Safety culture research, lead indicators, and the development of safety effectiveness indicators in the construction sector

Construction sector application of Lead Indicators generally and Positive Performance Indicators (PPIs) particularly, are largely seen by the sector as not providing generalizable indicators of safety effectiveness. Similarly, safety culture is often cited as an essential factor in improving safety performance, yet there is no known reliable way of measuring safety culture. This paper proposes that the accurate measurement of safety effectiveness and safety culture is a requirement for assessing safe behaviours, safety knowledge, effective communication and safety performance. Currently there are no standard national or international safety effectiveness indicators (SEIs) that are accepted by the construction industry. The challenge is that quantitative survey instruments developed for measuring safety culture and/ or safety climate are inherently flawed methodologically and do not produce reliable and representative data concerning attitudes to safety. Measures that combine quantitative and qualitative components are needed to provide a clear utility for safety effectiveness indicators.

What factors are associated with cyclists getting injured? Correlates of cyclist injuries in Queensland

Pedal cyclists are over-represented in traffic crash injuries in Australia. This study examined correlates of cycling injuries in a sample of Queensland cyclists. Members of Bicycle Queensland (n=1976) were asked about cycling injuries as part of an online survey. They also reported demographic characteristics, reasons for cycling, years of cycling as an adult, and cycling frequency. Multivariate logistic regression modelling was used to examine the association between these variables and experiencing cycling injuries last year (yes/no). Thirty-one percent of respondents (n=617) reported at least one cycling injury. Respondents had greater likelihood of injury if they cycled more frequently, had cycled <5 years, or cycled for recreation or competition. These findings suggest that injuries are mostly likely to occur among less experienced cyclists, those cycling the most, and those cycling for sport and recreation. Injury prevention interventions should include cycle skills training along with fostering safer cycling environments.

A preliminary examination of the effects of changes in motorcycle licensing in Queensland

Several sets of changes have been made to motorcycle licensing in Queensland since 2007, with the aim of improving the safety of novice riders. These include a requirement that a motorcycle learner licence applicant must have held a provisional or open car licence for 12 months, and imposing a 3 year limit for learner licence renewal. Additionally, a requirement to hold an RE (250 cc limited) class licence for a period of 12 months prior to progressing to an R class licence was introduced for Q-RIDE. This paper presents analyses of licensing transaction data that examine the effects of the licensing changes on the duration that the learner licence was held, factors affecting this duration and the extent to which the demographic characteristics of learner licence holders changed. The likely safety implications of the observed changes are discussed.

Framework for measuring corporate safety culture and its impact on construction safety performance

This paper presents the results of a structural equation model (SEM) that describes and quantifies the relationships between corporate culture and safety performance. The SEM is estimated using 196 individual questionnaire responses from three companies with better than average safety records. A multiattribute analysis of corporate safety culture characteristics resulted in a hierarchical description of corporate safety culture comprised of three major categories — people, process, and value. These three major categories were decomposed into 54 measurable questions and used to develop a questionnaire to quantify corporate safety culture. The SEM identified five latent variables that describe corporate safety culture: (1) a company’s safety commitment; (2) the safety incentives that are offered to field personal for safe performance; (3) the subcontractor involvement in the company culture; (4) the field safety accountability and dedication; and (5) the disincentives for unsafe behaviors. These characteristics of company safety culture serve as indicators for a company’s safety performance. Based on the findings from this limited sample of three companies, this paper proposes a list of practices that companies may consider to improve corporate safety culture and safety performance. A more comprehensive study based on a larger sample is recommended to corroborate the findings of this study.

