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The construction business is widely recognised for its inherent complexity and dynamic nature, which stems from the nature of the job involved. The industry is often regarded as one of the most challenging industries globally in terms of implementing environmental, health and safety (EHS) practices. However, in the absence of EHS, the construction industry cannot be considered sustainable. Therefore, this study aims to identify the trends, knowledge gaps and implications of EHS research to enhance construction activities and knowledge.

The study adopted a science mapping approach involving bibliometric and scientometric analysis of 407 construction EHS publications from the Scopus database with the VOSviewer software. The study is based on journal articles from the Scopus database without restriction to any time range.

The main focus of construction EHS research identified in the study includes sustainability-related studies, risk-related, environmental issues, EHS management, integrated management systems studies, health and safety related and EHS in the construction process. Some emerging areas also identified include productivity, design, culture, social sustainability and machine learning. The most influential and productive publication sources, countries/regions and EHS publications with the highest impact were also determined.

Documents published in the Scopus database were considered for analysis because of the wider coverage of the database. Journal articles written in English language represent the inclusion criteria, whereas other documents were excluded from the analysis. The study also limited the search to articles with the engineering subject area.

The research findings will enlighten stakeholders and practitioners on the focal knowledge areas in the EHS research domain, which are vital for enhancing EHS in the industry.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review-based study is the first attempt to internationally conduct a science mapping on extant literature in the EHS research domain through bibliometric and scientometric assessments.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

Project management generally covers many important areas such as cost, quality and time in different industrial settings, but it is deficient in relation to integration of health, safety and environmental risks. Poor knowledge of project managers about HSE management necessitates the studying on the mutual effects of HSE and project management. Hence, investigating the impact of project management on health monitoring programs, safety prevention monitoring, environmental monitoring plans and finally the effectiveness of professional health monitoring programs and determining their importance are main objectives of this research. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A model based on structural equations was designed and developed. The constructs of this model are project management, health monitoring and safety prevention monitoring program. Based on the conceptual model, some questionnaires were prepared and distributed among the experts of strategic project management.

The results of applied structural modeling suggest that project management focuses on each aspect of HSE management, including health monitoring programs, safety prevention monitoring programs, environmental monitoring plans and effectiveness of professional health monitoring programs. HSE management can also be strengthened by empowering project management. Checking fire protection systems, using appropriate techniques to identify contamination and disposal of waste and incorporating techniques for brainstorming or other ideas creation in the group are the most important tasks in HSE-enabled project management frameworks.

Since there is still no strategic alignment model that includes components of project management and HSE management, a model for achieving this goal is vital. This paper elaborates this alignment based on literature and using a field study.

The shipbreaking sector in Bangladesh has spurred extensive academic and policy debates on relations between shipbreaking industries, environmental degradation and the health security of their workers. As shipbreaking is an economically significant industry in Bangladesh, it needs to implement both domestic and global mechanisms for environmental conservation and the protection of the labourers’ health from environmental risks. The purpose of this paper is to primarily explore the environmental and health security issues in shipbreaking activities in Bangladesh. It also identifies the challenges in implementing the rules and regulations for protecting the health of the workers at shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh and preserving the marine environment.

This is a qualitative paper based on secondary materials, including journal articles, books and national and international reports. It critically reviews the existing literature, rules, regulations and policing on shipbreaking with a particular focus on the environment and health security of the workers.

This paper finds that the implementation of the rules and regulations in shipbreaking in Bangladesh is complicated because of weak implementation mechanisms, political and economic interests of the yard owners, lack of coordination among different agencies, lack of adequate training and awareness among the workers and workers’ poor economic condition, which contribute to the degradation of marine and local environments and trigger health hazards among the workers. Therefore, degrading the environment and undermining occupational health and safety regulations have become regular; thus, accidental death and injury to the workers are common in this sector.

This paper is an important study on the issues of workers' health and safety and environmental hazards in the shipyard. It reports how the health security of the workers in shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh is vulnerable, and environmental rules are challenged. Finally, this paper frames some policy implications to safeguard the workers’ health rights and the marine environment.

This paper aims to explore the relevance of the application of an environmental management system in creating the image of a good corporate citizen in the Australian construction industry.

The author applied a research method based on data collected from annual reports, corporations' websites and publicly available statistics; and interviews conducted with stakeholders of the leading Australian construction industry corporations.

