From crew to country? Local and national construction safety cultures in Denmark

Christian Koch

doi:10.1080/01446193.2013.787490

From crew to country? Local and national construction safety cultures in Denmark

Christian Koch^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Chalmers University of Technology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Accidents in construction have motivated a range of prevention methods and efforts with more or less success. Cultural explanations are of crucial importance in understanding risk at work and this contribution adds to the growing body of qualitative studies of safety culture. Symbolic interactionism is used as a conceptual ethnographic framework to include integration, differentiation, ambiguity and the multiple configuration of safety cultures. The primary case is a carpenter's crew of 28 men engaged in renovation work. The analysis reveals the overarching common integrative culture to be characterized by pride in work. This culture overlaps with four cultures named mastering, framework and rules, drawing board and plan, and ties that bind, found using the differentiation perspective. Ambiguous perceptions are found regarding possibilities for prevention and risk, which differ according to time, place and actor. This result is juxtaposed with cultures found in four other ethnographic studies from Denmark covering 10 companies. Although these studies find 25 different safety cultures, a national pattern showing a configuration of reactive and proactive safety cultures does seem prevalent. Accident prevention methods need to be more sensitive to different safety cultures, on site and in companies, but can also use national mechanisms such as training.

Original language	English
Journal	Construction Management and Economics
Volume	31
Issue number	6
Pages (from-to)	691-703
Number of pages	13
ISSN	0144-6193
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2013.787490
Publication status	Published - Jun 2013
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The carpenter crew case from one of the sites was chosen, because it illustrates well the safety cultures found in the studies of the three contractors. The study of the carpenters’ safety culture encompassed following work during a whole workday for approximately 10 days during a longer period, supplemented by semi-structured interviews carried out with masters, quantity surveyors, foremen and other central persons. On this basis, the analytical strategy described above and below was used, here to report on systems of meaning. The vignettes used in the text serve an illustrative purpose and are translated by the authors. In addition to safety culture on site, the project also studied learning and education as safety culture producers, following apprentices at school and at work, and carried out intervention to improve prevention. It was funded by a research effort embedded in the Danish Working Environment Authority (similar to the UK ...) Health and Safety Executive. • Dyhrberg (2004) is a long-term ethnographic study of a precast concrete element production unit. This was followed by a planned interven-tion aiming to change the safety culture, which was then evaluated. The project was funded by the Danish work environment fund (Dyhrberg’s doctoral thesis).

Keywords

Denmark
safety culture
small to medium-sized enterprise
symbolic interactionism

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10.1080/01446193.2013.787490

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title = "From crew to country? Local and national construction safety cultures in Denmark",

abstract = "Accidents in construction have motivated a range of prevention methods and efforts with more or less success. Cultural explanations are of crucial importance in understanding risk at work and this contribution adds to the growing body of qualitative studies of safety culture. Symbolic interactionism is used as a conceptual ethnographic framework to include integration, differentiation, ambiguity and the multiple configuration of safety cultures. The primary case is a carpenter's crew of 28 men engaged in renovation work. The analysis reveals the overarching common integrative culture to be characterized by pride in work. This culture overlaps with four cultures named mastering, framework and rules, drawing board and plan, and ties that bind, found using the differentiation perspective. Ambiguous perceptions are found regarding possibilities for prevention and risk, which differ according to time, place and actor. This result is juxtaposed with cultures found in four other ethnographic studies from Denmark covering 10 companies. Although these studies find 25 different safety cultures, a national pattern showing a configuration of reactive and proactive safety cultures does seem prevalent. Accident prevention methods need to be more sensitive to different safety cultures, on site and in companies, but can also use national mechanisms such as training.",

keywords = "Denmark, safety culture, small to medium-sized enterprise, symbolic interactionism",

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note = "Funding Information: The carpenter crew case from one of the sites was chosen, because it illustrates well the safety cultures found in the studies of the three contractors. The study of the carpenters{\textquoteright} safety culture encompassed following work during a whole workday for approximately 10 days during a longer period, supplemented by semi-structured interviews carried out with masters, quantity surveyors, foremen and other central persons. On this basis, the analytical strategy described above and below was used, here to report on systems of meaning. The vignettes used in the text serve an illustrative purpose and are translated by the authors. In addition to safety culture on site, the project also studied learning and education as safety culture producers, following apprentices at school and at work, and carried out intervention to improve prevention. It was funded by a research effort embedded in the Danish Working Environment Authority (similar to the UK ...) Health and Safety Executive. Funding Information: • Dyhrberg (2004) is a long-term ethnographic study of a precast concrete element production unit. This was followed by a planned interven-tion aiming to change the safety culture, which was then evaluated. The project was funded by the Danish work environment fund (Dyhrberg{\textquoteright}s doctoral thesis).",

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doi = "10.1080/01446193.2013.787490",

language = "English",

volume = "31",

pages = "691--703",

journal = "Construction Management and Economics",

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PY - 2013/6

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N2 - Accidents in construction have motivated a range of prevention methods and efforts with more or less success. Cultural explanations are of crucial importance in understanding risk at work and this contribution adds to the growing body of qualitative studies of safety culture. Symbolic interactionism is used as a conceptual ethnographic framework to include integration, differentiation, ambiguity and the multiple configuration of safety cultures. The primary case is a carpenter's crew of 28 men engaged in renovation work. The analysis reveals the overarching common integrative culture to be characterized by pride in work. This culture overlaps with four cultures named mastering, framework and rules, drawing board and plan, and ties that bind, found using the differentiation perspective. Ambiguous perceptions are found regarding possibilities for prevention and risk, which differ according to time, place and actor. This result is juxtaposed with cultures found in four other ethnographic studies from Denmark covering 10 companies. Although these studies find 25 different safety cultures, a national pattern showing a configuration of reactive and proactive safety cultures does seem prevalent. Accident prevention methods need to be more sensitive to different safety cultures, on site and in companies, but can also use national mechanisms such as training.

AB - Accidents in construction have motivated a range of prevention methods and efforts with more or less success. Cultural explanations are of crucial importance in understanding risk at work and this contribution adds to the growing body of qualitative studies of safety culture. Symbolic interactionism is used as a conceptual ethnographic framework to include integration, differentiation, ambiguity and the multiple configuration of safety cultures. The primary case is a carpenter's crew of 28 men engaged in renovation work. The analysis reveals the overarching common integrative culture to be characterized by pride in work. This culture overlaps with four cultures named mastering, framework and rules, drawing board and plan, and ties that bind, found using the differentiation perspective. Ambiguous perceptions are found regarding possibilities for prevention and risk, which differ according to time, place and actor. This result is juxtaposed with cultures found in four other ethnographic studies from Denmark covering 10 companies. Although these studies find 25 different safety cultures, a national pattern showing a configuration of reactive and proactive safety cultures does seem prevalent. Accident prevention methods need to be more sensitive to different safety cultures, on site and in companies, but can also use national mechanisms such as training.

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KW - small to medium-sized enterprise

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ER -

From crew to country? Local and national construction safety cultures in Denmark

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

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