Assessing wet crashes for the skid resistance management of road assets

Australia, road crash trauma costs the nation A$15 billion annually whilst the US estimates an economic impact of around US$ 230 billion on its network. Worldwide economic cost of road crashes is estimated to be around US$ 518 billion each year. Road accidents occur due to a number of factors including driver behaviour, geometric alignment, vehicle characteristics, environmental impacts, and the type and condition of the road surfacing. Skid resistance is considered one of the most important road surface characteristics because it has a direct effect on traffic safety. In 2005, Austroads (the Association of Australian and New Zealand Road Transport and Traffic Authorities) published a guideline for the management of skid resistance and Queensland Department of Main Roads (QDMR) developed a skid resistance management plan (SRMP). The current QDMR strategy is based on rationale analytical methodology supported by field inspection with related asset management decision tools. The Austroads’s guideline and QDMR's skid resistance management plan have prompted QDMR to review its skid resistance management practice. As a result, a joint research project involving QDMR, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Corporative Research Centre for Integrated Engineering Asset Management (CRC CIEAM) was formed. The research project aims at investigating whether there is significant relationship between road crashes and skid resistance on Queensland’s road networks. If there is, the current skid resistance management practice of QDMR will be reviewed and appropriate skid resistance investigatory levels will be recommended. This paper presents analysis results in assessing the relationship between wet crashes and skid resistance on Queensland roads. Attributes considered in the analysis include surface types, annual average daily traffic (AADT), speed and seal age.

Cultural determinants of stress in the construction industry

The need to better understand and deal with workplace stress has major implications for the construction industry, especially on a project level, because of its potential to directly impact on site productivity and safety, and ultimately, the achievement of project objectives. While there has been some understanding of the effect of workplace stress within the construction industry, the majority of these studies have explored individual determinants of workplace stress among construction professionals such as architects, engineers, quantity surveyors etc. To date, very little research has focused on workplace stress as encountered by construction site operatives. This is an important research deficiency as construction site operatives typically make up a significant percentage of on-site workforce and contribute most directly to project success. To address this imbalance in research, this paper proposes a theoretical framework to better understand site operatives’ experience of stress from a cultural perspective on three levels: individual, project and organizational which has been largely neglected in previous studies.

Infrastructure asset management: The challenges and approaches

Infrastructure organisations such as airport, seaport, rail and road are operating in an increasingly challenging business environment as a result of globalisation, privatisation and deregulation. These organisations must ensure that their main resource i.e. their infrastructure assets are well managed in order to support their business operations. Brisbane Airport is used as a case study to understand the challenges faced in the management of infrastructure assets as well as the approaches used to overcome them. The findings can be useful in helping asset managers to identify the resources they should seek to manipulate in order to make improvement to their activities and contribute to the overall performance of their organisation.

Diagnostic and treatment pathways for men with prostate cancer in Queensland : investigating spatial and demographic inequalities

Background: Patterns of diagnosis and management for men diagnosed with prostate cancer in Queensland, Australia, have not yet been systematically documented and so assumptions of equity are untested. This longitudinal study investigates the association between prostate cancer diagnostic and treatment outcomes and key area-level characteristics and individual-level demographic, clinical and psychosocial factors.---------- Methods/Design: A total of 1064 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between February 2005 and July 2007 were recruited through hospital-based urology outpatient clinics and private practices in the centres of Brisbane, Townsville and Mackay (82% of those referred). Additional clinical and diagnostic information for all 6609 men diagnosed with prostate cancer in Queensland during the study period was obtained via the population-based Queensland Cancer Registry. Respondent data are collected using telephone and self-administered questionnaires at pre-treatment and at 2 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months and 60 months post-treatment. Assessments include demographics, medical history, patterns of care, disease and treatment characteristics together with outcomes associated with prostate cancer, as well as information about quality of life and psychological adjustment. Complementary detailed treatment information is abstracted from participants’ medical records held in hospitals and private treatment facilities and collated with health service utilisation data obtained from Medicare Australia. Information about the characteristics of geographical areas is being obtained from data custodians such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Geo-coding and spatial technology will be used to calculate road travel distances from patients’ residences to treatment centres. Analyses will be conducted using standard statistical methods along with multilevel regression models including individual and area-level components.---------- Conclusions: Information about the diagnostic and treatment patterns of men diagnosed with prostate cancer is crucial for rational planning and development of health delivery and supportive care services to ensure equitable access to health services, regardless of geographical location and individual characteristics. This study is a secondary outcome of the randomised controlled trial registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12607000233426)

