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Article
Publication date: 24 August 2018

David Oswald, Rita Peihua Zhang, Helen Lingard, Payam Pirzadeh and Tiendung Le

The purpose of this paper is to present a critical review of the use of safety performance indicators in the construction industry. The authors consider the strengths, limitations…

1283

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a critical review of the use of safety performance indicators in the construction industry. The authors consider the strengths, limitations and managerial consequences associated with commonly used indicators.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors combine two separate data sets in this critical review. These include 32 semi-structured interviews with construction industry representatives involved in the collection and reporting of safety indicators, as well as a multi-level safety climate survey that was conducted at 12 construction sites across Australia.

Findings

The analysis provides new evidence that, in their current use, commonly used H&S indicators are subject to manipulation and misinterpretation. Their usefulness as tools to support safety management activities in construction projects and organisations needs to be understood in the context of their limitations. In particular, safety indicators do not reflect the full set of factors that affect workplace safety and there will always be disagreement about what should be counted and how.

Originality/value

As a result of the substantial shortcomings of safety indicators, great care needs to be taken when using them to determine or evaluate organisational safety policy and practices.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 25 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 January 2014

Wann-Yih Wu and Ying-Kai Liao

This study purposed an integrated DEA-BSC model to evaluate the operational efficiency of airlines. To adapt this model, 38 major airlines in the world were selected to assess…

4374

Abstract

Purpose

This study purposed an integrated DEA-BSC model to evaluate the operational efficiency of airlines. To adapt this model, 38 major airlines in the world were selected to assess their relative performance.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study is employed using a cross-sectional research design. The operational and financial data of 38 leading airlines companies were collected from annual reports and business reports. Specifically, this study integrated the concepts of balanced scorecard (BSC) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) and incorporated seven leading variables and four lagging variables from BSC to implement DEA.

Findings

By using the leading and lagging variables to implement DEA, this study not only assessed the efficiency frontiers, input slack, output slacks, and benchmarking learning partners of 38 airlines, but also illustrated how leading indicators are related and influence lagging indicators. In particular, the study results indicated that airlines with excellent performance in the efficient frontiers tended to perform better in energy, capital, and other operating costs.

Research limitations/implications

This study presented a DEA-BSC model to integrate the concepts of BSC into DEA. The empirical results showed that the model is more advanced than the capabilities of individual DEA and BSC. This model could also eliminate the faults of each one. Due to the cross-sectional research design of this research, future research should develop the longitudinal study to identify the time series of the influences of leading factors on lagging factors.

Practical implications

This study offered an integrated model that incorporated the concepts of BSC and DEA. The leading and lagging factors of BSC were adopted to the evaluation of operational performance of airlines along with DEA. Therefore, BSC has served as the compliment of DEA. Using the DEA-BSC results, such as the efficiency frontiers, the amount of slacks, and benchmark learning partners, business executives could develop their improvement strategies.

Originality/value

Since none of previous studies have integrated BSC and DEA to assess the operational efficiency of the airline industry, the results of this study could serve as a baseline for further academic validations, the results could also be very useful for the executives of airline companies to allocate their resources for further improvement.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 114 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2023

Nnedinma Umeokafor, Abimbola Windapo and Oluwole Alfred Olatunji

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of the characteristics of procurement strategies, in this instance labour-only, on project performance concerning health…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of the characteristics of procurement strategies, in this instance labour-only, on project performance concerning health and safety (H&S), a project performance indicator.

Design/methodology/approach

Using non-probability purposeful and snowballing sampling methods, questionnaires were used to collect data from construction professionals in Nigeria. This was then analysed using descriptive (frequency and mean scores) and inferential statistics (Mann–Whitney-U and Kendall's Tau_b tests).

Findings

The findings indicate a statistically significant negative correlation between ‘the level of client involvement and ‘fatalities' and a positive one with ‘conducting of health and safety risk assessment' and ‘conducting employee surveys on health and safety attitude’. Poor hygiene is found to be the worst lagging indicator, while conducting of inspection is the most adopted leading indicator of project health and safety performance. It also emerged that there is no significant difference in the health and safety performance of projects procured through the procurement strategy in urban and rural areas.

Practical implications

The study provides valuable insight into the complexities in H&S management due to the high level of client involvement in labour-only procurement system (LoPS) projects and the level of diversity in their responsibilities therein. It creates a fundamental direction for developing a detailed framework or guidance notes for client involvement in the integration of H&S into LoPS projects.

Originality/value

This is the first study that examines the influence of the characteristics of procurement strategy on project health and safety performance. Evidence in the literature shows that project delivery outcomes significantly improve if procurement is strategically used, including when it is considered early in projects. However, integrating H&S into procurement strategies has received little attention.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 January 2011

Helen Lingard, Ron Wakefield and Patrick Cashin

This paper seeks to examine a hierarchical measurement model for occupational health and safety (OHS) performance developed for use in the Australian construction industry and

3409

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine a hierarchical measurement model for occupational health and safety (OHS) performance developed for use in the Australian construction industry and tested over the life of one case study construction project. The model was intended to provide a more sensitive and informative measure of project OHS performance than traditional injury frequency rates.

Design/methodology/approach

Two measurement tools were tested. The tools, a monthly weighted safety index and a quarterly safety climate survey, were used to measure OHS performance and performance data are presented.

Findings

The data suggest convergent validity, indicated by consistent results between the two measures. Results also indicated that a combination of measurement techniques provides more comprehensive data pertaining to project OHS performance and enables the diagnosis of OHS issues that would be undetected with reliance exclusively on traditional measures, such as lost time injury frequency rates.

Research limitations/implications

The implications for future research lie in the demonstrated need to carefully evaluate the validity of the safety index and safety climate survey in future construction projects, and in the broader construction context. The results were limited to an evaluation of the measurement model in a single case study construction project and future testing is needed to determine the generalisability of the model.

Practical implications

The implications for practice are that multiple measures of OHS performance, including leading indicators and surveys of workers' attitudes and perceptions of project OHS, provide a more useful basis for the development of targeted OHS improvement strategies.

Originality/value

The paper develops a theoretical framework for the measurement of OHS using positive performance indicators and safety climate surveys. The evidence for convergent validity suggests that, in combination with traditional lost time injury rates, these measures provide a more robust method for the early detection and rectification of OHS issues in construction projects.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2018

Neetu Yadav, Sushil Sushil and Umit Sezer Bititci

Performance measurement and management (PMM) literature is highly abundant with numerous PMM frameworks encapsulating various aspects of enterprise performance that are largely…

Abstract

Purpose

Performance measurement and management (PMM) literature is highly abundant with numerous PMM frameworks encapsulating various aspects of enterprise performance that are largely driven by enterprise viewpoint. Considering dynamic nature of Indian telecom industry where customers hold high bargaining power in the industry, flexible strategy game-card has been adopted as a theoretical basis. The purpose of this study is to capture an “outside-in view” of enterprise performance by incorporating performance measurement from customers’ perspective and highlight dual perspectives of performance, i.e. enterprise and customers’.

Design/methodology/approach

Rigorous empirical data analysis tools have been used on the data collated through opinion survey to develop strategic performance management model for Indian telecom service providers where mediation effects of customers’-based strategic factors have also been captured.

Findings

The findings emphasize the fact that financial performance indicators are outcome variables that are driven by the external environment, internal organizational structure and business processes. An effective performance management system (PMS) should consist enabling performance indicators (customers’ perspective) in addition to leading and lagging performance indicators that are widely discussed in the literature.

Research limitations/implications

The set of performance indicators identified is in the context of Indian telecom service operators, which should be used in another context with full caution. The generalization of the empirically validated strategic performance management model in other country context is limited. However, the process of development of PMS could be taken as an example to replicate in any other context.

Originality/value

Measuring an enterprise performance from customers’ perspective is the major contribution of this study. With the diverse set of performance indicators, effective PMS can be developed and deployed where tangible measures act as lagging indicators, namely, situational and operational, strategic measures act as leading indicators, and subscribers’ crucial assessment measures act as enabling indicators.

