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Purpose – Present findings from a UK study, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), on the relationship between safety advisor roles and safety performance. Design/methodology/approach – Roles and organisational factors for contractors' safety advisors (independent variables) were derived from existing literature. The dependent variable was "safety performance", measured by accident incidence rate (AIR). Data were provided by 101 contractors and variance of means analysis was conducted. Findings – Contractors using only external safety consultants had an average AIR approximately three times those with internal safety staff. However, simply increasing internal safety personnel did not lead to increased safety performance. Contractors, where at least one safety advisor had authority to give orders had a lower mean AIR than those who did not. Other significant variables were: delivering safety training to employees; vetting sub-contractors; and the inclusion of an environmental management role. Practical implications – Employing at least one full-time internal safety person is better than relying solely on a safety consultant. If these safety advisers report to senior management then they have a greater chance of influencing others to act safely or commit resources to manage safety. Delivery of training, vetting sub-contractors and including environmental duties should feature in safety advisor roles. Originality/value – The assumption that merely increasing safety personnel improves safety has been challenged. It is apparent from these findings that what the safety personnel actually do is more important than how many are employed. This is a major finding in relation to theory and practice which challenges previous research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous attempts to use goal setting and feedback to improve safety behaviour on construction sites have focused on operatives, but recognized management commitment as essential for success. This research addressed two problems: validly and reliably measuring the safety performance of construction managers; and motivating managers to improve their safety performance. A measure of management safety performance was developed, covering seven items: induction training; toolbox talk training; safety committees; subcontractor safety; maintenance of safety records; safety manager actions and safety consideration (interaction, communication and worker engagement). This was used on a case study site to improve motivation of the management team. During an intervention, using monthly feedback and goal-setting techniques, their performance improved from 49% to 82% of maximum expected performance. The results demonstrate that a valid and reliable measure of management safety performance is practicable and support the proposition that goal setting can improve management safety performance in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review and synthesis of behavioural safety literature identified three behaviour change perspectives: cognitive (goal setting); behaviourist (behaviour modification); and eclectic (social learning). Bandura's social learning theory usefully integrates the divergent philosophies of Locke's goal setting and Luthan's behaviour modification. Social learning theory assumes that behaviour is controlled by internal processes and environmental stimuli, and so human action can be explained by the combined effect of goals and feedback. The effectiveness of behavioural safety has been demonstrated consistently, but, despite some success, token reward programmes are controversial because they are close to 'paying for safety'. Researchers have overwhelmingly favoured initiatives based on goals and performance feedback without material reward. Goals and feedback produced good results in the varying cultures of North American, European and Middle-East manufacturing environments, including mines, chemical plants, laboratories, paper mills and shipyards. Goals and feedback, aimed principally at operatives, have been used to improve safety in Finnish, British and Hong Kong construction industries. It is also clear that their effectiveness is strongly related to management commitment; and that they must be supported by a developed safety infrastructure. This suggests that goals should also embrace management safety behaviours, in order to improve management commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper presents tools and equipment aspects of the results from a three-year United Kingdom Government funded research project investigating accident causality (ConCA). The project has used focus groups and studied in detail 100 construction accidents site audits, interviews with involved persons and follow-up along the causal chain. This paper concentrates on the influence of construction tools and equipment which were found to be important contributory factors identified by the research. They have largely been overlooked by previous studies and are not typically acknowledged as accident contributors. This paper argues for further work to confirm these links and for the inclusion of tools and equipment in the list of categories in statutory reporting procedures. This would also require an increased acknowledgement by construction managers of their influence, leading to better design and management of their supply and care on site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiences gained in teaching computation to undergraduates in a department of technology are described, including two different methods of teaching. These methods and the results achieved are contrasted both quantitatively, in terms of staff resources used and marks obtained, and qualitatively. It is concluded that a learner‐directed discovery approach is the more suited to this type of course. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]