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This study is a theory-building effort to extend the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework by considering an organization-related factor. Specifically, this study examined how an organization-related factor, namely safety climate, and individual-related factors, namely risk perception and efficacy belief, jointly influence flight attendants’ occupational health and safety (OHS) information seeking intent.

About 486 flight attendants from an international air carrier, based in Hong Kong, participated in an online survey. Hierarchical regression was employed to examine the three-way interaction of risk perception, efficacy belief, and safety climate.

Results showed that safety climate moderated the effect of efficacy belief on the relationship between risk perception and OHS information seeking intent. For flight attendants who perceived a high safety climate, those who felt more efficacious had a higher intent for OHS information seeking than those who felt less efficacious. In contrast, for flight attendants who perceived a low safety climate, when they perceived a high level of risk, those with low efficacy had a higher information seeking intent than those with high efficacy.

Although the RPA framework has shown its potential to explicate how individual employees engage in OHS information seeking behavior, the framework has largely overlooked the importance of organization-related factors as an influential shaping force of individual employees’ behavior. To fill this research gap, this study extends the RPA framework by examining how safety climate moderates the relationship between risk perception and efficacy belief on flight attendants’ OHS information seeking intent. Safety climate also plays an important role in segmenting audience groups for OHS promotion.

Although many health and safety (H&S) studies have widely examined safety risk perception in the construction industry, few studies have explored how this perception influences site workers' risk-taking behaviours during construction. This study aims to examine how construction site workers perceive and judge safety risks in risk-taking behaviours of site workers for intervention safety policy framework that may encourage safe work.

The study employed Pictorial-based Q-Methodology, which documented 63 picture scenarios of risk-taking behaviours from building sites and submitted them for validation from H&S inspectors. In total, 33 pictures emerged as having great potential to cause harm. After using these 33 pictures to elicit data from randomised site workers, the study used Frequency Tabulation, Relative Importance Index (RII) and Kruskal–Wallis Test to analyse the collected data. To fully explain the analysed data for deeper understanding, the study conducted Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with these site workers to share the thoughts of site workers on these pictures.

Two distinctive pictures emerged from these analyses: one showing risk-taking behaviour likely to contract internal and skin disease and the other likely to fall from height. One of the implications is that construction site workers are unfamiliar with the dangerous contaminants in the materials the site workers use to work, which can potentially harm the site workers' skin and internal organs. Hence, site workers continue engaging in risk-taking behaviours. The other is that site workers are aware of and can mention catastrophic physical injuries attached to site workers' jobs. However, site workers continue engaging in risk-taking behaviours because of site workers' safety plights and rely on the favour and mercies of a supreme being as coping strategies to escape from these physical injuries.

This study is original in that the study uses picture scenarios of risk-taking behaviours to amass an empirical-based understanding of how site workers perceive and respond to H&S risks during construction. This piece of evidence is missing in the numerous research studies in this area. Again, the findings contribute to the state-of-the-art literature regarding risk-taking behaviours on construction sites.

Occupational safety issues among employees remains a contemporary and omnipresent concern. In developing countries, safety-related problems are amplified, resulting in higher incidences of serious accidents and occupational diseases. This study aims to evaluate employees’ knowledge and attitudes toward occupational health and safety, and how these influence overall occupational health and safety compliance. Ghana’s oil and gas industry provides the contextual backdrop for this research, given it is characterized by high rates of injury.

A positivist and deductive research strategy was used to quantitatively analyze both primary and secondary data sources. A structured survey was administered to industry employees, and multiple linear regression was used to establish the effects of employee’s knowledge and attitude toward occupational health hazards on overall health and safety compliance.

The findings indicate that most employees had both a high level of knowledge and positive attitude toward mitigating occupational health hazards. Moreover, the study reveals that most employees complied with occupational health safety practices. However, the study also reveals that the effect of employees’ knowledge and attitude toward occupational health hazards does not translate into deployment of comprehensive safety practices. Interestingly, female employees were found to be more knowledgeable and compliant with occupational health and safety practices than their male counterparts.