Details

Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-3047

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2023

Mostafa Dadashi Haji and Behrouz Behnam

It is a well-accepted note that to enhance safety performance in a project by preventing hazards, recognizing the safety leading indicators is of paramount importance.

Abstract

Purpose

It is a well-accepted note that to enhance safety performance in a project by preventing hazards, recognizing the safety leading indicators is of paramount importance.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, the relationship between safety leading indicators is determined, and their impacts on the project are assessed and visualized throughout the time of the project in a proactive manner. Construction and safety experts are first interviewed to determine the most important safety leading indicators of the construction industry, and then the relationships that may exist between them are identified. Furthermore, a system dynamics model is generated using the interviews and integrated with an add-on developed on the building information modeling (BIM) platform. Finally, the impacts of the safety leading indicators on the project are calculated based on their time of occurrence, impact time and effective radius.

Findings

The add-on generates a heat-map that visualizes the impacts of the safety leading indicators on the project through time. Moreover, to assess the effectiveness of the developed tool, a case study is conducted on a station located on a water transfer line. In order to validate the results of the tool, a survey is also conducted from the project's staff and experts in the field. Previous studies have so far focused on active safety leading indicators that may result in a particular hazard, and the importance of the effects that safety leading indicators have on another is not considered. This study considers their effects on each other in a real-time manner.

Originality/value

Using this tool project's stakeholders and staff can identify the hazards proactively; hence, they can make the required decisions in advance to reduce the impact of associated events. Moreover, two other potentially contributions of the presented work can be enumerated as: firstly, the findings provide a knowledge framework of active safety leading indicators and their interactions for construction safety researchers who can go on to further study safety management. Secondly, the proposed framework contributes to encouragement of time-based location-based preventive strategies on construction sites.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 May 2019

Seyed Sajad Mousavi, Reza Khani Jazani, Elizabeth A. Cudney and Paolo Trucco

This study aims to quantify the multifaceted relationship between lean implementation and occupational health and safety (OHS) performance. Hypotheses based on a set of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to quantify the multifaceted relationship between lean implementation and occupational health and safety (OHS) performance. Hypotheses based on a set of antecedents (mediating factors) are built and quantitatively tested.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through an international survey with responses from more than 20 countries. Partial least square-based structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical framework derived from literature. Leading indicators (formative indices) were used to evaluate the four antecedents of OHS performance (mediating factors).

Findings

All the identified antecedents show a significant mediating role. Antecedents related to the working environment and organizational factors have the strongest mediating effect. Results support the importance of using OHS leading indicators to appropriately measure the impact of lean implementation on workers’ health and safety.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed OHS leading indicators connecting lean practices to OHS performance antecedents are only explored in this study. Therefore, to establish a comprehensive, validated and practically usable set of leading indicators, further research is needed.

Practical implications

As there are some synergistic and trade-off relationships between lean and safety, the findings of this study will enable managers and organizations to leverage the positive effects of lean implementation on workers’ health and safety and mitigate the negative effects.

Originality/value

Several prior studies investigated the multifaceted link between lean and OHS; however, this is the first study that tested direct and mediated influence by defining a coherent set of antecedents. The results justify and strongly support the adoption of OHS leading indicators to measure the impact of lean implementation on OHS performance.

Details

International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-4166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2016

Nuwan Gunarathne, Dileepa Samudrage, Dinushi Nisansala Wijesinghe and Ki-Hoon Lee

This paper aims to identify the usefulness of safety controls and accounting in corporate social sustainability management in response to various stakeholders’ demands and

1866

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the usefulness of safety controls and accounting in corporate social sustainability management in response to various stakeholders’ demands and expectations in the mining sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study approach is followed in this study as it provides in-depth understanding of complex social phenomena. Data collection is mainly based on semi-structured interviews, on-site assessments and documentation reviews. Visits were repeated and cross-checked to ensure the validity of data collection and analysis.

