- Title
- The psychological contract to measure safety outcomes on construction sites
- Creator
- Newaz, Mohammad Tanvi
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2019
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Aim of the study: The significance of supervisors’ safety behaviour directed to their workers on construction sites is well established. However, there remains ambiguity concerning explicit behaviours properly expected to sustain workers’ safety performance. This is particular to the construction industry. Among the factors that influence workers’ behaviour, relationship with supervisors has gained significant attention in safety literature. Despite this, the question of how top-level management safety initiatives are translated to workers remains unknown. As a consequence, the safety perceptions or safety climate of workers that drives their safety behaviour remains unidentified. Being cognisant of a supervisor’s substantial impact in a construction site setting and viewing safety from a Psychological Contract (PC) theoretical perspective, the concept of a PCS (Psychological Contract of Safety) based on the mutual safety obligations between supervisor and worker is assessed. By conceptualizing the research gaps, hypotheses and theoretical models were developed and validated while examining the effect of PCS on established safety variables, (e.g. safety climate and safety behaviour). The research aim of the study can be articulated as an examination of the application of PC theory in evaluating several established safety variables. Design/methodology/approach: Adopting a quantitative research approach, data were collected from 352 construction workers on a mega-construction project in New South Wales, Australia. The A$3.7 billion Operations, Trains and Systems (OTS) contract is the largest of three contracts delivered for the North West Rail Link, Australia’s first fully automated rapid transit network. The construction operation started in 2015 and it will reach final completion in 2019. The project includes nine stations (construction sites). For this research, construction sites were selected according to their progress against the research timeline. Data collected from five of these sites were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) program. While examining the factor analysis of different constructs, data reliability and data validity of the survey findings were checked to ensure a goodness of fit of different models. Results: While addressing the existing research gaps through the concept of PCS, five theoretical models are proposed and validated by analysing empirical data, they are; (1) formation of safety climate, (2) safety climate and safety behaviour relationship mediated by a Psychological Contract of Safety, psychological contract predicting (3) safety climate and (4) safety behaviour and (5) validation of PCS scale in construction. The research captures and utilizes the notion of safety reciprocity between supervisors and workers to gain an understanding of how perceived safety obligations affect workers’ overall safety perception and behaviour. The role of safety agents to influence formation of safety climate in construction is identified. In addition, a tool for recognizing focus areas for future research regarding how safety agents develop mutual obligations at construction sites is provided. Results suggest that the PCS predicts and influences the safety climate and safety behaviour of workers significantly. Explanations are provided to contextualise these findings in construction safety management programs along with concomitant implications. Thesis structure: The structure of the dissertation is a thesis by publication for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Building). The document was prepared by a full-time research student at School of Architecture and Built Environment of The University of Newcastle between June 2015 and November 2018. It comprises a collection of 6 complementary papers, 4 of which have been published in internationally peer-reviewed (A*) journals; Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management (ECAM), Safety Science, Journal of Safety Research), book chapter (Springer), and conference proceedings (Australasian University Building Educators Association (AUBEA). The first two papers are devoted to safety climate formation (through a systematic literature review and later empirical validation) which helps in facilitating the development and validation of the theoretical framework of Psychological Contract of Safety model presented in paper III and IV. Papers III - VI are based on Psychological Contract of Safety which explains how PCS can be contextualized in a construction setting to positively influence the safety outcomes. Implications: The findings of this research confirm the importance of safety agents and identifies the effect of their mutual relationships with workers as vital to ongoing safety performance. Construction researchers and practitioners may benefit from using the validated PCS and safety climate scale while examining the differences of perception between agents on their construction sites. The findings can be used in the training and development of future safety management programs. Originality/value: The novel outcome of the research could be considered as a management intervention to modify safety management programs, by focusing on supervisors’ behaviour to produce better safety outcomes. Organisations and top-level managers who are tasked to introduce management intervention to improve safety outcomes could focus on this aspect of the mutual relationship (i.e. PCS) between safety agents and develop their safety initiatives to promote a high level of safety awareness.
- Subject
- Construction Workers' Safety; psychological contract; construction sites; safety awareness; thesis by publication
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1401047
- Identifier
- uon:34861
- Rights
- Copyright 2019 Mohammad Tanvi Newaz
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
- Hits: 745
- Visitors: 1468
- Downloads: 846
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 588 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |