Safety as an Emergent Property: Investigation into the Work Practices of High-Reliability Framing Crews

With regards to safety, the challenge for researchers and practitioners is to develop work systems that can achieve at the same time high levels of productivity and safety. Towards this objective, this research investigates the work practices of high-reliability crews—that is, crews who perform high-risk work with exceptionally high productivity and safety. The objective of the research is to increase understanding of the work practices that reduce the likelihood of accidents while at the same time increase productivity. This paper presents the findings of an initial exploratory study that compares the work practices of two residential framing crews: one crew with consistently exceptional levels of safety and productivity, and one average-performing crew from the same company. The two crews did not show any difference in safety practices—both crews had high compliance with the company’s safety requirements. However, the production practices of the high-reliability crew were shaped by a clear “guiding principle,” which is a strong focus on avoiding errors and rework, and by specific strategies that support this principle. Such strategies include actions to prevent disruptions, controlling the production pressures, matching skills with task demands, and carefully preparing and coordinating the high demand tasks. These practices prevent production errors while also reducing the likelihood of accidents. The findings provide directions for further research.     

New Method for Measuring the Safety Risk of Construction Activities: Task Demand Assessment

The task demand assessment (TDA) is a new technique for measuring the safety risk of construction activities and analyzing how changes in operation parameters can affect the potential for accidents. TDA is similar to observational ergonomic methods—it does not produce estimates of probabilities of incidents, but it quantifies the “task demand” of actual operations based on characteristics of the activity and independent of the workers’ capabilities. The task demand reflects the difficulty to perform the activity safely. It is based on (1) the exposure to a hazard and (2) the presence and level of observable task demand factors—that is, risk factors that can increase the potential for an accident. The paper presents the findings from the initial implementation of TDA and demonstrates its feasibility and applicability on two different operations: a roofing activity and a concrete paving operation. Furthermore, the paving case illustrates how the TDA method can compare different production scenarios and measure the effect of production variables on the accident potential. The findings indicate that the method can be applied on activities of varying complexity and can account for several risks and task demand factors as required by the user. The selection of task demand factors is a key issue for the validity of the method and requires input from the crew and safety management. The limitations of the methodology and the need for further research are discussed. Overall, TDA provides a tool that can assist researchers and practitioners in the analysis and design of construction operations.     

Analysis of Residential Framing Accidents, Activities, and Task Demands

Framing contractors have the highest rate of nonfatal incidents among specialty contractors. This case study analyzes 654 safety incidents that occurred over a period of 5??years in a large residential framing company. Accident analysis and interviews with safety and production experts identify the high-risk tasks, the errors that lead to incidents, and the task factors that increase the likelihood of incidents. The analysis resulted in a framework of five task factors that increase the task demands: (1) working platform constraints; (2) ergonomic postures constraints; (3) material/load handling requirements; (4) tool use/accuracy requirements; and (5) difficulties due to external forces. The combined effect of these factors determines the task difficulty and the likelihood of incidents. The paper discusses safety measures to reduce the task demands of the high-risk tasks, as opposed to measures that reduce exposure or mitigate the consequences. Reducing task demands can reduce the likelihood of accidents while at the same time increasing productivity. For practitioners, the study points to the need to understand the high-risk tasks and reduce task demands in their operations. The framework of the five task demand factors provides the “building blocks” of task difficulty for framing tasks and provides directions for further research in understanding and mitigating the combined effect of the task demand factors.     

人机环境系统工程在企业安全管理中的应用

通过长期的安全生产管理实践,分析生产事故产生的原因,运用现代科学－人,机,环境系统工程学,强化安全生产管理,从而达到企业生产事故的目的。     

Identification and Analysis of Factors Affecting Safety on Construction Sites with Tower Cranes

Tower cranes are the centerpiece of production on today’s typical building construction sites. Tower cranes hoist and transport a variety of loads near and above people, working under crowded conditions, occasionally with overlapping work zones, and often under time, budget, and labor constraints. This work regime further increases the safety risk on sites that are inherently hazardous workplaces. This paper presents the results of a study that identified the major factors affecting safety in tower-crane environments and evaluated the degree to which each factor influences ongoing safety on site. Use of statistical data on accidents was ruled out as a source of information due to the countless number of incidents that go unreported, the common inability of statistics to provide root causes, and the questionability of statistics as a predictor of accidents. The research methodology was therefore based on comprehensive questioning of an expert team that included the safety managers and equipment managers of leading construction companies. With the limited resources available for safety improvement and accident prevention, greater attention must be paid by all parties involved to those factors evaluated as highly affecting site safety due to tower-crane work.     

The moderating effects of task complexity on the relationship between regulatory foci and safety and production performance.

