Elements of Safety Management System in the Construction Industry and Measuring Safety Performance – A Brief

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Teaching Assistant at The British University in Egypt, Post Graduate Student at Ain Shams University, Egypt.

2 Professor, Structural Engineering Department, Ain Shams University, Egypt.

3 Professor, Head of Architecture Department, The British University in Egypt;

4 Ph.D., Structural Engineering Department, Ain Shams University; Egypt.

10.1088/1757-899X/974/1/012013

Abstract

Construction industry is considered to be one of the most hazardous industries in the world. The reason could be attributed to its hazardous nature as it is an accident-prone industry. Thus, a need for better understanding of safety management system is essential for improving safety performance in this sector. This paper discusses briefly the elements of safety management by presenting different systems (such as Oregon OSHA Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and OTAR Overseas Territories Aviation Circle) and elaborating their elements. It also discusses two types of measuring safety performance the first is the lagging indicators and the second is the leading indicator. In addition, a field study was conducted to explore contractors’ perception on safety management. A questionnaire was distributed to
construction firms. 200 responses were collected and analyzed. All of the results showed positive answers which indicate that safety in performance in Egypt is slightly above average as all means were close to average.