages employees here
to work in accordance with safety rules -
□ □ □ □
even when the work schedule is tight
2. Management ensures that everyone

receives the necessary information on □ □ □ □
safety
3. Management looks the other way when

someone is careless with safety □ □ □ □
4. Management places safety before

production □ □ □ □
5. Management accepts employees here

taking risks when the work schedule is
□ □ □ □
tight
6. We who work here have confidence in the

management's ability to deal with safety □ □ □ □
7. Management ensures that safety problems

discovered during safety
rounds/evaluations are corrected □ □ □ □
immediately
8. When a risk is detected, management

ignores it without action □ □ □ □
9. Management lacks the ability to deal with

safety properly □ □ □ □
Page 3/8
Although some questions may appear very similar, please answer each one of them
S tr o n g ly D is a g re e A g re e S tro n g ly
d i s a g r e e __________________________________a g r e e
10. Management strives to design safety
routines that are meaningful and actually
work
□ □ □ □
11. Management makes sure that everyone
can influence safety in their work
environment
□ □ □ □
12. Management encourages employees
here to participate in decisions which
affect their safety
□ □ □ □
13. Management never considers employees'
suggestions regarding safety d □ □ □
14. Management strives for everybody at the
worksite to have high competence Q
□ □ □
concerning safety and risks
15. Management never asks employees for

their opinions before making decisions
regarding safety
q
□ □ □
16. Management involves employees in
decisions regarding safety □ □ □ □
17. Management collects accurate
information in accident investigations □ □ □ □
18. Fear of sanctions (negative

consequences) from management
discourages employees here from □ □ □ □
reporting near-miss accidents
19. Management listens carefully to all who

have been involved in an accident □ □ □ □
Page 4/8
S tro n g ly D is a g r e e A g re e S tro n g ly
d is a g re e a g re e
20. Management looks for causes, not guilty
persons, when an accident occurs □ □ □ □
21. Management always blames employees

for accidents □ □ □ □
22. Management treats employees involved

in an accident fairly □ □ □ □
In the following section please describe how you perceive that employees at this
workplace deal with safety
23. W e who work here try hard together to

achieve a high level of safety CD CD CD CD
24. W e who work here take joint

responsibility to ensure that the □ CD CD CD
workplace is always kept tidy
25. We who work here do not care about

each others' safety CD CD CD CD
26. W e who work here avoid tackling risks

that are discovered □ □ □ □
27. We who work here help each other to

work safely CD CD CD CD
28. W e who work here take no responsibility

for each others' safety CD CD LJ LD
Page 5/8
S tr o n g ly D is a g r e e A g re e S tro n g ly
d is a g re e ag ree
29. W e who work here regard risks as
unavoidable □ □ □ □
30. W e who work here consider minor

accidents to be a normal part of our daily □ □ □ □
work
31. W e who work here accept dangerous

behaviour as long as there are no
□ □ □ □
accidents
32. W e who work here break safety rules in

order to complete work on time □ □ □ □
33. W e who work here never accept risk-

taking even if the work schedule is tight □ □ □ □
34. W e who work here consider that our work

□ □ 0 □
is unsuitable for cowards
35. W e who work here accept risk-taking at

□ □ □ □
work
36. W e who work here try to find a solution if

□ □ □ □
someone points out a safety problem
37. W e who work here feel safe when

□ □ □ □
working together
38. W e who work here have great trust in

each others' ability to ensure safety □ □ □ □
Page 6/8
S tro n g ly D is a g r e e A g re e S tro n g ly
d is a g re e ag ree
39. W e who work here learn from our
experiences to prevent accidents □ □ □ □
40. We who work here take each others'

opinions and suggestions concerning □ □ □ □
safety seriously
41. We who work here seldom talk about

safety □ □ □ □
42. W e who work here always discuss safety

issues when such issues come up □ □ □ □
43. We who work here can talk freely and

openly about safety □ □ □ □
44. We who work here consider that a good

safety representative plays an important □ □ □ □
role in preventing accidents
45. We who work here consider that safety

rounds/evaluations have no effect on
□ □ □ □
safety
46. W e who work here consider that safety

training to be good for preventing
□ □ □ □
accidents
47. We who work here consider early planning

□ □ □ □
for safety as meaningless
48. We who work here consider that safety

□ □ □ □
rounds/evaluations help find serious
hazards
49. We who work here consider safety training

□ □ □ □
to be meaningless
50. W e who work here consider it important to

have clear-cut goals for safety □ □ □ □
Page 7/8
If you wish to elaborate on some of your answers, or if you have any comments regarding the
study, you are welcome to write themhere.
Comments:
© Thank you for filling in the questionnaire. Please ensure you have checked off
the box on the front page showing that you have given your informed consent to
participate in the study ©
P £ NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTRE GOTEBORGS U N IV ER SIT ET

a fOR THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT
In te rn a tio n a l
. innueftlrlitid R esearch
■ www.virmueitirui.is IR I S In stitu te o f S ta v a n g e r
T y o te rv e y s la ito s Nordic Council of Ministers
w w w .n r c w e .d k /N O S A C Q
Page 8/8
APPENDIX 5
NOSACQ-50 Safety Climate Questionnaire
Spanish version
NOSACQ-50-
Spanish
C u e s tio n a r io N o rd ic o s o b r e s e g u r id a d e n el
tra b a jo
El proposito de este cuestionario es conocer su impresion acerca de la seguridad en este

lugar de trabajo. Sus respuestas seran procesadas por un ordenador y se trataran con
privacidad. No se presentar£n resultados individuales de ninguna manera. Aunque
queremos que conteste todas y cada una de las preguntas, tiene el derecho de no
contestar a alguna pregunta, grupo de preguntas o el cuestionario entero.
He leido la introduccidn al cuestionario y me comprometo a completarlo [—j g .

bajo las condiciones descritas________ _______________________________ ______
El cuestionario ha sido desarrollado por un grupo de trabajo nordico de especialistas en el

entorno de trabajo con el apoyo economico del Consejo de Ministros Ndrdico
Pagina 1/8
Ejemplos de como marcar sus respuestas
Muyen En De Muyde
desacuerdo desacuerdo acuerdo acuerdo
Ponga s6lo una X para cada pregunta
I La direcci6n anima a los empleados a
□ □ 0 □ M arcado
trabajar de acuerdo con las reglas de
correcta-
seguridad- incluso cuando los tiempos m ente
de trabajo son ajustados
ii Quienes trabajamos aqui infringimos las

B 0 CD 0 M arca
reglas de seguridad para poder terminar corregida
el trabajo a tiempo
Si pone una X en el cuadro
equivocado, rellene todo el
cuadro y ponga una nueva X en
el cuadro correcto
I n fo r m a c io n g e n e r a l
A Z,Ano de 19
nacimiento?
B Usted es 0 Hombre 0 Mujer
C /.Tiene un puesto directivo, por ejemplo, gerente, 0 n o 0 Si Cual?

