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Safety management in construction is complicated due to the complex "nature" of the construction industry. The aim of this research was to identify safety management factors (e.g., risk management and site management), contextual factors (e.g., organisational complexity) and combinations of such factors connected to safety performance. Method: Twelve construction projects were selected to compare their safety management and safety performance. An analytical framework was developed based on previous research, regulations, and standards where each management factor was defined. We employed qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to produce case knowledge, compare the cases, and identify connections between the factors and safety performance. The material collected and analyzed included, for example, construction planning documents, reports from OHS-inspections, safety indicators, and interviews with project leaders and OHS experts. Results and conclusions: The research showed that: (a) the average score on 12 safety management factors was higher among projects with high safety performance compared to projects with low safety performance; (b) high safety performance can be achieved with both high and low construction complexity and organizational complexity, but these factors complicate coordination of actors and operations; (c) it is possible to achieve high safety performance despite relatively poor performance on many safety management factors; (d) eight safety management factors were found to be "necessary" for high safety performance, namely roles and responsibilities, project management, OHS management and integration, safety climate, learning, site management, staff management, and operative risk management. Site management, operative risk management, and staff management were the three factors most strongly connected to safety performance. Practical implications: Construction stakeholders should understand that the ability to achieve high safety performance in construction projects is connected to key safety management factors, contextual factors, and combinations of such factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Practices and benefits of Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is studied. • Six benefits in terms of safety as well as production are identified. • Too many JSAs are performed for activities that should be handled by other methods. Abstract The aim of the presented study is to investigate the practices and benefits of Job Safety Analysis (JSA) in construction projects. The study was performed by executing interviews at six construction projects; by observations of JSA meetings; and by a document study of 97 JSA forms. The study demonstrates that too many JSAs are performed for activities in which barriers and procedures should have been established prior to initiating the JSA. Although hazard control can be established on the basis of other methods than JSA, the method has other benefits in terms of safety as well as production. The study identifies six interwoven benefits of the JSA: formalisation of work; retrospective and prospective accountability; worker participation and possibility to influence their own work; organisational learning in communities of practice; improved situational awareness; and loss prevention in dynamic systems. These are benefits both in terms of safe and efficient operations, which underline the link between safety, quality and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Using the ConAC framework, 1.039 causal factors were identified in 176 construction accidents. • Factors most identified were worker actions, risk management and immediate supervision. • Worker actions is the outcome of many other causal factors. • Immediate supervision is a key causal factor connecting management and worker actions. • Risk management is a key causal factor and strongly connected to immediate supervision and worker actions. Abstract The aim of this study was to add to the relatively sparse literature on accident causality in the construction industry by identifying frequent causal factors and connections between causal factors. Using the Construction Accident Causation (ConAC) framework, 176 relatively severe construction accidents investigated by the Labour Inspection Authority in 2015 were analysed. The seven factors most identified were (in rank order): (1) worker actions, (2) risk management, (3) immediate supervision, (4) usability of materials or equipment, (5) local hazards, (6) worker capabilities, and (7) project management. A set theoretic approach was used to identify causal connections between causal factors. Risk management, immediate supervision and worker actions were found to be key causal factors and strongly connected. The analyses identified seven causal factors consistently connected to worker actions, for example immediate supervision and local hazards. Immediate supervision was found to be strongly connected to both worker actions and risk management, underlining the importance of the supervisor controlling unsafe conditions/acts and planning the work to reduce risk. Strong connections were also found between risk management and immediate supervision, and between risk management and worker actions. Risk management and immediate supervision is to a large degree about planning and risk control at different levels, underlining the importance of risk being addressed at different levels and by different actors in construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A number of actions are subsequently implemented after large-scale events for different reasons. • An interplay of various factors influences the changes in the area of societal safety and security. • Sectorial responsibility hinders cooperation between sectors. Abstract This paper characterizes changes in Norway's civil protection and emergency preparedness five years after the Oslo and Utøya terror attacks. Data from 48 interviews conducted in the period 2014–2016 with civil servants within different levels of the justice sector were qualitatively analyzed. The inductive analysis shows four main changes made related to Norway's civil protection and emergency preparedness