Governance networks and stakeholders : engaging through salience

Across Australia, construction and redevelopment of public infrastructure, continues to be a key factor in economic development. Within this context, road transport has been identified as key building block of Queensland‟s future prosperity. However, since the late twentieth century, there has been a shift away from delivery of large infrastructure, including road networks, exclusively by the state. Subsequently, a range of alternative models, have emerged in infrastructure project delivery. Among these, governance networks have become a widespread mechanism for planning and delivering infrastructure. However, despite substantial public investments in road infrastructure that are made through governance networks, little is known about how these networks engage with stakeholders who are potentially affected by road infrastructure projects. Although governance networks undertake management functions, it is unclear what drives stakeholder engagement within this networked environment and how stakeholder relationship management is operationalised. This paper proposes that network management functions undertaken by governance networks incorporate stakeholder engagement and that network managers play a key role in creating and sustaining connections between governance networks and their stakeholders Drawing on stakeholder theory and governance network theory, this paper contributes to the literature by showing that stakeholder engagement is embedded within network management and identifying the critical role of network managers in establishing and maintaining stakeholder engagement.

Critical success factors of project management for Brunei construction projects : improving project performance

The problem of delays in the construction industry is a global phenomenon and the construction industry in Brunei Darussalam is no exception. The goal of all parties involved in construction projects – owners, contractors, engineers and consultants in either the public or private sector is to successfully complete the project on schedule, within planned budget, with the highest quality and in the safest manner. Construction projects are frequently influenced by either success factors that help project parties reach their goal as planned, or delay factors that stifle or postpone project completion. The purpose of this research is to identify success and delay factors which can help project parties reach their intended goals with greater efficiency. This research extracted seven of the most important success factors according to the literature and seven of the most important delay factors identified by project parties, and then examined correlations between them to determine which were the most influential in preventing project delays. This research uses a comprehensive literature review to design and conduct a survey to investigate success and delay factors and then obtain a consensus of expert opinion using the Delphi methodology to rank the most needed critical success factors for Brunei construction projects. A specific survey was distributed to owners, contractors and engineers to examine the most critical delay factors. A general survey was distributed to examine the correlation between the identified delay factors and the seven most important critical success factors selected. A consensus of expert opinion using the Delphi methodology was used to rank the most needed critical success factors for Brunei building construction. Data was collected and evaluated by statistical methods to identify the most significant causes of delay and to measure the strength and direction of the relationship between critical success factors and delay factors in order to examine project parties’ evaluation of projects’ critical success and delay factors, and to evaluate the influence of critical success factors on critical delay factors. A relative importance index has been used to determine the relative importance of the various causes of delays. A one and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been used to examine how the group or groups evaluated the influence of the critical success factors in avoiding or preventing each of the delay factors, and which success factors were perceived as most influential in avoiding or preventing critical delay factors. Finally the Delphi method, using consensus from an expert panel, was employed to identify the seven most critical success factors used to avoid the delay factors, and thereby improve project performance.