supervisor? '6
Pagina 2/8
En la siguiente seccion, por favor, describa como percibe que los gerentes y
su p e rv iso rs en este lugar de trabajo manejan la seguridad. Aunque algunas
preguntas puedan parecer muy parecidas, por favor, contestelas todas.
M uy e n En De M uy d e
d e sa cu e rd o d e sa cu e rd o acu e rd o acu e rd o
Ponga solo una X para cada pregunta
1. La direccion anima a los empleados a
trabajar de acuerdo con las reglas de
seguridad- incluso cuando los tiempos de L3 □ □ □
trabajo son ajustados
2. La direccion se asegura de que todos

reciban la informacion necesaria sobre LJ LJ D D
seguridad
3. La direccidn hace la vista gorda cuando

alguien es poco cuidadoso con la □ □ □ □
seguridad
4. La direccion valora la seguridad mcis que

la produccidn U □ □ □
5. La direccion acepta que los empleados

aqui s e arriesgen cuando los tiempos de Q LJ LJ LJ
trabajo son ajustados
6. Quienes trabajamos aqui tenemos

confianza en la capacidad de la direccidn LJ □ D D
para manejar la seguridad
7. La direccidn se asegura de que todos los

problem asde seguridad que sedetectan
durante las inspecciones son corregidos l_l l_l L_l l_l
inmediatamente
8. Cuando se detecta un riesgo, la direccion

lo ignora y no hace nada U U U □
9. La direccion no tiene la capacidad de

manejar la seguridad adecuadamente LJ LJ O □
Pagina 3/8
Aunque algunas preguntas puedan parecer muy parecidas, por favor, contestelas
todas
d e sa c u e rd o d e sa cu e rd o a cu e rd o a c u e rd o
10. La direccion se esfuerza para disefiar
rutinas de seguridad que son
significativas y que realmente funcionan
□ □ □ □
11. La direccion se asegura de que todos y
cada uno puedan influir en la seguridad
en su trabajo
□ □ □ □
12. La direccidn anima a los empleados aqui
a participar en las decisiones que afectan
su seguridad
□ □ □ □
13. La direccidn nunca tiene en cuenta las
sugerencias de los empleados sobre la
seguridad
□ □ □ □
14. La direccion se esfuerza para que todo el
mundo en el lugar de trabajo tenga un
alto nivel de competencia respeto a la □ □ □ □
seguridad y los riesgos
15. La direccidn nunca pide a los empleados

sus opiniones antes de tomar decisiones
sobre la seguridad
□ □ □ □
16. La direccion involucra a los empleados en
las decisiones sobre la seguridad □ □ □ □
17. La direccion recoge informacion precisa
en las investigaciones sobre accidentes □ □ □ □
18. El miedo a las sanciones (consecuencias
negativas) de la direccion desanima a los
empleados aqui de informar sobre
hechos que casi han provocado
□ □ □ □
accidentes
19. La direccion escucha atentamente a

todos los que han estado involucrados en
un accidente
□ □ □ □
Pagina 4/8
Aunque algunas preguntas puedan parecer muy parecidas, por favor, contestelas todas
d e sa cu e rd o d e sa cu e rd o a c u e rd o a c u e rd o
20. La direccidn busca las causas, no a las
personas culpables, cuando ocurre un
accidente
□ □ □ □
21. La direccion siempre culpa de los
accidentes a los empleados □ □ □ □
22. La direccion trata a los empleados
involucrados en un accidente de manera
justa
□ □ □ □
En la siguiente seccion, por favor, describa como percibe que los empleados en
este lugar de trabajo manejan la seguridad
23. Quienes trabajamos aqui nos

esforzamos conjuntamente en alcanzar
un alto nivel de seguridad
□ □ □ □
24. Quienes trabajamos aqui aceptamos
conjuntamente la responsibilidad de
asegurar que nuestro lugar de trabajo □ □ □ □
siempre este ordenado
25. A quienes trabajamos aqui no nos

importa la seguridad de los demas □ □ □ □
26. Quienes trabajamos aqui evitamos
combatir los riesgos detectados □ □ □ □
27. Quienes trabajamos aqui nos ayudamos
mutuamente a trabajar seguros □ □ □ □
28. Quienes trabajamos aqui no aceptamos
ninguna responsabilidad por la
seguridad de los demas
□ □ □ □
Pagina 5/8
d e sa cu e rd o d e sa cu e rd o a cu e rd o a c u e rd o
29. Quienes trabajamos aqui vemos los
riesgos como algo inevitable □ □ □ □
30. Quienes trabajamos aqui consideramos
los accidentes menores como una parte
normal de nuestro trabajo diario
□ □ □ □
31. Quienes trabajamos aqui aceptamos los
comportamientos de riesgo mientras no
hayan accidentes
□ □ □ □
32. Quienes trabajamos aqui infringimos las
reglas de seguridad para poder terminar
el trabajo a tiempo
□ □ □ □
33. Quienes trabajamos aqui nunca
aceptamos correr riesgos incluso cuando
los tiempos de trabajo son ajustados
□ □ □ □
que nuestro trabajo no es adecuado para
□ □ □ □
los cobardes
35. Quienes trabajamos aqui aceptamos

correr riesgos en el trabajo
□ □ □ □
36. Quienes trabajamos aqui intentamos

encontrar una solucidn si alguten nos
□ □ □ □
indica un problema en la seguridad
37. Quienes trabajamos aqui nos sentimos

seguros cuando trabajamos juntos
□ □ □ □
38. Quienes trabajamos aqui tenemos mucha
confianza en nuestra mutua capacidad de
garantizar la seguridad
□ □ □ □
Pagina 6/8
Muy en En De Muy de
desacuerdo desacuerdo acuerdo acuerdo
Ponga sdlo una X para cada pregunta
39. Quienes trabajamos aqui aprendemos de
nuestras experiencias para prevenir los □ □ □ □
accidentes
40. Quienes trabajamos aqui tomamos muy

en serio las opiniones y sugerencias de □ □
□ □
los demas sobre la seguridad
41. Quienes trabajamos aqui raramente

hablamos sobre la seguridad □ □ □ □
42. Quienes trabajamos aqui siempre

hablamos de temas de seguridad cuando □ □ □ □
estos surgen
43. Quienes trabajamos aqui podemos hablar

iibre y abiertamente sobre la seguridad □ □ □ □

que un buen representante de seguridad
juega un papel importante en la □ □ □ □
prevention de accidentes

□ □ □ □
que las revisiones de seguridad no
influyen en la seguridad en absoluto

que la formacidn en seguridad es buena
□ □ □ □
para prevenir accidentes

que la planificacion temprana de la
□ □ □ □
seguridad no tiene sentido
48. Quienes trabajamos aqui considermos

que las revisiones de seguridad ayudan a
□ □ □ □
detectar serios riesgos

que la form ation en seguridad no tiene
□ □ □ □
sentido

que es importante que haya objetivos de
seguridad claros
□ □ □ □
Pagina 7/8
Si desea ampliar alguna de sus respuestas, o tiene algun comentario sobre el estudio, puede
escribirlo aqui.
Comentarios:
© Gracias por rellenar el cuestionario. Por favor, asegurese de que ha marcado

el cuadro en la portada indicando que da su consentamiento informado para
participar en el estudio ©
NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTRE GOTEBORGS U N IV E R SIT E T

ro fi the w o r k in g e n v ir o n m e n t
In te rn a tio n a l
If innueftirlitid
www.vinnueftirtit.is IRIS R esearch
I n stitu te o f S ta v a n g e r
Tyoterveyslaitos Consejo de Ministros Nordico
www.nrcwe.dk/NOSACQ
Pagina 8/8
276
APPENDIX 6
NOSACQ-50 Questionnaire Spanish version adapted
for the Colombian construction sector

277
Nordic Occupational Safety Climate Questionnaire NOSACQ-50
lnformacion general
1. Ano de nacimiento ________
2. Cual es su genero? _________ Hombre _______ Mujer
3. Cual es su cargo?
Director de obra
______ Contratista
______ Supervisor
______ Trabajador
______ Otro Cuaal?_____________________________
4. Que tipo de trabajo realiza?
5. Cuantos anos ha trabajado en construccion?
6. Cuantos anos ha trabajo con esta compania?
7. Cuantos meses ha trabajado en esta obra?
8. Cual era su oficio antes de trabajar en construccion?
9. Ha sufrido accidentes de trabajo en esta obra?
10. Que tipo de accidente sufrio?
11. Ha sufrido accidentes de trabajo en obras anteriores?
12. Que tipo de accidente sufrio?
13. Es miembro de un comite de seguridad, brigada de emergencias u otro grupo?
14. Cual es su ultimo grado de education?