Premised upon the findings, the study recommends: implementation of relevant education and training programs encompassing the proper usage of machinery and equipment, tailored hazard safety training appropriate to specific employee job requirements, effective dissemination of risk information and governance initiatives that enforce strict adherence to correct safety procedures.

The study uniquely examines the influence of employee’s knowledge of health and safety to overall compliance within the oil and gas industry. Cumulatively, the study’s findings and recommendations contribute to improving the occupational health and safety outcomes within the industry.

Design for safety (DfS), also known as prevention through design (PtD), is a concept that mitigates accidents and hazards through considerations during the design stage of building projects. The literature provides much information on this concept, but such information is only limited to a few developed countries such as the UK, the USA and Australia. There is limited insight into DfS implementation in the construction industry of several countries, including countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) such as Kuwait. Therefore, this study investigates DfS implementation among design professionals in the Kuwait construction industry.

The study used a questionnaire survey to obtain data from design professionals. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (i.e. analysis of variance and t-test).

The results revealed that DfS awareness among design professionals is very high; there is a very high willingness among design professionals to apply the concept, and design professionals generally view DfS implementation as important. Despite these, the frequency of implementation of DfS practices is generally moderate. In addition, the results revealed that though there is a high interest in DfS training among the design professionals, their actual engagement in training is low. The results also suggest some association between the frequency of engagement in the DfS practices and designers' DfS awareness, training and education. DfS related regulations, industry guidance, formal education and training are considered by design professionals to have the greatest influence on DfS implementation in Kuwait.

These emerging findings both mirror and contradict aspects of the outcomes of previous DfS studies in other countries. Furthermore, the findings from this study provide insights into a less investigated area regarding work-related health and safety in the GCC region. It offers new and additional information and insights into the current state-of-the-art DfS implementation in the construction industry in Kuwait. In view of the findings, joined-up efforts by government, industry and academia are needed to enhance DfS implementation by design professionals in Kuwait.

Studies highlight that poor labour supervision and inadequate labour training facilities are the primary factors that result in labour skill shortages and productivity-related challenges among construction firms. This study aims to assess the construction supervisors’ abilities in providing work-based training elements and evaluating labour skills in construction.

A construction supervisory training programme was newly designed with a set of labour training exercises using comprehensive approaches. A total of 64 construction supervisors were trained to deliver the labour training components for more than 250 labourers working on 23 construction projects in Sri Lanka. The supervisors’ competencies were assessed using a detailed marking guide developed through expert discussions and literature reviews.

The results show the detailed cross-section of a wide range of competencies of the construction supervisors in providing labour training elements with the levels of standards/descriptions. The generalisability of the study applications and the reliability of the results were ensured using statistical tests and expert reviews. The findings further describe the impacts of the well-improved competencies of construction supervisors on labour working patterns and work outputs.

Though the study findings were limited to the Sri Lankan construction sector, the study applications can have a considerable impact on the current/future practices of the construction sector in developing countries as well as other developing industries.

The study outcomes may contribute to a rapid increase in the number of construction supervisors becoming certified assessors of National Vocational Qualifications up to certain levels. This paper describes the further extensive implications and future scopes of the study elaborately.

The study adds new characteristics and values to construction supervision practices that can be remarkable in achieving higher levels of performance and productivity in labour operations. Importantly, the study contributes to adorning the job role of construction supervisors with the title of “labour training expert”.

Data from different countries suggest a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression and suicides among manual and trade workers in the construction industry than in the general population. The present review examines the causes and effects of poor mental health and the effectiveness of interventions to improve manual and trade workers' mental health in the construction industry. It also identifies gaps in research and makes several suggestions for practice and future research.

A systematic literature review was conducted to examine and consolidate evidence reported in 54 relevant journal articles published between 2010 and 2021 on the mental health of manual and trade workers.