within the Ministry of Justice and Public Security: (1) a change in risk perception regarding awareness of security-related risks; (2) the generation of several plans and measures; (3) structural changes at various levels within the justice sector; and (4) increased resources allocated to societal safety and security. The changes following the Oslo terror attacks were not solely in response to the terror attacks, but also the result of previous and subsequent events and reports. The current organization of public administration, however, still fosters siloed thinking and turf wars around the principle of responsibility and each sector's respective area of expertise. Most of the implemented changes can be characterized as structural; diagnoses made after the terror attacks pointed at cultural aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview study in a major Norwegian construction company was conducted to analyse learning from reports of unwanted occurrences (RUO). Systems for reporting unwanted occurrences are on of the most important tools in systematic safety management to ensure efficient experience feedback that will improve safety performance. The interview study identifies two major obstacles to efficient learning from reports of unwanted occurrences (1) under-reporting at the sharp end, and (2) reports are not analysed and applied to improve the safety performance. The reasons for under-reporting are the same as those identified in previously published studies on under-reporting, with one exception. The interviews show that many workers are flexible and choose to correct the situation right there and without documenting the occurrences in order to perform both effective as well as safe work. It is paradoxical that those at the sharp end prefer to put things right and continue the work in a safer manner without spending time reporting, at the same time as the HSE management wants all unwanted occurrences to be documented for learning purposes. A root cause for the identified obstacles is a conflicting objective between production and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper identifies frequent accident types in the construction industry, characterises the accident sequence, and identifies barrier failures for the most frequent accident types. 176 accidents in the Norwegian construction industry investigated by the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority in 2015 are analysed. The most frequent accident types include: fall from roof, floor or platform; contact with falling objects; fall from scaffold; and contact with moving parts of a machine. A comparison of the study sample to other injury samples, showed that the distribution of accident types varied regarding severity and different construction types. This can be explained by differences in work type, hazard, and energy type and energy amount. An analysis of barrier failures showed that many accidents are explained by the lack of physical barrier elements. The results indicate that there is significant potential for accident prevention in the construction industry by systematic barrier management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Emergency management faces a changed reality in terms of possibilities and threats with use of new technology. Due to the ongoing changes in the operation of oil and gas production, different constellations of actors in a distributed system are built. This introduces opportunities for planning and operation. At the same time as new technology offers opportunities, the technology-enabled distributed network of actors generate challenges for emergency handling. The purpose of the study presented has been to look for possibilities for making emergency management more resilient by becoming a part of continuous risk and hazard management. The suggested three main elements that are important to consider in the development of future emergency management are (1) proactive emergency management through early risk anticipation; and emergency management’s adaptation to new and future work practices such as (2) distributed actors and (3) new technology. Based on these results we suggest broadening the scope of emergency management to systematically include monitoring, anticipation, responding and learning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper discusses occupational accident modelling challenges associated with a changing working life, and asks whether ideas from models developed for high-risk, complex socio-technical systems can be transformed and adapted for use in occupational accident prevention. Are occupational accidents mainly simple component failures or is a systemic approach to the phenomenon of some interest and value? [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: Learning at the local level is an important contributor to safe and resilient communities. The purpose of this article is therefore to explore what motivates municipalities in Norway to learn from disasters and how they learn from them. This purpose has been fulfilled by (1) addressing the process of learning from disasters occurring within municipalities, and (2) learning from disasters in other municipalities, in particular from the terrorist incidents that occurred in Oslo on 22 July 2011. Design/methodology/approach: An interview study was conducted of individuals responsible for municipal emergency preparedness. Findings: Unwanted events that occur outside municipal borders only trigger learning processes if they are geographically proximate. Events occurring within the geographical borders of the municipality represent greater potential for learning than those occurring outside its borders. Availability of resources for municipal civil protection activities is another factor that has an impact on learning. Originality/value: The local level plays a key role in generating and maintaining adequate civil protection and emergency preparedness in society. Although the literature on learning from disasters is extensive, learning processes at the local level have been given little attention. This article thus contributes to the existing body of knowledge by studying learning processes following disasters at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]