278
En las siguientes secciones describa como usted percibe que los responsables de esta obra
consideran la seguridad. Aunque algunas preguntas parecen similares, por favor responda
cada una de ellas.
Muy en De Muy de
Item Desacuerdo
desacuerdo acuerdo acuerdo
1. L os responsables de la obra animan a los
trabajadores a trabajar de acuerdo con las
norm as de seguridad - in clu so cuando los
tiem pos de trabajo son cortos
2. L os responsables de la obra se aseguran que
todos (trabajadores,
contratistas/subcontratistas) reciban la
inform acion de seguridad necesaria
3. L os responsables de la obra se hacen los de
la vista gorda cuando alguien es poco
cuidadoso con la seguridad
4. L os responsables de la obra valoran la
seguridad m as que el avance de la obra?
5. L os responsables de la obra aceptan que los
trabajadores de esta obra se arriesguen cuando
los tiem pos de trabajo son cortos
6. Q uienes trabajamos en esta obra confiam os
en la capacidad de la d ireccion para manejar la
seguridad
todos los problem as de seguridad que se
detectan durante las in sp eccion es sean
corregidos inm ediatam ente
8. Cuando se detecta un riesgo, los
responsables de la obra lo ignoran y no hacen
nada
9. L os responsables de la obra no tienen el
con ocim ien to para manejar la seguridad
adecuadam ente
10. L os responsable de la obra se esfuerzan por
disenar practicas de seguridad que sean
importantes y realm ente funcionen
todos y cada uno de los trabajadores puedan
influir en la seguridad en su lugar de trabajo
12. L os responsables de la obra anim a a los
trabajadores de esta obra a participar en las
279
M u y en De M uy de
Item D esa c u e rd o
d esa c u e rd o a cu er d o a cu erd o
d ecision es que afectan su seguridad
13. L os responsables de la obra nunca tiene en
cuenta las sugerencias de los trabajadores sobre
la seguridad
14. L os responsable de la obra se esfuerzan
para que todos en el lugar de trabajo tenga un
alto nivel de con ocim ien to sobre la seguridad y
los riesgos
15. L os responsables de la obra nunca piden a
los trabajadores sus op iniones antes de tomar
d ecision es sobre la seguridad
16. L os responsables de la obra consultan a los
em pleados en las d ecisio n es sobre la seguridad
17. L os responsables de la obra recogen
inform acion com p leta y detallada en las
in vestigaciones de accidentes
18. L os trabajadores de esta obra sienten tem or
a ser seflalados negativam ente por informar
sobre las situ acion es que casi han provocado
accidentes
19. L os responsables de la obra escuchan
atentam ente a tod os los que han sido afectados
en un accidente
20. Cuando ocurre un accidente, los
responsables de la obra buscan las causas del
accidente, no a las personas culpables
21. L os responsables de la obra siem pre culpan
a los trabajadores de los accidentes
22. Los responsables de la obra tratan a los
em pleados afectador en un accidente de manera
justa
En la siguiente secci6n por favordescribai^om^ftfstod'percibe que los traba adores de esta obra
tratan cori;Ia seguridafl. <t v t "r : J j --
23. Q uienes trabajamos en esta obra nos

esforzam os en alcanzar un alto nivel de
seguridad
24. Q uienes trabajamos en esta obra som os
responsables de m antener el orden y el aseo en
nuestro lugar de trabajo
25. A quienes trabajamos en esta obra N O nos
importa la seguridad de los dem as
280
M u y en De M uy de
d esa c u e rd o a cu er d o acu erd o
26. Q u ien es trabajamos evitam os enfrentam os
a los riesgos detectados
27. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra nos
ayudam os m utuam ente a trabajar seguros
28. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra no
aceptam os ninguna responsabilidad por la
seguridad de los dem as
29. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra v em o s los
riesgos com o algo inevitable
30. Q u ien es trabajamos aqui consideram os los
accidentes lev es com o una parte normal de
nuestro trabajo diario
31. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra aceptam os
los com portam ientos inseguros siem pre y
cuando estos no generen accidentes
32. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra
incum plim os las norm as de seguridad para
poder terminar el trabajo a tiem po
33. Q u ien es trabajamos aqui nunca correm os
riesgos in clu so cuando los tiem pos para hacer
el trabajo son cortos
consideram os que nuestro trabajo no es
adecuado para los m ied osos (cobardes)
35. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra aceptam os
correr riesgos en el trabajo
36. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra intentam os
encontrar una solu cion si alguien n os indica un
problem a en la seguridad
37. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra nos
sentim os seguros cuando trabajamos juntos
38. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra confiam os
en nuestra capacidad m utua de garantizar la
seguridad
aprendem os de nuestras experiencias para
prevenir los accidentes
40. Q u ien es trabajamos aqui tom am os m uy en
serio las op iniones y sugerencias de los dem as
sobre la seguridad
41. Q u ien es trabajamos en esta obra casi nunca
hablam os sobre la seguridad
281
M u y en De M u y de
d esa c u e rd o a cu er d o acu erd o
42. Q uienes trabajamos en esta obra siem pre
hablam os de tem as de seguridad cuando estos
problem as surgen
43. Q uienes trabajamos en esta obra podem os
hablar libre y abiertam ente sobre la seguridad
44. Q uienes trabajamos aqui consideram os que
un buen SISO (representante de seguridad)
ju ega un papel im portante en la prevencion de
accidentes
las in sp eccion es de seguridad no influyen para
nada en la seguridad
46. Q uienes trabajam os en esta obra
consideram os que la capacitacion en seguridad
es buena para prevenir accidentes
47. Q uienes trabajamos en esta obra
consideram os que la planeacion tem prana de la
seguridad no tiene sentido
48. Q uienes trabajamos en esta obra
consideram os que las in speccion es de
seguridad ayudan a detectar riesgos importantes
la capacitacion en seguridad no tiene sentido
50. Q u ien es trabajamos aqui consideram os que
es importante que haya objetivos de seguridad
claros
282
APPENDIX 7
Safety Management Practices (SMPs)
Assessment Tool
f
Safety Management Practices (SMPs) Assessment Tool

(Construction site level)
For Safety Managers or Coordinators
1. General information Company/Project code

a. Nature of the project:
Vertical: Commercial Residential
Horizontal: Highways Tunnels
Other
b. Brief project description
c. Current project stage
d. ________________________________________________
_________ Project start date
/ /
e. Project expected end date / /
f. No. O f workers on the worksite__________ ____________

No. company workers ____________
No. contractors ____________
No. Contractor’s workers
g. Estimated project
budget_________
284
I. Practices focused on determining the project site hazard profile
a. Hazard identification
Yes No
The company has developed a standard hazard profile(“risk

1.1
matrix”, other) which is used at each construction site
A new hazard identification report is generated for each worksite
1.2
previous to start of the project
Each construction site must adapt its own hazard profile according
1.3
to the company’s standard hazard profile
1.4 Hazard profile is updated along each construction stage
b. Hazard assessment
Yes No
Impact on health and safety is assessed based on the Guide to Risk

2.1 Management NTC 5254 [1] or other methodology (frequency and
duration of exposure, and potential severity of injury/illness)
Likelihood of the occurrence of a hazardous event is determined
2.2
(risk matrix, etc.)
2.3 Priorities are established based on the level of risk
2.4 Priorities are established based only on regulations
Priorities are established based on potential for system