Fusing curricula : science, technology and ICT

Curriculum demands continue to increase on school education systems with teachers at the forefront of implementing syllabus requirements. Education is reported frequently as a solution to most societal problems and, as a result of the world’s information explosion, teachers are expected to cover more and more within teaching programs. How can teachers combine subjects in order to capitalise on the competing educational agendas within school timeframes? Fusing curricula requires the bonding of standards from two or more syllabuses. Both technology and ICT complement the learning of science. This study analyses selected examples of preservice teachers’ overviews for fusing science, technology and ICT. These program overviews focused on primary students and the achievement of two standards (one from science and one from either technology or ICT). These primary preservice teachers’ fused-curricula overviews included scientific concepts and related technology and/or ICT skills and knowledge. Findings indicated a range of innovative curriculum plans for teaching primary science through technology and ICT, demonstrating that these subjects can form cohesive links towards achieving the respective learning standards. Teachers can work more astutely by fusing curricula; however further professional development may be required to advance thinking about these processes. Bonding subjects through their learning standards can extend beyond previous integration or thematic work where standards may not have been assessed. Education systems need to articulate through syllabus documents how effective fusing of curricula can be achieved. It appears that education is a key avenue for addressing societal needs, problems and issues. Education is promoted as a universal solution, which has resulted in curriculum overload (Dare, Durand, Moeller, & Washington, 1997; Vinson, 2001). Societal and curriculum demands have placed added pressure on teachers with many extenuating education issues increasing teachers’ workloads (Mobilise for Public Education, 2002). For example, as Australia has weather conducive for outdoor activities, social problems and issues arise that are reported through the media calling for action; consequently schools have been involved in swimming programs, road and bicycle safety programs, and a wide range of activities that had been considered a parental responsibility in the past. Teachers are expected to plan, implement and assess these extra-curricula activities within their already overcrowded timetables. At the same stage, key learning areas (KLAs) such as science and technology are mandatory requirements within all Australian education systems. These systems have syllabuses outlining levels of content and the anticipated learning outcomes (also known as standards, essential learnings, and frameworks). Time allocated for teaching science in obviously an issue. In 2001, it was estimated that on average the time spent in teaching science in Australian Primary Schools was almost an hour per week (Goodrum, Hackling, & Rennie, 2001). More recently, a study undertaken in the U.S. reported a similar finding. More than 80% of the teachers in K-5 classrooms spent less than an hour teaching science (Dorph, Goldstein, Lee, et al., 2007). More importantly, 16% did not spend teaching science in their classrooms. Teachers need to learn to work smarter by optimising the use of their in-class time. Integration is proposed as one of the ways to address the issue of curriculum overload (Venville & Dawson, 2005; Vogler, 2003). Even though there may be a lack of definition for integration (Hurley, 2001), curriculum integration aims at covering key concepts in two or more subject areas within the same lesson (Buxton & Whatley, 2002). This implies covering the curriculum in less time than if the subjects were taught separately; therefore teachers should have more time to cover other educational issues. Expectedly, the reality can be decidedly different (e.g., Brophy & Alleman, 1991; Venville & Dawson, 2005). Nevertheless, teachers report that students expand their knowledge and skills as a result of subject integration (James, Lamb, Householder, & Bailey, 2000). There seems to be considerable value for integrating science with other KLAs besides aiming to address teaching workloads. Over two decades ago, Cohen and Staley (1982) claimed that integration can bring a subject into the primary curriculum that may be otherwise left out. Integrating science education aims to develop a more holistic perspective. Indeed, life is not neat components of stand-alone subjects; life integrates subject content in numerous ways, and curriculum integration can assist students to make these real-life connections (Burnett & Wichman, 1997). Science integration can provide the scope for real-life learning and the possibility of targeting students’ learning styles more effectively by providing more than one perspective (Hudson & Hudson, 2001). To illustrate, technology is essential to science education (Blueford & Rosenbloom, 2003; Board of Studies, 1999; Penick, 2002), and constructing technology immediately evokes a social purpose for such construction (Marker, 1992). For example, building a model windmill requires science and technology (Zubrowski, 2002) but has a key focus on sustainability and the social sciences. Science has the potential to be integrated with all KLAs (e.g., Cohen & Staley, 1982; Dobbs, 1995; James et al., 2000). Yet, “integration” appears to be a confusing term. Integration has an educational meaning focused on special education students being assimilated into mainstream classrooms. The word integration was used in the late seventies and generally focused around thematic approaches for teaching. For instance, a science theme about flight only has to have a student drawing a picture of plane to show integration; it did not connect the anticipated outcomes from science and art. The term “fusing curricula” presents a seamless bonding between two subjects; hence standards (or outcomes) need to be linked from both subjects. This also goes beyond just embedding one subject within another. Embedding implies that one subject is dominant, while fusing curricula proposes an equal mix of learning within both subject areas. Primary education in Queensland has eight KLAs, each with its established content and each with a proposed structure for levels of learning. Primary teachers attempt to cover these syllabus requirements across the eight KLAs in less than five hours a day, and between many of the extra-curricula activities occurring throughout a school year (e.g., Easter activities, Education Week, concerts, excursions, performances). In Australia, education systems have developed standards for all KLAs (e.g., Education Queensland, NSW Department of Education and Training, Victorian Education) usually designated by a code. In the late 1990’s (in Queensland), “core learning outcomes” for strands across all KLA’s. For example, LL2.1 for the Queensland Education science syllabus means Life and Living at Level 2 standard number 1. Thus, a teacher’s planning requires the inclusion of standards as indicated by the presiding syllabus. More recently, the core learning outcomes were replaced by “essential learnings”. They specify “what students should be taught and what is important for students to have opportunities to know, understand and be able to do” (Queensland Studies Authority, 2009, para. 1). Fusing science education with other KLAs may facilitate more efficient use of time and resources; however this type of planning needs to combine standards from two syllabuses. To further assist in facilitating sound pedagogical practices, there are models proposed for learning science, technology and other KLAs such as Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956), Productive Pedagogies (Education Queensland, 2004), de Bono’s Six Hats (de Bono, 1985), and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1999) that imply, warrant, or necessitate fused curricula. Bybee’s 5 Es, for example, has five levels of learning (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate; Bybee, 1997) can have the potential for fusing science and ICT standards.

