Integrated safety, health and environmental management in the construction industry: key organisational capability attributes
Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology
ISSN: 1726-0531
Article publication date: 2 December 2021
Issue publication date: 21 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
For construction organisations to be effective at implementing an integrated safety, health and environmental (SHE) management system, they require the right level of organisational capability. This capability includes the policies, systems and resources of the organisation. However, within the academic literature, it is unclear which organisational attributes of construction companies are important for implementing integrated SHE management. This study aims to explore the organisational attributes that determine integrated SHE management capability and their relative priorities.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a literature review supported by expert verification and a subsequent three-round expert Delphi technique accompanied by applying the voting analytical hierarchy process.
Findings
The study identified 20 attributes grouped under five main thematic categories. These are strategy (the organisation’s vision and top management commitment); process (the organisation’s procedures and processes for SHE management); people (organisation’s human resources, their competence, roles, responsibilities and involvement in SHE management); resources (organisation’s physical and financial resources for SHE management) and information (SHE related documents, data, records and their communication across an organisation). While these thematic categories and the attributes within carry different weights of importance, the strategy-related attributes are the most important, followed by the people-related attributes.
Originality/value
The results of this study should enable construction companies and key industry stakeholders to understand construction companies’ capability to successfully implement an integrated SHE management system. Furthermore, construction companies should be able to prioritise efforts or investments to enhance their SHE management capability.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Appreciation is extended to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for funding this research (grant number: GHCS-2016–147).
Citation
Asah-Kissiedu, M., Manu, P., Booth, C.A., Mahamadu, A.-M. and Agyekum, K. (2023), "Integrated safety, health and environmental management in the construction industry: key organisational capability attributes", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 21 No. 6, pp. 1975-2007. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-08-2021-0436
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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