2.5
improvement
The company (project management committee) determines if the
2.6
level of risk is acceptable or unacceptable
2.7 Specific task/activities involving fall hazards are identified
2.8 Specific task/activities involving MSD hazards are identified

285
c. Hazard prioritization
Yes No
Priority hazards are listed and documented objectives and

3.1
implementation plans
3.2 Fall hazards are listed according to priorities
3.3 MSD hazards are listed according to priorities
Fall prevention written program includes specific objectives and

3.4
Fall prevention written program includes specific fall hazards
3.5
(work over 6 feet, scaffolds, ladders) at the construction site
MSD prevention program includes specific objectives and
3.6
MSD prevention program includes specific hazards (lifting,
3.7
carrying, MMH) at the construction site
d. Contractors participation
Yes No
Contractors/subcontractors participate in safety inspection to

4.1
identify latent and potential fall hazards and MSD hazards
Contractors/subcontractors establish safety priorities according to
4.2
hazards identified
Contractors/subcontractors adopt company’s safety priorities and
4.3
establish safety plans
286
e. Hazard control
Fall hazards
Protective barriers such as guardrails or handrails are placed around

5.1
openings or edges to prevent a fall to a lower level
Toe boards are installed around the edges of a permanent floor
5.2
opening
Fall restraint systems are installed to prevent workers from working
5.3
or walking too close to an opening or roof edge
Fall arrest systems (including lifeline, a lanyard, a harness, and an
5.4
anchor point) are provided to protect workers from falls
Requirements for provisional or permanent anchor points are
5.5
defined and verified in the field by a competent person
Work procedures such as control zones are used to minimize risk of
5.6
falling
Manual material handling
Mechanical aids are available at the worksite to reduce the need for
5.7
manual lifting or use of manual force
Layouts are defined to minimize distances workers must travel to
5.8
carry materials or tools
Maximum weights for lifting, carrying or loading are established
5.9.
based on regulations or on the company’s safety standards
Workers work in groups to help with handling, lifting or carrying
5.10.
heavy loads
287
II. Practices focused on management involvement
a. Safety planning
Yes No
Hazardous operations or tasks to be performed are previously

1.1
identified and analyzed during regular (weekly) project meetings
Safety controls required for hazardous operations or tasks are

1.2 previously identified and discussed during the regular (weekly)
project meetings
Tasks/activities involving fall hazards are formally analyzed in
1.3
advance by supervisors or managers to identify required controls
Tasks/activities involving heavy lifting or manual material handling
1.4 are formally analyzed in advance by supervisors or managers to
identify in advance required controls
b. Safety responsibilities
Yes No
Responsibilities for carrying out the safety and health program have
2.1 been assigned to all levels at the worksite (site managers,
supervisors, safety coordinators and workers)?
Supervisors' safety responsibilities are defined by project
2.2
management
Contractor/subcontractor's safety responsibilities are defined by the
2.3
company or project management
Worker’s safety responsibilities are defined by the contractor or the

2.4
company
Safety officer's safety responsibilities are defined by the company

2.5
or the site manager
288
c. Safety committee
Yes No
The company has a safety committee and some representatives of

3.1
the current project site participate in it
3.2 The current project site has its own safety committee
Contractor and subcontractor representatives participate in monthly

3.3
safety committee meetings
Contractors or subcontractors conduct their own safety committee

3.4
meeting and representatives of the company participate in it
3.5 The safety committee meets at least once a month
d. Management participation
Yes No
4.1 Site management participates in monthly safety committees
Site management participates in accident investigation (severe

4.2
injuries or fatalities)
During weekly project meetings, site management discusses safety

4.3
concerns regarding upcoming tasks
4.4 Safety officers participate in weekly project meetings
4.5 Safety concerns are discussed during the weekly project meetings
4.6 Site management conducts regular safety walkthroughs
Site management conducts/participates in safety meetings with

4.7
contractors, subcontractors and/or workers
289
e. Measuring sa fety performance
Yes No
Project management establishes safety indicators to measure safety

5.1
performance of contractor/subcontractor
Project safety performance is reported and analyzed during the

5.2
weekly project meetings
Contractor/subcontractor injury records are regularly analyzed at

5.3
least once a month during the project meetings
Contractor’s safety performance is taken into account to assign a

5.4
new contract
290
III. Practices focused on improving safety system
o. Goal setting
Yes No
Specific goal-setting plan has been established for priority fall

1.1
hazards according to project progress
1.2 Goals established are measurable
Goal-setting plan involves regular feedback so workers and

1.3 supervisors know about progress towards the fall prevention
goals set
The goal-setting plan is discussed in weekly project progress
1.4 meetings to measure progress, barriers and make decisions to meet
goals
Specific goal-setting plan has been established for priority MSD
1.5
1.6 Safety goals established are measurable

1.7 supervisors know about progress towards the MSD prevention goals
set
The goal-setting plan is discussed in weekly project progress
1.8 meetings to measure progress, barriers and make decisions to meet
goals
291
b. Safety inspections
Yes No
Periodic safety inspections are scheduled and carried out by site

2.1
managers and supervisors
Periodic safety inspections are scheduled and carried out by the

2.2
safety committee
Safety inspection approach used allows to identity unsafe conditions

2.3
and practices
c. Accident report and investigation
2.4 There is an incident report and investigation procedure
Methodology used for accident investigation allows to identity root

2.5
causes
2.6 Reported fall-related accidents are systematically investigated
2.7 Reported MSD injuries are systematically investigated
Site management follows up the implementation of

2.8
recommendations based on accident investigation
Root causes derived from accident investigation are incorporated in

2.9
safety plans
IV. Practices focused on improving people skills
a. Worker participation
292
Yes No
1.1 Workers participate in identifying tasks/activities involving fall

hazards?
1.2 Workers participate in identifying tasks/activities involving MSD

hazards?
1.3 Site management promotes workers' participation in suggesting how

to prevent falls
1.4 Site management promotes workers' participation in suggesting how

to reduce lifting, carrying, and manual materials handling
b. Training
Y es No
F all p rotection training n eed s are evalu ated b y th e sa fety s ta ff and

2.1
site m a n a g em en t
2.2 F all p rotection training is adapted to th e w o rk site s p e c ific task s
Fall protection training is provided to all workers when they are first
2.3
hired according to their job assignments
MSD training needs are evaluated by the safety staff and site
2.4
management
2.5 MSD training is adapted to worksite specific tasks
MSD prevention training is provided to all workers when they are

2.6
first hired
2.7 Site management attends fall prevention training
2.8 Site management attends MSD prevention training

293
APPENDIX 8
SMPS percentage of implementation in 25 construction companies in Colombia.

294
1. Practices focused on determ ining th e project site hazard profile
a. Hazard identification
Yes No
The company has developed a standard hazard profile(“risk

1.1 15 60% 10 40%
matrix”, other) which is used at each construction site
A new hazard identification report is generated for each

1.2 9 36% 16 64%
worksite previous to start o f the project
Each construction site must adapt its own hazard profile

1.3 9 36% 16 64%
according to the com pany’s standard hazard profile
1.4 Hazard profile is updated along each construction stage 3 12% 22 88%
b. Hazard assessment
Yes No
Impact on health and safety is assessed based on the Guide to

Risk Management NTC 5254 [1] or other methodology
2.1 16 64% 9 36%
(frequency and duration o f exposure, and potential severity o f
injury/illness)
Likelihood o f the occurrence o f a hazardous event is determined

