Development and validation of disability management indicators for the construction industry
Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology
ISSN: 1726-0531
Article publication date: 5 February 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Support at the organizational and managerial levels defines the degree to which construction workplaces can accommodate disabled and injured workers. There is little empirical evidence about the indicators and practices that can be used by construction organizations to evaluate disability management (DM). This paper aims to develop and validate key indicators and practices of disability/injury management within construction.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this, the research used a two-phase sequential exploratory review of literature, followed by a quantitative phase, using analytic hierarchy process. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) involved recruiting eight health and safety and DM experts to conduct pairwise comparisons of these indicators.
Findings
The results found return-to-work and disability and injury management practices to be the most important indicators and physical accessibility and claims management practices to be the least important.
Practical implications
The development of these indicators should help construction organizations develop DM programs that better meet their needs, and benchmark and improve related performance.
Social implications
The results could also be useful for all stakeholders in general and decision makers in particular involved within construction.
Originality/value
Such prioritization helps organizations to prioritize their DM practices thereby optimizing performance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a grant from the Research and Workplace Innovation Program of the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba.
Citation
Quaigrain, R.A. and Issa, M.H. (2018), "Development and validation of disability management indicators for the construction industry", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 81-100. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-04-2017-0032
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited