Exploring safety climate factors in construction

Abstract

This paper aims to explore and to make explicit of the existing safety climate assessment tools and dimensions. The concept of safety climate is firstly discussed with a review of different safety climate factors from the published literature. A qualitative research method was employed to explore the safety climate factors through a systematic review using four databases and specific keywords. A total of 68 papers were selected for the screening process. The screening process allowed to select the final 18 safety climate assessment tools and papers consisting of 98 safety climate factors spanning over a period of 39 years (1980 – 2019). Construction organizations may consider these factors to assess the current maturity level of their safety climate and to develop plans to achieve the required level. It is recommended that the factors discussed in this paper may be validated first before they are incorporated in the assessment of safety climate.