2.2 14 56% 11 44%
(risk matrix, etc.)
2.3 Priorities are established based on the level o f risk 13 52% 12 48%
2.4 Priorities are established based only on regulations 25 100% 0 0%
Priorities are established based on potential for system

2.5 0 0 25 100%
improvement
The company (project management committee) determines if

2.6 4 16% 21 84%
the level o f risk is acceptable or unacceptable
2.7 Specific task/activities involving fall hazards are identified 22 88% 3 12%
2.8 Specific task/activities involving MSD hazards are identified 5 20% 20 80%
295
c. Hazard prioritization
Yes No
Priority hazards are listed and documented objectives and

3.1 10 40% 15 60%
3.2 Fall hazards are listed according to priorities 10 40% 15 60%
3.3 M SD hazards are listed according to priorities 1 4% 24 96%
Fall prevention written program includes specific objectives and

3.4 13 52% 12 52%
Fall prevention written program includes specific fall hazards

3.5 5 5% 20 80%
(work over 6 feet, scaffolds, ladders) at the construction site
M SD prevention program includes specific objectives and

3.6 0 0% 25 100%
M SD prevention program includes specific hazards (lifting,

3.7 0 0% 25 100%
carrying, MMH) at the construction site
d. Contractors participation
Yes No
Contractors/subcontractors participate in safety inspection to

4.1 10 40% 15 60%
identify latent and potential fall hazards and M SD hazards
Contractors/subcontractors establish safety priorities according

4.2 7 28% 18 72%
to hazards identified
Contractors/subcontractors adopt company’s safety priorities

4.3 7 28% 18 72%
and establish safety plans
296
e. Hazard control
Yes No
Fall hazards
Protective barriers such as guardrails or handrails are placed

5.1 16 64% 9 36%
around openings or edges to prevent a fall to a lower level
Toe boards are installed around the edges o f a permanent floor

5.2 7 28% 18 72%
opening
Fall restraint system s are installed to prevent workers from

5.3 10 40% 15 60%
working or walking too close to an opening or roof edge
Fall arrest system s (including lifeline, a lanyard, a harness,

5.4 25 40% 0 0%
and an anchor point) are provided to protect workers from falls
Requirements for provisional or permanent anchor points are

5.5 18 72% 7 28%
defined and verified in the field by a competent person
Work procedures such as control zones are used to m inimize

5.6 8 32% 17 68%
risk o f falling
Manual material handling
Mechanical aids are available at the worksite to reduce the

5.7 20 80% 5 20%
need for manual lifting or use o f manual force
Layouts are defined to m inimize distances workers must travel

5.8 0 0% 25 100%
to carry materials or tools
Maximum w eights for lifting, carrying or loading are

5.9. established based on regulations or on the company’s safety 1 4% 24 96%
standards
Workers work in groups to help with handling, lifting or

5.10. 22 88% 3 12%
carrying heavy loads
II. Practices focused on management involvement
o. Safety planning
Yes No
Hazardous operations or tasks to be performed are previously

1.1 identified and analyzed during the regular (weekly) project 12 48% 13 53%
meetings
Safety controls required for hazardous operations or tasks are

1.2 previously identified and discussed during the regular (weekly) 16 64% 36%
project m eetings
Tasks/activities involving fall hazards are formally analyzed in

1.3 advance by supervisors or managers to identify required 11 44% 14 56%
controls
Tasks/activities involving heavy lifting or manual material

1.4 handling are formally analyzed in advance by supervisors or 24% 19 76%
managers to identify in advance required controls
b. Safety responsibilities
Yes No
Responsibilities for carrying out the safety and health program

2.1 have been assigned to all levels at the worksite (site managers, 15 60% 10 40%
supervisors, safety coordinators and workers)?
Supervisors' safety responsibilities are defined by project

2.2 18 72% 7 28%
management
Contractor/subcontractor's safety responsibilities are defined by

2.3 18 72% 7 28%
the company or project management
Worker’s safety responsibilities are defined by the contractor or

2.4 22 88% 3 12%
the company
Safety officer's safety responsibilities are defined by the

2.5 22 88% 3 12%
company or the site manager
298
c. Safety committee
Yes No
The company has a safety committee and some representatives

3.1 25 100% 0 0%
o f the current project site participate in it
3.2 The current project site has its own safety committee 12 48% 13 52%
Contractor and subcontractor representatives participate in

3.3 17 68% 8 32%
monthly safety committee meetings
Contractors or subcontractors conduct their own safety

3.4 committee m eeting and representatives o f the company 3 12% 22 88%
participate in it
3.5 The safety committee m eets at least once a month 24 96% 1 4%
d. Management participation
Yes No
4.1 Site management participates in monthly safety committees 19 76% 6 24%
Site management participates in accident investigation (severe

4.2 11 44% 14 56%
injuries or fatalities)
During w eekly project meetings, site management discusses

4.3 13 52% 12 48%
safety concerns regarding upcoming tasks
4.4 Safety officers participate in w eekly project meetings 10 40% 15 60%
Safety concerns are discussed during the w eekly project

4.5 16 64% 9 36%
meetings
4.6 Site management conducts regular safety walkthroughs 6 24% 19 76%
Site management conducts/participates in safety meetings with

4.7 9 36% 16 64%
contractors, subcontractors and/or workers
299
e. Measuring safety performance
Yes No
Project management establishes safety indicators to measure

5.1 13 52% 12 48%
safety performance o f contractor/subcontractor
Project safety performance is reported and analyzed during the

5.2 20 80% 5 20%
w eekly project meetings
Contractor/subcontractor injury records are regularly analyzed

5.3 19 76% 6 24%
at least once a month during the project meetings
Contractor’s safety performance is taken into account to

5.4 4 16% 21 84%
assign a new contract
III. Practices focu sed on im proving safety system
a. Goal setting
Yes No
Specific goal-setting plan has been established for priority fall

1.1 5 20% 20 80%
1.2 Goals established are measurable 3 12% 22 88%

1.3 supervisors know about progress towards the fall prevention 3 12% 22 88%
goals set
The goal-setting plan is discussed in w eekly project progress
1.4 m eetings to measure progress, barriers and make decisions to 1 4% 24 96%
m eet goals
Specific goal-setting plan has been established for priority

1.5 0 0% 25 100%
M SD hazards according to project progress
1.6 Safety goals established are measurable 0 0% 25 100%

1.7 supervisors know about progress towards the MSD 0 0% 25 100%
prevention goals set
The goal-setting plan is discussed in w eekly project progress
1.8 meetings to measure progress, barriers and make decisions to 0 0% 25 100%
meet goals
300
b. Safety inspections
Yes No
Periodic safety inspections are scheduled and carried out by

2.1 16 64% 9 36%
site managers and supervisors
Periodic safety inspections are scheduled and carried out by the

2.2 21 84% 4 16%
safety committee
Safety inspection approach used allows to identify unsafe

2.3 24 96% 1 4%
conditions and practices
c. Accident report and investigation
2.4 There is an incident report and investigation procedure 17 68% 8 32%
M ethodology used for accident investigation allows to

2.5 12 48% 13 52%
identify root causes
2.6 Reported fall-related accidents are systematically investigated 18 72% 7 28%
2.7 Reported M SD injuries are systematically investigated 2 8% 23 92%
Site management follow s up the implementation o f

2.8 10 40% 15 60%
recommendations based on accident investigation
Root causes derived from accident investigation are

2.9 5 20% 20 80%
incorporated in safety plans
301
IV. Practices focu sed on improving p eop le skills
a. Worker participation
Yes No
Workers participate in identifying tasks/activities involving

1.1 7 28% 18 72%
fall hazards?
Workers participate in identifying tasks/activities involving

