Impact Of Safety Management Practices Enforcement Toward Employee Safety In Construction Industry

Abstract

Safety at work is one of the key issues in many organizations. This is because accidents and injuries in the workplace can cost the organization financially and non-financially. The objective of the paper is to identify the influences of management practice towards employee safety in the construction sector. Data were collected using survey method. Survey was conducted in a construction company in Johor. Stratified sampling techniques were use in order to collect the sample for this study. Data is analyzes using Partial Least Square (PLS) 3.0 and Structural Equation Model (SEM). The results indicates that, four items in management practice, which is reward, training, management commitment and communication and feedback could influence towards improving employee safety. The findings, could help the construction industry in reducing injury rates and increases their company productivity. However, there are still limitations in this study that need to be overcome. A comprehensive study must be done to study the unique needs of construction industry in dealing with safety management practice.

Keywords: Employee safetymanagement practicePLS-SEM construction ,

Introduction

As Malaysia aspires to become a developed nation by 2020, reducing workplace accidents is one of the key employment concerns it aims to address. Preserving the safety, health, and welfare of people and protecting human and capital resources in the workplace are vital for a firm’s success (Reynolds, 2011). Management practices involve decisions, actions and resource allocations to empower the professional services to meet the goals of the organization. According to Dorji and Hadikusumo (2006), the study on management practices that involves construction sector clarified that the safety strategy is a composed explanation about standards with objectives in which it can exhibit top managements dedication to ensure the safe working techniques and territory at the development destinations (Keng & Razak, 2014). Management practices have remained referred to as imperative parts of safety lists (Vredenburgh, 2002). There are six management practices every now and again which are; incorporated into safety programs such as rewards system, safety training, management commitment, communication and feedback, selection, and also worker participation which contributed to a safe work situation among construction site workers (Vredenburgh, 2002).

Problem Statement

Nowadays, construction activities may lead to the development of a successful economic growth for our countries. However, almost every day, we could see that there is a lot of news and newspaper articles regarding the issue of accidents occurred in the construction industry (DOSH, 2015). The accidents also involved a high number of mortality among construction site workers. Rendering to Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH, 2015) injury rates in construction sites sector is increasing every year.

The construction sector consumes familiar by way of a standout amongst the riskiest industries compared to many other industries in the world. Security at work is a multifaceted phenomenon and become a particular range of study. This remains because industrial safety consumes experienced vital changes over the previous time. Still, the construction sector remains remarkable by way of it remains to record a high percentage of accident associated casualties (Chong, 2014). Construction employees who put a great effort inside the construction site appears to face a bigger menace of death compared to other workforces in other manufacturing (Chong, 2014).

Besides, according to The Sundaily on 30 June 2015, as 3.021 of the 92.5% construction locations investigated by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) in this current year for the five months, ensured not consent with the authoritative rule sets. Inside the same time allotment, DOSH had dispensed 2.797 observes, 72 compounds then carried 63 cases to law court. Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Anak Jaem said that initial investigations showed there were various safety and security offences committed. The absence of a site security supervisor, inappropriate support structures and presumably there might be an issue as far as the amount of building materials utilized. Therefore, this study is conducted in order to identify which management practice variable could increases employee safety.

Research Questions

1. Which of the six variables in management practice could increases employee safety?

Purpose of the Study

The findings of this analysis resolve redound towards the benefit of the employee’s effectiveness of management practices considering that management practices play an important role in employee safety at construction site today. This study will be a significant endeavor in promoting safe work environment in the workplace and safety of its employees. Management practices stands clear as the placement of an all-inclusive system that enhances the growth of an organization’s knowledge. Besides, construction sector is a critical sector around the world, as far as its commitment to employment, regional and national economies. However, construction employee is prone to several types of injury inducing risks. Inadequate construction safety and related fatal and nonfatal industrial injuries consume been reported in numerous studies far and wide. The common construction death were caused by falls from height, being struck by moving automobiles or dropping objects (Lehtola, 2008). Therefore, with end goal toward reducing injuries rate, this study will likewise be helpful to the instructor in management practices when they utilize viable learning in their works on setting. Especially in various ideas identified with the utilization of powerful management practices in reducing employee injuries rate. Besides, when companies produce and present new thing, new process and/or new managerial practices, they require imaginative and innovative workers, who are adaptable, hazard taking and tolerant of instability in addition vagueness (Chen, Hogg & Smith, 2007).

Research Methods

This study is a quantitative study. A 5 Likert scale questionnaire ranging from 1-5, which is (1) strongly disagree (2) disagree (3) neutral (4) agree (5) strongly agree were used. The sample for this study is selected thru stratified sampling technique. The sampling frame for this study is comprises of employees working at the constructions sector in Johor, Malaysia. Namely (1) Global Earnest Sdn Bhd, (2) Laubros Holdings Sdn Bhd, (3) Pancaran Temasek Sdn Bhd, (4) Hafiz Rahman Constructin Sdn Bhd, (5) Infracorp Sdn Bhd and Maher Engineering Sdn Bhd. It is because of the highest rank of accident occur, based on statistics by Department of Safety and Health (Occupational Accidents Statistics by State, 2017). A total number of 345 questionnaire were distributed however only 245 were return. The dimension and sources of each item used are as in Tablae 1 below. Data were analyzes using IBM Statistical Packages for Social Science or known as SPSS (version 23), for descriptive analysis and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) version 3.0, to analyzes the validity and reliability of the instrument. Structural measurement were also assess in order to identify which variable could give more effect towards employee safety.

Findings

Structural measurement model

After the measurements were tested for validity, the structural model as provided in Figure 1 , which represented the relations among the constructs assumed in the theoretical model;

According to Huang, Wang, Wu, & Wang (2013), the result for path coefficient symbolise the strength and direction of the relationship between the variables, where when the path is positive, it will indicates a positive result and when it is negative, it indicates a negatives influence/direction between the variable.

Table 04 below, represent the path coefficient result for the study variable. In order to answer the research objective, it could be concluded that the management practice variable, which is reward, training, management commitment and communication and feedback would give a positive influences towards employee safety. However the variables that could contributes more towards employee safety are the training, with beta value 0.890.

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Conclusion

This research are focusing on identifying which variables in management practice could contribute more towards employee safety. Based from the findings, the result indicates that reward, training, management commitment and communication and feedback would give a positive influences towards employee safety. The result from the convergent and discriminant validity shows that, the study is reliable and valid. Management practices are vital to prevent accidents at workplace as it is a method to manage and reduce the work environment accidents (Díaz-Cabrera, 2007). Essentially, a few researchers had established about management rehearse. According to Ali, Azimah and Subramaniam (2009), has also stated that management rehearses are an important factor of the organizations as it is a successful part in reducing workplace injuries (Khdair, 2011). It is hope this study could contribute towards improving employee safety in the construction company as it could help in reducing the number of employee injury rates

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