Workplace health and safety performance at the client-contractor interface: Measurement, management and behaviour

Abstract

As the initiators of construction projects, clients have the ability to influence work health and safety (WHS) in the projects they procure. One of the ways they seek to do this is through the implementation of measurement regimes to collect data that they then utilise to manage the WHS performance of the contractors they engage to deliver projects. However, the validity of widely utilised WHS performance indicators has been questioned and the effectiveness of measurement and management regimes in influencing WHS performance across the client-contractor boundary is not well understood. There is therefore a need to better understand the characteristics of effective measurement and management activities as implemented by construction clients to influence contractors’ WHS performance. Qualitative interviews were conducted with client and contractor representatives engaged in the delivery of large-scale infrastructure construction projects. It was observed that clients implement performance measurement and management (PMM) approaches in relation to WHS. These were grouped into ideal types, i.e. regimes reliant on autocratic, bureaucratic or collaborative forms of control. It was observed that autocratic and bureaucratic PMM regimes produced counterproductive behaviours, including manipulation of information, the promulgation of safety ‘clutter,’ poor quality client-contractor relationships and low levels of trust. In contrast, collaborative regimes produced higher levels of trust, open and honest reporting and collaborative problem-solving in relation to WHS. The findings suggest that PMM regimes should be carefully designed and implemented to ensure that they are effective.