1.2 2 8% 23 92%
M SD hazards?
Site management promotes workers' participation in

1.3 10 40% 15 60%
suggesting how to prevent falls
Site management promotes workers' participation in

1.4 suggesting how to reduce lifting, carrying, and manual 4 16% 21 84%
materials handling
fa. Training
Yes No
Fall protection training needs are evaluated by the safety staff

2.1 12 48% 13 52%
and site management
Fall protection training is adapted to the worksite specific

2.2 18 72% 7 28%
tasks
Fall protection training is provided to all workers when they

2.3 13 52% 12 48%
are first hired according to their job assignments
M SD training needs are evaluated by the safety staff and site

2.4 0 0% 25 100%
management
2.5 M SD training is adapted to worksite specific tasks 0 0% 25 100%
M SD prevention training is provided to all workers when they

2.6 0 0% 25 100%
are first hired
2.7 Site management attends fall prevention training 16 64% 9 36%
2.8 Site management attends M SD prevention training 0 0% 25 100%

APPENDIX 9
Construction Workers’ Safety Climate Average Score by
NOSACQ-50 dimension in 25 Colombian Construction Companies

303
NOSACQ-50 Dimension 1. Management safety priority and commitment
Standard
Company Count Median Range Minimum Maximum
Deviation
1 11 2.85 .31 2.78 1.22 2.33 3.56
2 10 2.70 .23 2.78 .67 2.22 2.89
3 10 2.88 .29 2.83 1.00 2.44 3.44
4 10 2.96 .18 2.94 .56 2.67 3.22
5 10 2.78 .32 2.89 1.00 2.11 3.11
6 12 2.99 .55 3.00 1.44 2.22 3.67
7 10 2.66 .28 2.67 .89 2.11 3.00
8 10 2.53 .48 2.61 1.33 1.78 3.11
9 10 2.87 .15 2.89 .44 2.56 3.00
10 9 2.99 .23 3.00 .78 2.67 3.44
11 10 3.27 .39 3.33 1.33 2.33 3.67
12 10 2.64 .39 2.61 1.11 2.22 3.33
13 11 2.71 .15 2.67 .56 2.44 3.00
14 12 2.76 .28 2.78 1.00 2.33 3.33
15 9 2.85 .15 2.89 .44 2.56 3.00
16 9 2.88 .31 3.00 .89 2.33 3.22
17 10 3.04 .25 3.00 .89 2.67 3.56
18 12 3.03 .15 3.00 .56 2.78 3.33
19 11 2.55 .40 2.44 1.00 2.00 3.00
20 10 2.36 .21 2.39 .67 2.00 2.67
21 10 3.48 .33 3.44 1.00 3.00 4.00
22 10 2.98 .13 3.00 .44 2.78 3.22
23 10 2.96 .38 3.00 1.44 2.11 3.56
24 10 2.67 .31 2.72 .67 2.33 3.00
25 10 3.17 .37 3.28 1.33 2.33 3.67
304
NOSACQ-50 Dimension 2. Management safety empowerment
Standard
Company Count Mean Median Range Minimum Maximun
Deviation
1 11 2.39 .33 2.43 1.00 1.86 2.86
2 10 2.53 .50 2.86 1.43 1.71 3.14
3 10 2.44 .30 2.57 0.86 1.86 2.71
4 10 2.64 .20 2.57 .57 2.29 2.86
5 10 2.44 .20 2.43 0.57 2.14 2.71
6 12 2.83 .70 2.57 1.86 2.14 4.00
7 10 2.66 .32 2.71 1.00 2.00 3.00
8 10 2.20 .22 2.29 0.57 1.86 2.43
9 10 2.67 .37 2.71 1.43 2.14 3.57
10 9 2.62 .12 2.57 .43 2.43 2.86
11 10 3.06 .44 3.00 1.14 2.57 3.71
12 10 2.11 .46 2.14 1.57 1.14 2.71
13 11 2.38 .23 2.29 .86 2.00 2.86
14 12 2.23 .23 2.21 0.86 1.71 2.57
15 9 2.43 .14 2.43 .43 2.29 2.71
16 9 2.48 .29 2.43 .86 2.14 3.00
17 10 2.51 .25 2.57 .86 2.14 3.00
18 12 2.54 .12 2.57 .43 2.29 2.71
19 11 2.06 .36 2.14 1.14 1.43 2.57
20 10 2.24 .21 2.29 .71 1.71 2.43
21 10 3.31 .45 3.21 1.29 2.71 4.00
22 10 2.50 .20 2.50 .71 2.14 2.86
23 10 2.66 .45 2.57 1.71 2.00 3.71
24 10 2.49 .07 2.43 .14 2.43 2.57
25 10 3.04 .45 3.07 1.43 2.14 3.57
305
NOSACQ-50 Dimension 3. Management safety justice
Standard
Company Count Mean Median Range Minimum Maximum
Deviation
1 11 2.76 .50 2.83 2.00 1.83 3.83
2 10 2.63 .20 2.67 .50 2.33 2.83
3 10 2.63 .34 2.67 1.17 2.00 3.17
4 10 2.92 .09 2.92 .17 2.83 3.00
5 10 2.90 .20 3.00 0.67 2.50 3.17
6 12 2.79 .85 3.00 2.33 1.50 3.83
7 10 2.52 .36 2.58 1.17 1.83 3.00
8 10 2.48 .44 2.67 1.33 1.67 3.00
9 10 2.60 .30 2.50 .67 2.33 3.00
10 9 2.63 .30 2.83 .83 2.17 3.00
11 10 2.92 .57 3.08 1.50 2.17 3.67
12 10 2.65 .86 2.42 2.33 1.50 3.83
13 11 2.61 .23 2.67 .50 2.33 2.83
14 12 2.53 .31 2.50 1.17 2.00 3.17
15 9 2.85 .18 2.83 .50 2.50 3.00
16 9 2.61 .45 2.83 1.50 1.67 3.17
17 10 2.88 .22 3.00 .67 2.50 3.17
18 12 2.85 .15 2.83 .33 2.67 3.00
19 11 2.55 .20 2.50 0.50 2.33 2.83
20 10 2.27 .39 2.25 1.33 1.67 3.00
21 10 3.50 .35 3.50 1.00 3.00 4.00
22 10 2.87 .39 2.67 1.33 2.50 3.83
23 10 2.85 .47 3.00 1.83 1.67 3.50
24 10 2.65 .30 2.58 .83 2.17 3.00
25 10 2.97 .55 3.08 1.50 2.00 3.50
306
NOSACQ-50 Dimension 4. Workers' safety commitment
Standard
Deviation
1 11 2.77 .40 3.00 1.17 2.00 3.17
2 10 2.93 .21 3.00 .67 2.50 3.17
3 10 2.92 .20 2.92 0.67 2.67 3.33
4 10 3.10 .14 3.00 .33 3.00 3.33
5 10 2.87 .32 3.00 0.83 2.33 3.17
6 12 3.33 .62 3.33 1.83 2.17 4.00
7 10 2.82 .20 2.83 .50 2.50 3.00
8 10 2.95 .34 3.00 1.17 2.33 3.50
9 10 2.98 .28 3.00 1.00 2.67 3.67
10 9 3.06 .26 3.00 .83 2.83 3.67
11 10 3.60 .21 3.67 0.50 3.33 3.83
12 10 2.80 .32 2.75 1.00 2.33 3.33
13 11 2.80 .21 2.83 .67 2.50 3.17
14 12 2.99 .34 3.00 1.17 2.33 3.50
15 9 2.85 .18 2.83 .50 2.50 3.00
16 9 3.19 .29 3.17 .83 2.83 3.67
17 10 3.08 .21 3.08 .83 2.67 3.50
18 12 3.00 .17 3.00 .50 2.67 3.17
19 11 2.74 .60 3.00 2.00 1.17 3.17
20 10 2.65 .20 2.58 .50 2.50 3.00
21 10 3.80 .27 3.92 0.67 3.33 4.00
22 10 3.17 .32 3.08 1.00 2.67 3.67
23 10 2.98 .45 3.00 1.67 1.83 3.50
24 10 2.82 .20 2.83 .67 2.50 3.17
25 10 3.08 .53 3.17 1.67 2.17 3.83
307
NOSACQ-50 Dimension 5. Workers' safety priority
Standard
Deviation
1 11 2.45 .28 2.57 1.00 1.86 2.86
2 10 2.46 .35 2.29 1.14 2.14 3.29
3 10 2.34 .26 2.36 0.86 2.00 2.86
4 10 2.90 .20 2.93 .71 2.57 3.29
5 10 2.29 .19 2.36 0.57 1.86 2.43
6 12 2.52 .66 2.36 2.00 1.57 3.57
7 10 2.44 .26 2.50 .86 2.00 2.86
8 10 2.24 .45 2.36 1.57 1.29 2.86
9 10 2.41 .27 2.29 .71 2.14 2.86
10 9 2.56 .35 2.57 1.00 2.14 3.14
11 10 2.67 .53 2.71 1.86 1.71 3.57
12 10 2.39 .58 2.50 1.43 1.71 3.14
13 11 2.26 .17 2.29 .57 2.00 2.57
14 12 2.04 .41 2.00 1.43 1.43 2.86
15 9 2.46 .26 2.43 .71 2.14 2.86
16 9 2.57 .29 2.43 .86 2.14 3.00
17 10 2.59 .27 2.64 .86 2.00 2.86
18 12 2.54 .45 2.64 1.29 1.71 3.00
19 11 1.97 .30 1.86 0.71 1.71 2.43
20 10 2.06 .29 2.07 .86 1.57 2.43
21 10 2.91 .31 2.93 1.14 2.29 3.43
22 10 2.73 .40 2.71 1.29 2.00 3.29
23 10 2.43 .36 2.43 1.14 2.00 3.14
24 10 2.34 .24 2.36 .71 1.86 2.57
25 10 2.21 .66 2.43 2.29 1.00 3.29
308
NOSACQ-50 Dimension 6.
Standard
Company Count Mean Median Range M inim um Maximum
Deviation
1 11 2.80 .20 2.88 0.75 2.25 3.00
2 10 2.85 .08 2.88 .25 2.75 3.00
3 10 2.95 .21 2.88 0.63 2.75 3.38

