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regulation.Focusgroupsandinterviewswithmorethanseventykeysafetyemployeesfromten
oftheelevenlargestprincipalcontractorsinAustraliaindicatethat,althoughselfregulationisa
cornerstoneofperformancebasedregulation,noneoftheenactmentsprovideindetailwhatis
specificallyrequiredtoconformotherthaninthebroadestgenericterms.Anothercommon
concernraisedisthatoftenwhenregulatorsareapproachedtoprovidespecificdetailofhowto
conformtheyrefusetoprovideitbecausetheymaybeheldaccountableintheeventofresulting
injuriesorfatalities.Notfurnishingtheappropriateinformationandresourcesiscontradictory
andincontraventionofthestatededucationalobjectivesespousedbythemajorityofthe
enactments.
Keywords:
SafetyCulture,BehaviourBasedSafety,Regulation,Enforcement,Education
1.0INTRODUCTION
Thesheet-anchoroftheprojectonwhichthispaperisbasedholdsthat,owingtothe
unacceptablenumbersofinjuriesanddeathsintheconstructionindustry,achangeofsafety
cultureintheAustralianconstructionindustryislongoverdue(videforexample,Parliamentof
AustraliaDepartmentoftheParliamentaryLibrary2005;
Johnstone,2003).Consequently,this
paperunequivocallyassumesanadvocacypositionbysuggestingwaysinwhichtheindustry
canimproveitssafetyperformancethroughimprovingitssafetyculture.Asthetitleofthepaper
suggests,eitherenforcementoreducationmaybetheprimarymotivatorsofsafetyculture.
Morecrudelyput,thesecouldbecharacterizedasthestickorthecarrot.However,tosuggest
thateithersinglydrivesthedesiredsafetycultureiscontentiousandwrong-headedasinall
probability,bothareequallynecessaryandco-dependentasweintendtoestablishinthis
paper.Complicatingfactorsarethatlittleconclusiveindustryspecificresearchhasbeen
conductedontheefficacyofsafetycultureandthattherearevariouscompetingand,attimes,
contradictoryapproachestosafetyculture:
Inthemaintherearetwomajorapproachesof
whichonereliesonchangingorganizationalsafetyculturebyachangeprocessthatoveralong
timealtersthenorms,valuesandattitudesleadingtothedesiredbehaviouralchange:
The
other,competing,model,behaviourbasedsafety(BBS),reliesoninfluencingbehaviourswhich
reduce‘atriskbehaviours’therebycreatingthedesiredsafetyculture.Aswediscussbelow,
bothhavemeritanddisincentives;
howeverquiteclearlyiftheperiodforcompletecultural
turnaroundespousedinsomesafetycultureliteratureissevenyearsitisnotsurprisingthatthe
formerapproachhasnotbeenembracedintheAustralianconstructionindustryRather,the
latterhasmetwithgreateracceptance,becauseitappearstoproduceresultsquickly,however
aswediscussbelowtheunderpinningprinciplesmaybecounterproductivetocreatingan
enduringpositivesafetyculture.
Inaddition,wecontendthatthespecificwayinwhichOHSprincipalactsinAustraliaare
constructedalsohasaprofoundinfluenceonsafetyculture;
theyarepenalcodesandnoncompliancemayresultinlargefinesandin,extremecircumstances,gaol.However,thistypeofpersuasiondoesnotnecessarilyproduceadesirablesafetyculture:
Rathertheinstrumentalist
typeofsafetyculture/behavioursthatresultsispredicatedonbasiccompliancewithlegislative
requirementanditdoesnotproducethevisionandvaluesthatapro-activeandvibrantsafety
culturerequiresinordertogeneratedesirablesafetybehaviours.Further,minimalist
compliance,withoutstrivingtocontinuallyimproveperformance,isprobablythemajorfactor
contributingtotheAustralianconstructionindustry’spoorsafetyrecordwhichtheexcerptfrom
NOHSCbelowshows.
