An investigation of supervisory practices for improving occupational health and safety behaviour in construction teams: a cross level experimental analysis

Summary

This project examined the way in which subcontracted workgroups in the construction industry develop distinct safety climates that drive their safety practices and performance. These group safety climates are shaped by the leadership styles and behaviours of frontline supervisors.

The research showed that providing frontline supervisors with safety leadership capability can create strong and supportive safety climates in subcontracted workgroups in the Australian construction industry.

Team

• Helen Lingard
• Nick Blismas
• Ron Wakefield

Partners

• ARC Linkage Project       
• Baulderstone Pty Ltd
• Roads and Traffic Authority (NSW)

Publications

• Report: Safety Leadership Summary Report (PDF 356 KB)

Peer-reviewed papers/outputs

• COOKE, T., LINGARD, H. & BLISMAS, N., (2013), Supervisors’ response to occupational health and safety in the Australian construction industry, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law, 166 (6), pp. 287-296.
• LINGARD, H., COOKE, T. & BLISMAS, N., (2012), Do perceptions of supervisors' safety responses mediate the relationship between perceptions of the organizational safety climate and incident rates in construction?, ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 138 (2), pp. 234-241
• LINGARD, H., COOKE, T. & BLISMAS, N., (2011), Coworkers’ response to occupational health and safety: An overlooked dimension of group-level safety climate in the construction industry?, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 18, 159-175.
• LINGARD, H., COOKE, T. & BLISMAS, N., (2010), Safety climate in conditions of construction subcontracting: A multi-level analysis, Construction Management and Economics, 28, pp. 313-825.
• LINGARD, H., COOKE, T. & BLISMAS, N., (2010), Properties of group safety climate in construction: The development and evaluation of a typology, Construction Management and Economics, 28 (10), pp. 1099–1112.
• LINGARD, H., COOKE, T. & BLISMAS, N., (2009), Group-level safety climate in the Australian construction industry: Within-group homogeneity and between-group differences in road construction and maintenance, Construction Management and Economics, 27, pp. 419-432.