Road testing a health and safety worker engagement tool‐kit in the construction industry

Abstract

Purpose

Worker engagement in health and safety (H & S) is a means to reduce risks in construction projects. A measure for worker engagement in H & S is a first step in ensuring improvement and maintenance of worker engagement in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of worker engagement in construction by testing a management instrument (WISH) developed to measure it during a construction project.

Design/methodology/approach

A stratified sample of workers in a construction project organisation was studied to test the effectiveness of a site‐wide engagement programme (IIF) run by the main contractor. The measurement was repeated 13 months after the first phase to check engagement at that stage of the project and to reduce bias in scoring.

Findings

Four key factors emerged as the independent variables on which worker engagement depends. These are: knowledge and capability to engage, perceptions, attitudes and behaviours and actual involvement in H & S risk management. The IIF gave a check on the validity (face, construct and content) of the instrument as a measure of worker engagement. Reliability of the measure was tested by peer scoring at the second measurement phase. The Spearman‐Brown R showed a high degree of inter‐rater reliability in scores, supporting the reliability of the WISH measure.

Originality/value

The study provides a valid and reliable measure of worker engagement in H & S management for construction. The use of this instrument within the construction industry should help managements to improve the effectiveness of their worker engagement programmes.

Citation

Meldrum, A., Hare, B. and Cameron, I. (2009), "Road testing a health and safety worker engagement tool‐kit in the construction industry", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 16 No. 6, pp. 612-632. https://doi.org/10.1108/09699980911002601