Regulatory foci of promotion and prevention have been shown to relate differentially to occupational safety and production. This research proposes that task complexity can help explain the differences reported between these 2 self-regulatory processes and safety and productivity performance. Results revealed that promotion is positively related to production and prevention is positively related to safety regardless of task complexity. However, when task complexity is high, promotion negatively relates to safety and prevention negatively relates production. Implications for work motivation theory and research, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed. Practical implications for managerial interventions to optimize both safety and productivity are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Design Error Classification, Causation, and Prevention in Construction Engineering

Construction and engineering practitioners have found it increasingly difficult to learn from their mistakes, particularly with regard to the prevention, identification and/or containment of design errors. Yet, design errors have been the root cause of numerous catastrophic accidents that have resulted in the death and injury of workers and members of the public. This paper examines and classifies the nature of error and design error causation in construction and engineering projects. A review of the normative literature revealed that design errors are caused by an array of factors that can work interdependently. A generic framework is developed that classifies design error according to people, the organization, and project is presented. The paper suggests that people, over and above organizational and project management strategies, have the greatest propensity to reduce errors through the process of situated learning and knowing. This is because the working environment provided by an organization and the processes used to deliver construction and engineering projects influence the nature and ability of people to undertake tasks. Consequently, there is no single but rather a multitude of strategies that need to be adopted in congruence to reduce design errors so that safety and project performance are ameliorated.     

矿山工程施工变形监测数据处理与分析方法探讨

在矿山工程施工开挖过程中,因受周边环境、施工方法及水文地质环境等因素的影响,可能会引起基坑结构发生较大的变形和沉降,引发生产安全事故,采用正确的作业方法及工程施工变形监测方法对安全施工至关重要,本文对矿山工程施工过程中的变形监测数据进行处理与分析,以供参考。     

关于公路工程测量监理工作浅论

在目前工程建设施工监理行业中,测量监理是一项非常重要而又必不可少的工作。为了提高施工质量,规范建筑工栏的作业标准,急需制定一个符合工程施工实际并切实可行的测量监理工作规程。简要介绍了整个工程施工过程中的测量监理步骤,同时,还论述了测量监理的主要职责及其施工测量监理的方法及注意事项。工程施工测量的主要任务是采用专用测量器具,通过一定的技术方法把设计图纸的位置、数据、几何形状真实的放样到实地。其测量放样的成果直接影响着工程建设项目的质量等级、结构、安全及建成后的功能。因此,测量监理是工程建设项目监理工作中最关注也是最重要的工作之一。     

Work teams: Applications and effectiveness.

This article uses an ecological approach to analyze factors in the effectiveness of work teams—small groups of interdependent individuals who share responsibility for outcomes for their organizations. Applications include advice and involvement, as in quality control circles and committees; production and service, as in assembly groups and sales teams; projects and development, as in engineering and research groups: and action and negotiation, as in sports teams and combat units. An analytic framework depicts team effectiveness as interdependent with organizational context, boundaries, and team development. Key context factors include (a) organizational culture, (b) technology and task design, (c) mission clarity, (d) autonomy, (e) rewards, (f) performance feedback, (g) training/consultation, and (h) physical environment. Team boundaries may mediate the impact of organizational context on team development. Current research leaves unanswered questions but suggests that effectiveness depends on organizational context and boundaries as much as on internal processes. Issues are raised for research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation gains in performance groups: Paradigmatic and theoretical developments on the K?hler effect.

In contrast to many demonstrations of social loafing, relatively few studies have documented group motivation gains. One such exception was 0. K?hler's (1926, 1927) finding that team members working together did better at a taxing persistence task than would be expected from their individual performances, particularly when there was a moderate discrepancy in coworkers' capabilities. In Experiment 1, we developed a paradigm within which K?hler's overall motivation gain effect could be replicated, although the discrepancy in coworkers' capabilities did not moderate these motivation gains (after statistical artifacts were taken into account). Experiment 2 indicated that this motivation gain occurred under conjunctive but not under additive task demands, suggesting that the instrumentality of one's contribution to valued outcomes is a more likely explanation of the K?hler effect than social comparison processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

广钢推行班前危险预知训练的实践与探索

随着企业机构改革及调整，企业管理逐步走向扁平化模式，安全工作的重心下移至班组，班前危险预知训练已成为班组安全建设的重要内容，也是企业安全文化的重要组成部分．广州钢铁股份有限公司(以下简称广钢)通过推广应用班前危险预知训练，不仅充实了班组安全建设内容，而且提高了员工对危险的预知预防能力，有效控制了事故．     

Workplace safety performance: Conscientiousness, cognitive failure, and their interaction.

This research investigated the effects of cognitive failure on workplace safety and accidents over 2 studies. It was hypothesized that cognitive failure would directly predict safety behavior and workplace accidents and predict these outcomes over and above conscientiousness. It was found that cognitive failure uniquely accounted for workplace safety behavior and accidents. However, it has been suggested by researchers that certain individual differences might interact to produce differential effects. Thus, a moderated model was tested examining the interaction of cognitive failure and conscientiousness. It was found that cognitive failure moderated the relationship between conscientiousness and accidents and unsafe work behaviors. Overall, results suggest that cognitive failure plays an important part in individual safety behavior, especially when conscientiousness is low. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalized signaling for control: Evidence from postconflict and posterror performance adjustments.