4 10 3.03 .13 3.00 .50 2.75 3.25
5 10 2.98 .08 3.00 0.25 2.88 3.13
6 12 3.14 .49 3.31 1.63 2.13 3.75
7 10 2.86 .11 2.88 .25 2.75 3.00
8 10 2.78 .20 2.88 0.63 2.25 2.88
9 10 2.93 .32 2.94 1.13 2.25 3.38
10 9 2.97 .15 3.00 .50 2.75 3.25
11 10 3.50 .14 3.50 0.50 3.25 3.75

12 10 3.13 .24 3.06 0.63 2.88 3.50
13 11 2.84 .20 2.88 .75 2.25 3.00

14 12 3.14 .16 3.13 0.50 2.88 3.38
15 9 2.94 .09 3.00 .25 2.75 3.00
16 9 3.31 .22 3.25 .75 3.00 3.75
17 10 3.03 .10 3.00 .25 2.88 3.13
18 12 3.03 .19 3.00 .75 2.75 3.50
19 11 2.88 .20 2.88 0.63 2.63 3.25
20 10 2.66 .17 2.69 .50 2.38 2.88
21 10 3.58 .13 3.50 0.38 3.38 3.75
22 10 3.05 .24 2.94 .63 2.88 3.50
23 10 3.05 .24 3.00 0.75 2.88 3.63

24 10 2.79 .26 2.88 .88 2.25 3.13
25 10 3.25 .42 3.31 1.13 2.63 3.75

309
NOSACQ-50 Dimension 7. Workers' trust in efficacy of safety systems
Standard
ompany Count Mean Median Range M inim um Maximun
Deviation
1 11 3.03 .31 3.00 0.86 2.57 3.43

2 10 2.90 .21 2.86 .71 2.57 3.29
3 10 3.03 .16 3.00 0.43 2.86 3.29
4 10 3.13 .14 3.07 .29 3.00 3.29
5 10 3.16 .21 3.14 0.71 2.86 3.57
6 12 3.57 .46 3.71 1.14 2.86 4.00
7 10 2.99 .13 3.00 .29 2.86 3.14
8 10 2.90 .19 2.86 0.57 2.71 3.29
9 10 3.11 .21 3.07 .57 2.86 3.43
10 9 3.25 .27 3.29 .86 2.86 3.71
11 10 3.77 .36 3.86 1.14 2.86 4.00
12 10 3.44 .57 3.57 1.29 2.71 4.00
13 11 2.88 .21 2.86 .71 2.57 3.29
14 12 3.17 .24 3.07 0.71 2.86 3.57
15 9 2.94 .24 3.00 .71 2.57 3.29

16 9 3.78 .19 3.86 .57 3.43 4.00
17 10 3.16 .27 3.14 .86 2.71 3.57
18 12 3.23 .21 3.21 .71 3.00 3.71

19 11 3.26 .38 3.29 1.14 2.57 3.71
20 10 3.20 .17 3.21 .43 3.00 3.43

21 10 3.83 .25 4.00 0.57 3.43 4.00
22 10 3.09 .27 3.00 .86 2.57 3.43
23 10 3.23 .42 3.21 1.43 2.57 4.00
24 10 3.16 .14 3.21 .29 3.00 3.29
25 10 3.19 .38 3.14 1.00 2.57 3.57
310
APPENDIX 10
Interview guideline
311
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS,
SUPERVISORS AND SITE MANAGERS
1. Practices focused on determining project site hazard profile
a. Hazard identification and assessment
• What kinds of construction jobs does this company do?
- Vertical Construction (Buildings: residential and non-residential)
— Horizontal Construction (highway, bridges, tunnels)
• What kind of construction job do you do?
- Job title: bricklayer, concrete finisher, heavy equipment operator, ironworker,

laborer, cleaner, supervisor (maestro), site manager
• What construction activities are most likely to put workers at risk of falling from
heights (or having low back, shoulder or arm pain?
— Excavation, pour foundation wall, concrete slab pour, steel erection, masonry,
finishing, etc.
• How these hazards could be controlled?
• Do you find difficulties in doing certain tasks safely?
• How do you identify if doing certain task is safe?
- How were you taught to identify them?
— How do you teach your workers them?
• What safety plans are being implemented at this construction site?
• How you and your crew identify potential hazards in performing a task?
I f so, what steps do you follow up to identify hazard conditions or situations and
to propose controls? What are the most common results o f these analyses? Who is
responsible fo r implementing the suggested controls?
312
b. Hazard control
• When workers must work at heights, what does the company (or the contractor)
do to prevent that they get injured?
— What would make it easier fo r the company or contractors to prevent falls?
— What else should the company do to prevent falls?
• When workers must lift or carry heavy loads what does the company (or the
contractor) do to prevent that workers get discomfort or pain in the hands, arms,
shoulders, neck, back, legs or feet?
— Which mechanical aids do workers have to handle, lift or carry on heavy

loads?
— What would make it easier fo r the company or contractors to prevent

musculoskeletal injuries?
— What else should the company do to prevent musculoskeletal injuries?
• What makes it difficult to keep the work sites safe?
• What are some of the challenges/barriers safety officer faces?
2. Practices focused on safety management and involvement
a. Safety roles and responsibilities
• Who has the responsibility for conducting and implementing safety activities
here?
• Who participates in those activities?
• How does the top management promote workers’ participation in those activities?
• Which safety activities (if so) do top managers participate?
• How are contractors involved in safety activities?