Eventhoughthattypically,compositenationalstatisticssuchastheseobfuscatesomeaspects
offatalitiessuchasthosecharacterisedobtuselyas‘longtermcontactwithchemicalsor
substances’probablyforthelattermeaningdeathduetoasbestosisormesotheliomawhichhave
longlatency‘incubation’periodsandindicatecontactwiththehazardoussubstanceperhaps
thirtyyearspriortothedeath:
Thesedeathsarereportedandconflatedwiththosedueto
electrocutioneuphemisticallyreferredtoas‘contactwithelectricity‘whichoccuronarecurring
basiscausingimmediatedeath.Further,thisdatasetomitsdeathduetofallsfromheightsin
constructionspecificallywhichprobablyaccountsfor40percentofallofthetraumaticfatalities
inconstruction(calculatedfromNOHSCCompendiumofWorkers’CompensationStatistics
Australia,2001-02,pp.24,27).Also,recordsofcompensatedinjuriesanddeathsgrossly
underestimatetheactualratesasthereisagreatdealofunder-reportingofinjuriesinthe
constructionindustry,andanunknownnumberofworkrelateddeathsarenotreportedassuch
astheymayoccuralongtimeaftertheemployeehaslefttheparticularemploymentorhas
retired.Yetanotherissuerelatestothelagbetweenthepublicationandthetimeofoccurrence.
Evensowemustrelyonthemostaccessibleandthemostrecentlyavailablestatisticswhich,
notwithstandingtheconcernsexpressedabove,quiteclearlyshowthatsafetyperformancein
theconstructionindustryrequiresmajorimprovement.
In2002–03,theConstructionindustryemployedapproximately5%oftheAustralianworkforcebutaccountedfor9%oftheacceptedworkers’compensationclaimsinvolvingoneormoreweeksoffworkthatwerelodgedinthatyear.TheincidenceofworkplaceinjuryanddiseasefortheConstructionindustryin2002–03was27claimsper1000employeesequatingtoaround34claimsperday.Thiswasadecreasefromtheincidencerateof34claimsper1000employeesrecordedin1998–99butremainsmuchhigherthanthecurrentnationalaverageof16claimsper1000employees.
Theincidenceofworkplacefatalitiesinthisindustrywas9.2fatalitiesper100000employeesin2002–03whichwasthreetimeshigherthanthenationalaverageof3.1fatalitiesper100000
employees.Overthepastfiveyearsthenumberofcompensatedfatalitieshasdecreasedfrom51
deathsin1998–99to42in2002–03,butstillremainsthesecondhighestofallindustries.
Themostcommontypeofinjury/diseasewassprainsandstrainsaccountingfor43%ofallclaims.Themostcommoncausesofcompensatedinjuryanddiseaseinthisindustryin2002–03were:
•bodystressing(muscularstressduetomanualhandlingorrepetitivemovement)whichaccountedfor36%ofallclaims;
•falls,tripsandslipsofapersonwhichaccountedfor26%ofallclaims;
and
•beinghitbymovingobjectswhichaccountedfor16%ofallclaims.
In2002–03themostcommoncausesofcompensatedfatalityinthisindustrywerelongtermcontactwithchemicalsorsubstances,whichaccountedfor30%offatalitiesandcontactwith
electricitywhichaccountedforafurther17%offatalities(NOHSC,2004).
Theabsolutenecessityofleadershipbyseniormanagementtocreateaproactiveandbeneficialsafetycultureortochangeanegativesafetyculturewehaveexaminedandproclaimed
elsewhere.Consequentlywedonotdiscussthesenecessaryelementsofachievingadesirablesafetycultureherebecausethisisnottheobjectiveofthispaper.Rather,wesuggestthataswellastheprimacyofexecutivemanagement’sleadershipinpromotingsafetyculturethelegislative‘stick’isessential,forwithoutthenecessarycompliancethatpenalcodesgenerate,constructionindustrysafetyperformancewouldbeevenworsethantheabovestatisticssuggest.Contradictorytoourpositionthatminimalistcomplianceisnotdesirableitisoftenthecasethatwhenanorganizationhassufferedamajorinjuryormultipleinjuriesorafatalitythatsubsequenttoprosecutionorlesserpenalprovisionsitisgalvanizedintochangingsafetybehavioursforthebetterand‘turningthesafetyculturearound.’Itmaywellbeconstruedthatsuchaneventprovidesapathwaytoeducation.
AnothercomplicatingfactoristhatthereisverylittleformalsafetyandhealtheducationforOHSofficersand,ofgreaterconcern,forkeypersonnelchargedlegallywiththeobservanceandenforcementofsafetyintheconstructionindustry.OHSlegislationgenericallydesignatesthe
employer,i.e.thegeneralmanager,theMDor‘personsincontrolofpremises’a