Three major themes emerged in the review of the 54 journal articles: causes of poor mental health, effects of poor mental health and interventions to improve mental health. The leading causes of poor mental health among construction manual and trade workers are poor work-life balance, high job demand, poor cultural norms and mental health stigma, chronic bodily pain, lack of social support, workplace injustice and job insecurity. The prominent effects of poor mental health are suicidality, drug and alcohol addiction, poor workplace safety and poor work performance. Moreover, the study found that some of the strategies recently implemented in the construction industry to improve mental health are deemed ineffective, or their effectiveness remains inconclusive.

The review's scope is limited to research on manual and trade workers, and it did not investigate the mental health of construction professionals and construction management students.

The review provides valuable insights into the causes and effects of poor mental health among manual and trade workers and the effectiveness of mental health interventions in the construction industry.

This research aims to enhance understanding of the safety climate within small and medium-sized construction enterprises (SMEs). By conducting an in-depth analysis of safety practices and management approaches in this sector, it identifies critical gaps and provides actionable recommendations to improve the safety climate in construction SMEs.

An integrated method approach was employed, integrating quantitative and qualitative elements. A fishbone diagram model was developed to categorize key safety factors into four categories: Workers, Equipment, Management and Environment. Based on these categories, core safety parameters for SMEs were derived. A 42-question survey was developed and distributed to foremen across various construction sites in Eilat, Israel, aiming to capture diverse safety practices and illuminate the specific safety practices within these SMEs.

Key findings underscore variability in safety management practices across different sites, emphasizing management’s role and the prioritization of equipment and environment in safety protocols. The study revealed a strong correlation between higher safety scores and reduced accident rates, highlighting the efficacy of robust safety management. The research also correlates financial investment in safety with improved outcomes yet stresses the importance of strategic resource deployment, particularly in settings with limited resources. Additionally, inconsistencies in near-miss reporting were identified, suggesting the need for standardization to leverage these incidents for safety enhancement.

The research has certain limitations, including its narrow geographical focus on the city of Eilat, situated in a southern and arid region that presents specific climate challenges. Another limitation is the relatively small sample size, consisting of 20 sites. However, it is important to note that the significance of the findings has been rigorously assessed using test statistics, which have yielded satisfactory levels of significance.

The research establishes a practical framework for the development, management and maintenance of a safety climate in construction SMEs. Clear leading indicators are defined, enabling construction SMEs to cultivate a sustainable safety climate, enhance safety measures and prevent work accidents.

The research presents a comprehensive theoretical and practical framework for establishing, managing and controlling the safety climate in construction SMEs. It introduces leading indicators as effective tools for enhancing the safety climate in SMEs, offering a robust framework for cultivating a sustainable safety environment at both the site and company levels.

This study provides valuable insights into the safety climate of construction SMEs, offering a foundation for targeted improvements and informing future research directions in construction safety management. This analysis highlights SMEs' unique challenges and practices, providing valuable perspectives for enhancing safety in this critical construction industry sector.

This paper describes the development of a digital role play game (RPG) designed to help construction apprentices to better communicate with their supervisors about issues with the potential to impact on their physical and psychological health and safety.

A participatory approach was adopted to utilise the knowledge and insights of the target users to inform the digital RPG development. Apprentices and supervisors were interviewed to identify characteristics of effective supervisor-apprentice communication, which became the RPG’s learning objectives. The scenarios constructed in the RPG were drawn from lived experiences shared by the apprentices in the interviews. During the development process, consultations were conducted with an advisory committee comprising of apprentices and supervisors to improve the realism of the RPG scenarios.

Three scenarios were developed for the RPG. In each scenario, players are asked to make decisions at various interaction points about how the characters should respond to the unfolding and challenging situations. Scripts were developed for the game, which were acted out and motion captured to animate digital MetaHuman characters embedded in a virtual construction site. Two example situations are introduced in this paper to illustrate the development process.

To our knowledge, the RPG introduced is one of the first applications of digital game-based training in the construction industry. The adoption of a participatory design approach ensures that the game content relates to real-world experiences. The digital RPG is highly interactive and engaging in nature and presents a novel approach to developing “soft” skills in construction.