Findings

The study identifies a reciprocal relationship between stakeholder management strategies and the safety control system that encapsulates a mix of leading and lagging key safety performance indicators (KSPIs). A safety control system with the right mix of KSPIs drives corporate value-creation by instigating internal organizational changes. Yet, the stakeholders’ expectations and pressures are dependent on national, historical, cultural and social settings and institutions that will impact on the safety controls and safety accounting in a substantial way.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates the usefulness of safety controls and accounting in corporate stakeholder management in the mining sector in Sri Lanka. The paper, by addressing how safety control systems and accounting meet various stakeholder demands and expectations, provides new insights into corporate social sustainability performance in mining companies and the role and implications of sustainability (management) accounting.

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2020

Aziz Yousif Shaikh, Robert Osei‐Kyei and Mary Hardie

Safety performance indicators are a major research concern globally in the construction sector, so this study aims to systematically analyse construction safety performance…

1004

Abstract

Purpose

Safety performance indicators are a major research concern globally in the construction sector, so this study aims to systematically analyse construction safety performance indicators from some top research publications from 2000 to 2019.

Design/methodology/approach

Systematic review was performed using Scopus search engine and relevant publications were compiled. Visual and far reaching search in all publications were performed. Final analysis was done to evaluate selected attributes.

Findings

The outcome of the analysis showed growing interest in research on construction safety performance indicators since 2000. From the review, 48 safety performance indicators are identified from 41 selected publications. The most reported safety performance indicators were safety climate, safety orientation, management commitment to safety, near-miss and job site audits. It was noted further that USA, Australia, Canada and China have been international locations of attention for most research on construction safety performance indicators. The 48 safety indicators are classified into six categories, namely people indicators, culture indicators, processes indicators, infrastructure indicators, metrics indicators and technology indicators

Practical implications

The findings identified provide researchers and practitioners a summary of the safety indicators in the construction sector through a vision to streamline future applications and increase the safety performance in the construction sector.

Originality/value

A safety performance indicators' list has been established for the adoption of future empirical research. The findings will make a significant contribution to current but limited knowledge on safety performance indicators in construction industry.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2005

Rhys Rowland‐Jones and Malcolm Cresser

The aim of this research is to develop a model for environmental management from which quantifiable indication of overall environmental performance for an organisation may be…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this research is to develop a model for environmental management from which quantifiable indication of overall environmental performance for an organisation may be derived.

Design/methodology/approach

The links between environmental performance and financial performance are considered. Several research methods are described which consider pollution performance. However, it is clear that no single method wholly reflects quantitative pollution management (QPM). The initial model for QPM is derived, and the weightings that should be allocated for the individual and combined categories in achieving the indicator of pollution performance are established.

Findings

The paper establishes a methodology for the derivation of a QPM indicator that provides a numeric variable, by using numerical values that have been obtained from a set of linguistic values evaluated against determinations of prescribed events. The robust nature of the developed QPM indicator is provided by means of a prescribed methodology where the outcome indicator is constructed from the results of the audit and the inter‐relationship of the individual components. This inter‐relationship of numeric and linguistic variables encourages the use of modified set theory in which an individual could have a degree of membership ranged over a continuum of values.

Practical implications

The development of a quantifiable pollution indicator enables customers/consumers to make a purchase decision that takes into account environmental concerns. These unique QPM indicators will assist in promoting a sustainable management strategy with preventative approaches to pollution. Under these circumstances, a QPM indicator would allow industrial and regulatory strategies to be implemented beyond the traditional boundaries of pollution control and waste management. It would give a broader perspective on performance, and encourage application of preventive technologies to reduce pollutant and waste loads, while also promoting environment‐friendly products and services through openly available quantitative indicators. The derived indicator will be limited to the state of a particular process at a given point in time, and as such will need recalculation over given time intervals. This methodology enables the organisation to demonstrate improvement, if applicable. Monitoring tools should in any case be an aid to strategy formulation, not a determinant of it.

Originality/value

This study will assist in allowing environmental performance to become a strategic factor in business planning. Direct comparisons may be made between the operational characteristics of organisations, and how those organisations impact on the environment via pollution, providing direct business benefits to organisations that manage their business and protect the environment.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

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