Safety Program Elements in the Construction Industry: The Case of Iraq

Mohanad Kamil Buniya, Idris Othman, Serdar Durdyev, Riza Yosia Sunindijo, Syuhaida Ismail and Ahmed Farouk Kineber
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Mohanad Kamil Buniya: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University Technology PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Idris Othman: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University Technology PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Serdar Durdyev: Department of Engineering and Architectural Studies, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Riza Yosia Sunindijo: Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Syuhaida Ismail: Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Selangor, Malaysia
Ahmed Farouk Kineber: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University Technology PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: The construction industries’ unsafe conditions require increased efforts to improve safety performance to prevent and reduce accident rates. Safety performance in the Iraqi construction industry is notoriously poor. Despite this condition, safety research has so far been neglected. Implementing a safety program is a proven initial step to improve safety. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the key elements of a safety program in the Iraqi construction industry. To verify and validate a list of safety program elements identified in the literature review, a mixed method approach was used by using interviews and questionnaire surveys. A final list of 25 elements were then analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. The analysis found that these elements can be grouped into four interrelated dimensions: management commitment and employee involvement, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control systems, and safety and health training. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on safety in the Iraqi construction sector, a research area which has not been adequately investigated previously. They also help decision-makers focus on key elements that are needed to start improving safety performance in this context.

Keywords: construction industry; Iraq; management commitment; safety program; safety training (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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