Accurate urban road model reconstruction from high resolution remotely sensed imagery based on Support Vector Machine and Gabor filters

In this paper, we presented an automatic system for precise urban road model reconstruction based on aerial images with high spatial resolution. The proposed approach consists of two steps: i) road surface detection and ii) road pavement marking extraction. In the first step, support vector machine (SVM) was utilized to classify the images into two categories: road and non-road. In the second step, road lane markings are further extracted on the generated road surface based on 2D Gabor filters. The experiments using several pan-sharpened aerial images of Brisbane, Queensland have validated the proposed method.

Effects of opening in the cross girders of the flat bottom rail wagons to the load transferring mechanisms when used as road bridge deck

A Flat Bed Rail Wagon (FBRW) has been proposed as an alternative solution for replacing bridges on low traffic volume roads. The subject matter for this paper is to investigate the impediment to load transfer from cross girders to main girder, through visually identifiable structural flaws. Namely, the effect of having large openings at close proximity to the connection of the main girder to the cross girder of a FBRW was examined. It was clear that openings locally reduce the section modulus of the secondary members; however it was unclear how these reductions would affect the load transfer to the main girder. The results are presented through modeling grillage action for which the loads applied onto the FBRW were distributed through cross girders to the main girder.

Parliamentary committees are important in developing policy: evidence from a Queensland case study

Abstract This paper uses a case study to identify the impact of a Queensland parliamentary committee on policy. In 2003, the Travelsafe Committee undertook two inquiries investigating young driver and rider issues. In 2007, the Queensland Parliament passed legislation that provided the power to make regulations that changed the graduated driver licensing laws in Queensland. The analysis of the second reading speeches for this bill suggests that parliamentary committees can help set the agenda for government policy. The role of the Travelsafe Committee in this process was recognised by both government and non-government members of Parliament and by those that had been, or were currently, members of the committee and by those that had no membership experience of the Travelsafe Committee prior to the debate of the legislation. This paper suggests that in order for committees to successfully participate in policy work they need to have strong ideas, work to a consistently high standard and the chair needs to be dedicated to the work of the committee. This case study indicates the importance of parliamentary committees in the policy work of a parliament.

Ecological sustainable development: a study of the obstacles in Australia's construction industry

Ecological sustainable development (ESD), defined as that which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, has much to offer in enhancing the quality of life of people and maintaining the environment for future generations by reducing the pollution of water, air and land, minimizing the destruction of irreplaceable ecosystems and cutting down the amount of toxic materials released. However, there is still much to do to achieve full implementation world-wide. This paper reports on three factors-design, attitudes and financial constraints - that are likely barriers to the implementation of ESD within the built environment in Australian industry. A postal questionnaire survey is described aimed at soliciting views on detailed aspects of the factors. This shows that ESD in the Australian built environment has also not been successfully implemented. The main reason is found to be due to the perceived costs involved - the cost of using environmental materials being a predominant factor. The design of ESD, being more sophisticated, also is perceived as involving stakeholders in more expense. There also appears to be a lack of knowledge and a lack of specialised and interdisciplinary design teams available in the Australian context.