Evaluation of safety culture factors in the construction industry: a cross-country study of sites

Abstract

In the construction industry, most safety culture studies are limited to a single country, with minimal attention to cross-country studies. This limits creating a foundation for a robust framework and reliable safety culture scale. This study addresses this gap by studying safety culture in 10 countries, including those without previous studies. The survey instrument, completed by 311 construction employees, identified seven key factors measuring safety culture, with content and construct validity ensuring the reliability and validity of survey findings. Results indicated that work experience, education level and employment status have significant impacts on employees' safety culture. Additionally, similarities and differences in these factors across countries were investigated, and the fatalism and optimism factor and the work pressure and priority factor are the most significant contributors to the weakening of safety culture in the construction industry. This research allows industry practitioners to systematically assess on-site safety culture, oversee practices and improve.

Keywords: construction safety; cross-country study; occupational safety; questionnaire survey; safety culture.