Causal relationships between enablers of construction safety culture

Abstract

Better understanding of safety culture and causal relationships between its key elements is a must for construction organizations to strategically allocate their safety resources. This paper reports the use of structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to test causal relationships between key elements of construction safety culture. These elements (five enablers and goals) were identified through the utilisation of the widely used EFQM Excellence Model. Data gathered via a questionnaire survey were analysed using SEM. The statistical results appear to support the hypothesized positive relationships between five enablers and goals. Moreover, the analysis reveals that the “people” enabler has a positive effect on other enablers such as “partnerships and resources” and “processes”. The study findings highlight the interaction among the five enablers thus guiding construction organizations to identify which enabler(s) has the potential to maximize returns on their safety resource investment in order to achieve predetermined goals of the overall health and safety performance.