The relationship between communication and construction safety climate in China

Liao, Pin‐Chao; Lei, Guangpu; Fang, Dongping; Liu, Wei

doi:10.1007/s12205-014-0492-4

Cited by 57 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Several studies applied SNA to understand how social networks are connected with workplace safety. For example, in the construction sector, SNA was implemented to investigate the role of social network structures and dynamics concerning safety climate [ 24 ], safety communication [ 15 ], or the causes of accidents [ 25 ]. Furthermore, SNA was analyzed in the military sector to evaluate surgical team communication [ 26 ].…”

Section: Social Network Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-Technical Skills in Social Networks: The Spread of Safety Communication and Teamwork in a Warehouse

Paolucci

Sangiorgi²,

Mariani

2021

IJERPH

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Safety at work should be considered as the result of the daily interaction of operators. The present research wants to analyze which factors are involved in the development of social networks about safety at work. We assumed that two relational non-technical skills, such as safety communication and safety team member support, affect the in-degree and out-degree bonds of workers in social networks. One hundred and eight workers of a warehouse were the participants of the research, in which they were asked to fill out a self-reported questionnaire. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Results confirmed that safety communication and safety support skills play a role in determining the quantity and the quality of social bonds that workers can create at the workplace. To be specific, while safety communication was found to be associated with out-degree centrality (b = 0.24; p = 0.01), a nonsignificant relationship was found for in-degree centrality. In contrast, safety team member support was found to be associated with in-degree centrality (b = 0.28; p = 0.04). In other words, on the one hand, it was found that high levels of safety communication skills are associated with the tendency of workers to proactively search for colleagues with whom they can share information about safety. On the other hand, workers with high levels of safety support skills tend to be considered as reference points in terms of safety by colleagues, who are more prone to look for their help. Implications for both scientists and practitioners are discussed.

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Section: Social Network Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-Technical Skills in Social Networks: The Spread of Safety Communication and Teamwork in a Warehouse

Paolucci

Sangiorgi²,

Mariani

2021

IJERPH

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“…With regard to safety research at the crew level in construction, SNA has primarily been implemented to serve as a tool to map communication patterns in projects and obtain resulting indicators, which are regarded as being related to knowledge sharing, safety performance, and efficiency [ 22 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. A study on small crews (5–12 members) showed that social density in a network can be used for distinguishing the high- from the low-performing teams, as safety performance of a crew is partially related to the frequency of safety communication within teams, as well as the number of workers who are able to act as a link for sharing safety knowledge [ 38 ].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Liao et al characterized team communication in China using SNA and then discussed the association between different communication structures and workers’ safety awareness. In this study, safety supervisors and site construction managers were shown to serve as driving forces that could focus workers’ attention on safety management and improve the safety climate [ 22 ].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The findings demonstrated a positive relationship between the increase in safety-related communication intensity and safety-promoting behaviors [ 21 ]. A recent study applied SNA to analyze the impact of communication on the construction safety climate in China, which indicated that those who are responsible for safety management (e.g., safety supervisor or site construction manager) represent a higher density in the communication network [ 22 ]. As a result, it can be inferred that those who are in potentially special roles in a crew are more likely to show a higher intensity in terms of safety communication, thus providing more opportunities to influence coworkers through exchanging knowledge and information [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identification of Safety-Related Opinion Leaders among Construction Workers: Evidence from Scaffolders of Metro Construction in Wuhan, China

Xiong

Liang

Luo

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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This study aimed to reveal opinion leaders who could impact their coworkers’ safety-related performance in Chinese construction teams. Questionnaires were distributed to 586 scaffolders in Wuhan to understand their opinions about influencing their coworkers, serving as the foundation for a social network analysis to identify the potential opinion leaders among workers. A further controlled trial with the identified workers was conducted to select real opinion leaders by comparing their influence on others’ safety-related behavior, followed by an association analysis to profile these opinion leaders. Two main sources of opinion leaders were identified: foremen and seasoned workers. Implementing interventions through opinion leaders resulted in better safety-related behavior performance. Furthermore, compared with education level, the association analysis results indicated that one’s practical skills and familiarity with respondents was more important in the formulation of opinion leaders. This research introduces the concept of opinion leaders into construction safety and proposes an approach to identify and validate opinion leaders within a crew, thus providing a tool to improve behavior promotion on sites, as well as a new perspective for viewing interactions among workers.

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“…When work pressure or workload far exceeded workers' capacity, workers were hardly to perform their tasks safely. Liao et al (2014) indicated that a positive safety climate could be associated with higher communication density, since the communication could be a key factor that determined the shared safety perception.…”

Section: Influential Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%