The environmental management system has a part in creating the image of a good corporate citizen. Majority of the companies pursues the corporate governance structure that is concerned about healthy environment. None of the companies includes both suppliers and community representatives in the board of directors. There is a different interpretation as to what healthy working environment comprises, and how to sustain a healthy environment of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The implementation of the occupational, health and safety regulations varies from state of state in Australia.

All companies should pursue the governance structure that ensures the social values of the organization are aligned with those of the community; overall unique stakeholders' understanding of a healthy working environment should support sustainability; equal implementation of occupational, health and safety regulations for each state in Australia could contribute overcoming for much‐needed occupational, health and safety improvement.

The originality of the paper is in applying the framework for examining the environmental management system pertinence to the image of defined good corporate citizen. The paper is useful to construction industry practitioners, academics, and government.

The project explored the ways in which the topics of organic food and agriculture are discussed in representative North American media outlets in reference to food safety, environmental concerns, and human health.

Articles from five newspapers were collected and coded using the content analysis technique and analyzed for topic, tone, and theme.

For a six‐year time period, 618 articles on organic food and organic agriculture are analyzed and the prominent topics are found to be genetic engineering, pesticides, and organic farming. Articles with a neutral tone with respect to organic agriculture and food accounted for 41.4 percent of the articles, while positively toned articles garnered 36.9 percent. The themes human health, food safety, and environmental concerns were discussed with positive reference to organic food and agriculture in 81, 50, and 90 percent, respectively, of comments pulled from the articles.

Analysis of these articles over time, between media outlets and by topic allows for understanding of media reporting on the subject and provides insight into the way the public is influenced by news coverage of organic food and agriculture.

Research that analyzes media coverage for how it portrays the topic of organic food and organic agriculture with respect to health, food safety, and environmental concern, and concludes that articles about organic production in the selected time period are seldom negative.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Improved safety, health and environment outcomes through better design are about eliminating or minimising risks in the preliminary planning stages of a product. Better design provides a foundation for improved outcomes in the development, use and maintenance of a product like plant and equipment or a building. Improved outcomes in design require the many stakeholders who contribute to the design process to critically review its safety, health and environment implications. Therefore, the client, or end user, must be actively involved in the review to ensure that operational requirements and maintenance issues, intrinsically known to the client, are considered by other design stakeholders. For example, safety, health and environment implications inherent in the design of a building project may exist in its construction, use, maintenance and demolition, i.e. its complete lifecycle. Similar implications exist for the design of other products such as plant or equipment, e.g. its manufacture through to decommissioning.

The purpose of this paper was to examine UK shale gas viability. The recent commitment to shale gas exploration in the UK through fracking has given rise to well-publicised economic benefits and environmental concerns. There is potential for shale gas exploration in different parts of the UK over the next couple of decades. As argued in this study, if it does, it would transform the energy market and provide long-term energy security at affordable cost.

Interviews with senior practitioners and local communities were recorded, transcribed and entered into qualitative research software Nvivo. Validity and reliability were achieved by first assessing the plausibility in terms of already existing knowledge on some of the economic and environmental issues raised by participants.

Findings from this study suggest that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities. Participants further suggested that the integration of shale gas technology will protect consumers against rising energy prices and ensure that government does not get exposed to long-term geopolitical risks.

The present study corroborates the position that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities.

The present study confirms that the government is committed to ensuring that the nation maximises the opportunity that cost-effective shale gas technology presents, not just investment, cheap energy bills and jobs but providing an energy mix that will underpin the UK long-term economic prosperity.

The present study corroborates the position that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities. As shown in this study, the UK has a very strong regulatory regime compared to USA; therefore, environmental, health and safety risks will be very well managed and unlikely to escalate into the crisis being envisioned.

Environmental issues are diverse and result from different factors and situations. These call for a multidimensional approach to combat environmental perturbation with respect to the presenting noxious factors, such as toxic chemical elements and wastes from diverse anthropogenic activities. The continued success of certain environmental programmes in the developed parts of the world and the continuing refinement of our environmental objectives in a contextually designed sustainable development, coupled with significant additional knowledge in environmental planning and management have all led to the decision for a global concerted effort to maintain and sustain our environment for the health and safety of present and future generations. However, these objectives are not strongly undergirded in non‐industrialized parts of the world, and are not wholly supported by the chemical industries and other interests because they lack the will and dedication to realise that economics and environmental management as well as health and safety are inextricably linked.