Integrated reporting enhances the meaningfulness of non-financial information, but whether this enhancement is progressive or regressive from a sustainability perspective is unknown. This study aims to examine the influence of the Integrated Reporting (<IR>) Framework on the disclosure of financial- and impact-material sustainability-related information in integrated reports.

Using a disclosure index constructed from the Global Reporting Initiative’s G4 Guidelines and UN Sustainable Development Goals, the authors content analysed integrated reports of 40 companies from the International Integrated Reporting Council’s Pilot Programme Business Network published between 2015 and 2017. The content analysis distinguished between financial- and impact-material sustainability-related information.

The extent of sustainability-related disclosures in integrated reports remained more or less constant over the study period. Impact-material disclosures were more prominent than financial material ones. Impact-material disclosures mainly related to environmental aspects, while labour practices-related disclosures were predominantly financially material. The balance between financially- and impact-material sustainability-related disclosures varied based on factors such as industry environmental sensitivity and country-specific characteristics, such as the country’s legal system and development status.

The paper presents a unique disclosure index to distinguish between financially- and impact-material sustainability-related disclosures. Researchers can use this disclosure index to critically examine the nature of sustainability-related disclosure in corporate reports.

This study offers an in-depth understanding of the influence of non-financial reporting frameworks, such as the <IR> Framework that uses a financial materiality perspective, on sustainability reporting. The findings reveal that the practical implementation of the <IR> Framework resulted in sustainability reporting outcomes that deviated from theoretical expectations. Exploring the materiality concept that underscores sustainability-related disclosures by companies using the <IR> Framework is useful for predicting the effects of adopting the Sustainability Disclosure Standards issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board, which also emphasises financial materiality.

Despite an emphasis on financial materiality in the <IR> Framework, companies continue to offer substantial impact-material information, implying the potential for companies to balance both financial and broader societal concerns in their reporting.

While prior research has delved into the practices of regulated integrated reporting, especially in the unique context of South Africa, this study focuses on voluntary adoption, attributing observed practices to intrinsic company motivations. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study to explicitly explore the nature of materiality in sustainability-related disclosure. The research also introduces a nuanced understanding of contextual factors influencing sustainability reporting.

Absence of Health and Safety (H&S) induction training can expose workers to construction hazards and risks. To protect workers, construction organisations provide site H&S induction training. This training is used in the construction industry to train workers on organisation, project and client H&S practices and rules. While researchers have recognised its role in creating worker awareness, developing H&S culture and influencing accident rate, but there has been little research. Furthermore, there lacks a review that identifies the research trends, research focus and future research directions on H&S induction training in the construction industry. This study aims to review literature on H&S induction training in the construction industry.

Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases were used to identify articles. Initial search produced a total of 278 papers and final analysis resulted in ten articles. Content analysis was applied.

The identified three contributions to knowledge: (a) identifies specific trajectory or development trends of H&S induction training in the construction industry (three research areas were identified, namely, impact of H&S induction training on H&S culture, impact of H&S induction training on accident rate and barriers affecting supervisor’s skills and ability to conducting H&S induction training), (b) suggestions have been given on the contribution of H&S induction training to H&S culture and (c) future research directions have been proposed. The review provides knowledge that the contribution of H&S induction training to H&S culture is influenced by skills, knowledge and experience of presenter, language used, content covered, mode of delivery, technological tools used, type of assessment and duration.

The review is limited to studies related to H&S induction training in the construction industry. Other safety training studies and industries could have provided different findings. The review is limited to 2012 and 2022 and to ten articles.

Understanding the role of H&S induction training to worker behaviour, H&S culture and outcomes will improve H&S practices and standards within the construction industry. Construction organisations can consider the factors identified in this study to improve the effectiveness of H&S induction training.

Understanding the contribution of H&S induction training to H&S culture may help to improve H&S culture.

The study has identified three main research areas and future research directions. It further revealed the factors that researchers, practitioners and policy makers can consider to improve the effectiveness of H&S induction training in the construction industry.