313
b. Management participation
• How does site manager lead safety at the worksite?
• Are safety reports discussed with site managers during the regular weekly project
meetings?
• For site managers: How often do you have the chance to talk with your workers
about their job performance? How often do you have chance to talk with your
workers about their safety performance and safety concerns?
• For workers and supervisors: How often do you have the chance to talk with
your site manager about your job performance? How often do you have the
chance to talk with your site manager about your safety performance and safety
concerns?
c. Measuring safety performance
• How do you follow up safety performance in this construction site?
• Who measures the safety performance (general contractor, contractors and

subcontractors),
• What indicators are used and how often are measured?
• How is contractors’/subcontractors’ safety performance measured at this

worksite?
• Is the contractor’s/subcontractor’s safety performance a variable to provide them

with new contracts?
3. Practices focused on the safety system
a. Safety inspection
• How often are safety inspections conducted in your worksite? If so, who
conducts these inspections? Do you know what has been found by these safety
inspections? Do you know what has been improved from these inspections?
314
b. Accident investigation
• Have you heard about recent accidents at this construction site? What caused
them? What could have prevented it?
• How does your company’s (contractor’s or subcontractor’s) respond to a work-

related injury? {report procedure, investigation protocol, discuss causes and
controls with workers, implement changes)
4. Practices focused on people
a. Workers participation
• If you have concerns about fall hazards at the workplace, how can you proceed?
• When workers must perform a task that requires working at heights, how is the
crew set up to get the job done?
• When workers must perform a task that requires handing, lifting or carrying
heavy loads, how does the crew set up to get the job done?
b. Training
• How did you learn about fall hazards in the construction sites?
• How did you learn about protecting workers to avoid falling from heights? Do
you think that the fall protection training that you have received is applicable to
tasks/activities performed daily?
• Do you know how to lift or carry heavy loads in a safe way? If so, have you
received training about how to handle safely heavy materials (lifting or carrying)?
Do you think that the training on how to lift or carry materials that you have
received is applicable to tasks/activities performed daily?
i
315
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF AUTHOR
Luz Stella Marin Ramirez received her degree in Chemical Engineering from National
University of Colombia (Universidad Nacional de Colombia), in Bogota, Colombia.
After her graduation, she worked as a Research and Development Engineer for a national
chemical company.
In 1996, she began her career in the occupational safety and health field as a researcher in
a Colombian non-governmental organization where she was involved in the study of the
impact of industrial wastes on workers’ health. In 1997, Ms. Marin received her Master
Degree in Occupational Safety and Health from Our Lady of the Rosary University
(Universidad del Rosario) in Colombia.
For ten years, she worked as a safety professional for a worker’s compensation insurance
company in Colombia. In this role, she conducted data analysis of occupational injuries
reported to the insurance company and site investigations of fatal occupational injuries,
and developed injury prevention programs for companies from diverse industrial sectors
such as construction, transportation chemical, floriculture, and manufacturing.
In 2006, she received a scholarship from the Swedish International Development

Cooperation Agency to participate in the Occupational Health and Safety Program in
Sweden. In 2007, she received a Specialist Degree in Project Management from the
Colombian School of Engineering (Escuela Colombiana de Ingenierla).
Ms. Marin entered the Occupational Ergonomics and Safety program in the Department
of Work Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, in 2008. She worked
as a research assistant in the Protection en Construction research project where she was
extensively involved in field research in the construction industry. Through these
research activities, she gained valuable experience in community-based participatory
approaches, field research methods, and working with immigrants and vulnerable
populations. In 2010, she completed her Master of Science degree. Her Master’s project
was the design and implementation of a culturally adapted training program for
construction supervisors working with Hispanic construction workers.
In 2014, she accepted a post-doctoral positon at Northeastern University. Currently, she

is working with a team to study the whole body vibration in operators of heavy
equipment vehicles in an open pit mine in Colombia. Ms. Marin hopes to continue in the
field of applied research to improve workers’ safety and health.

Columbia

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SAFETY CLIMATE, SAFETY HAZARDS AND

ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES IN THE

LUZ STELLA MARIN RAMIREZ

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

Signature of Dissertation Chair: __________

Signatures of Other Dissertation Committee Members

Committee Member Signature:

Committee Member Signature:

All rights reserved

INFORMATION TO ALL USERS

ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE

FOR THE DEGREE OF

Dissertation Supervisor: Laura Punnett, Sc.D.

a 50-item safety climate questionnaire, construction workers, supervisors and site

management safety practices implemented at the construction sites and construction

focused on enhancing management commitment with safety; 3) those focused on

safety management practices implemented at the studied companies.

perceptions of safety. Further, no associations were found between manual material

four levels using as a framework the socio-ecological model: individual factors,

interpersonal relationships, organizational environment, and societal factors. The

qualitative approach supported several aspects of the quantitative analysis conducted in

environment realities was notable among site and project managers.

Understanding the nature of the relationships between safety climate,

organizational practices, and hazards conditions at the construction workplace is

comprehensive safety interventions to enhance workers’ safety and health at the

My deepest gratitude to my caring, loving, and supportive husband, Jaime. Thanks to my

Table 1. Examples of hazards at construction sites............................................................. 5

Figure 1. Reported construction fatalities and fatalities rates from 2003-2012.................. 3

The construction industry is a substantial sector of the worldwide economy. It

is one of the mainstays of the economy in most countries, contributing significantly to

socio-economic development. However, it is also globally recognized as one of the most

sectors (6.8 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers)(Fasecolda, 2012)'.

in 2012(DANE, 2013; Fasecolda, 2012).

and equipment (13.2%) (BLS, 2013a).

’Fasecolda (Federacidn de Aseguradores Colombianos) is a Colombian consortium o f private insurance

The way the construction process is organized and performed brings

& Rowlinson, 2012). Workers at a construction site may be exposed to various

hazardous factors including physical, chemical, mechanical, biological or psychosocial

(Table 1). A significant number of tasks must be performed at heights, which

Construction industry characteristics

The construction sector is characterized by a number of particular

as job fragmentation which brings as result involving several contractors and

subcontractors in the construction process; job specialization, very often performed by

where multiple crews performing tasks simultaneously and in proximity; constantly

changing physical environments making difficult sometimes to anticipate and thus

control hazards timely; workforce mobility between subcontractors at the same

heavy loads in noisy areas.

an intrinsically dangerous sector and to excuse companies’ poor safety performance.

addressing most of these aspects in strategies for injury prevention.

Examples of hazards at construction sites

Type of hazard Description

Productivity in the construction industry is measured in terms of how well,

utilization of resources such as labor, materials and equipment. In a construction project

health, safety and ergonomics protections.

of materials such as concrete mixture must be often compensated with extending

officer) and aggravate workers’ exposure to the already hazardous worksite.

paced. As a means to increase productivity, the construction industry often provides

monetary incentives to motivate supervisors and other management personnel to

Typically, large and complex construction projects require that multiple

challenge to managing the work environment.

A common operational practice has been contracting and subcontracting

Subcontracting brings to the construction company other organizational

advantages such as labor flexibility meeting promptly variations in project demands,

encouraging quicker completion of tasks, transferring financial risk, and avoiding