Goal-directed behavior requires cognitive control to effect online adjustments in response to ongoing processing demands. How signaling for these adjustments occurs has been a question of much interest. A basic question regarding the architecture of the cognitive control system is whether such signaling for control is specific to task context or generalizes across contexts. In this study, the authors explored this issue using a stimulus–response compatibility paradigm. They examined trial-to-trial adjustments, specifically, the findings that incompatible trials elicit improved performance on subsequent incompatible trials and that responses are slower after errors. The critical question was, Do such control effects—typically observed within a single task context—occur across task contexts? The paradigm involved 2 orthogonal, stimulus–response sets: Stimuli in the horizontal direction mapped only to responses in the horizontal direction, and likewise for the vertical direction. Cues indicated that either compatible (same direction as stimulus) or incompatible (opposite to stimulus) responses were required. The results showed that trial-to-trial adjustments exist for both direction-repeat and direction-switch trials, demonstrating that signaling for control adjustments can extend beyond the task context within which they arise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributors to Construction Debris from Electrical and Mechanical Work in Hong Kong Infrastructure Projects

The crucial problem of construction debris is of increasing concern in Hong Kong. In the construction industry, the electrical and mechanical (E&M) installations in the infrastructure, for example, buildings, tunnels, or dams, are some of the major and usually complex components. Difficulty in coordinating the various trades affects productivity in general, and has a major impact on the quantity of construction debris. By identifying the sources of waste at each stage of E&M engineering work, some of the construction debris can be eliminated at the source during production. This paper investigates the critical production shortcomings in the E&M sector in Hong Kong. The study is based on a survey that includes a preliminary questionnaire survey, brainstorming exercises with a focus group, structured interviews with experienced frontline supervisors, and a second focus group exercise to test findings and proposed measures. The principal findings are that “poor coordination” and “design changes and/or errors” are major contributors to variations or change orders and rework, which in turn result in a high volume of construction debris. The results also indicate that construction debris can be minimized in the E&M sector of the construction industry, if the material wastes from incidental work are reduced and also controlled better in a new work process flow pattern through recommended construction project management improvements for reducing critical production shortcomings.     

Dynamic Planning and Control Methodology for Design∕Build Fast-Track Construction Projects

A dynamic planning and control methodology is developed by integrating the applications of axiomatic design concepts, concurrent engineering concepts, the graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT), and the system dynamics modeling technique. The goal of the proposed methodology is to help create a dynamic project plan for design∕build fast-track civil engineering and architectural projects where unforeseen changes can be absorbed in the project schedule without creating major interruptions. The axiomatic design concepts are applied to formulate and evaluate various work methodologies, and to create a project plan based on the selected work methodology. The concept of concurrent engineering is adapted to develop a fast-tracking framework based on the task production rate, the upstream task reliability, and downstream task sensitivity to the upstream error. The GERT diagramming scheme is used to calculate the project duration probabilistically by incorporating the possible branches and loops in the project. The system dynamics modeling technique is applied to analyze the causality links of relevant factors in the construction system, and further identifies the important variables that determine the success of a particular overlapping strategy. Consequently, with a rigorous and systemized methodology to help project planning, potential problems can be addressed early before construction. The overall increase in productivity and efficiency as a result of a better planning process can consequently promote the competitiveness of the construction industry.     

Innovations in Nuclear Concrete Construction

The technical requirements and scope of concrete work on nuclear projects present significant engineering and construction challenges. These demands represent the extremes in many areas of construction operations. In meeting these challenges, engineering and construction forces have developed several innovations which can be beneficially applied to other types of construction. Innovative approaches in the general categories of engineering scope, construction input to engineering, work planning, special methods and techniques, and satisfaction of quality assurance requirements are given in this paper. The transfer of this technology to other segments of the construction industry will improve overall performance by avoiding the problem areas encountered on nuclear projects.     

Design Structure Matrix Implementation on a Seismic Retrofit

A void exists in development of design theory methodology within the structural engineering community. This void hampers efforts to resolve performance deficiencies including cost over-runs, unplanned rework, and suboptimal design. In manufacturing, product design and production improvements have resulted from implementation of the design structure matrix (DSM) methodology. DSM offers a means to represent, analyze, and decompose complex systems in order to improve their performance. DSM use within the architecture engineering construction (AEC) industry has been sporadic and focused primarily in the U.K. Where applied, DSM has proven effective at helping AEC design teams streamline processes to address nonlinearity (nonsequential information flows) introduced by iteration and complexity in design. When a DSM reveals iteration and highly dependent work, group brainstorming, collocated design sessions, rapid feedback, set-based design, and collaborative design aids can be used to increase overall team effectiveness. This paper examines a case study where DSM-based planning software was used on a seismic retrofit project to drive process improvement in design management. DSM correctly identified iterative activities central to design and provided the following; (1) a common vocabulary to discuss rework in the context of a multidisciplinary design team; (2) a rational method to schedule team collocation and brainstorming efforts to maximize their benefit; and (3) a means to consider iterative activities (and associated hand-offs) in design work structuring.