The role of safe work method statements in the Australian construction industry

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine how managers and workers interpret and use safe work method statements (SWMS) in the Australian construction industry in order to explore if there was a gap between work as imagined and work as performed. Despite recent improvements in its safety performance, the Australian construction industry continues to be among the top four most dangerous industries within which to work. SWMS are a key strategy relied upon by the construction industry to reduce this toll. However, few, if any studies have looked at the role of SWMS in creating a safe workplace. This ethnographic study focused on the role of SWMS at two commercial construction sites in Australia. The researcher spent six months 'getting to know' the organisation before conducting 18 semistructured interviews spanning labourers, supervisors and managers. The researcher also collected examples of completed SWMS. This study found: (1) that SWMS are important for safety, particularly for tasks that are out of the ordinary; (2) that social interaction as well as SWMS are important for safety; (3) gaps do exist between work as imagined in a SWMS and work as performed in practice, but in the minds of those on site, there were no unresolved gaps; (4) therefore construction companies must identify and resolve the gaps between SWMS, practice and task demands to make construction sites a safer place to work.

Resilience Engineering: An Integrative Review of Fundamental Concepts and Directions for Future Research in Safety Management

“…The research revealed that there were gaps between the paperwork and practice which created an illusion of safety. In a later study he investigated how managers and workers interpreted and used safe work method statements (SWMS) to explore if there was a gap between WAI and WAP [113]. The study revealed that SWMS were important for safety but informants felt it should be reserved for tasks that were out of the ordinary, and that a combination of formal and informal social interactions as well as SWMS was important for safety.…”

“…Construction organisations also use safe work method statements and work health and safety management plans [113] [123] [130]. In this regard any of these can be used to investigate the gap between WAI and WAP.…”

A Systematic Review on High Reliability Organisational Theory as a Safety Management Strategy in Construction

“…However, because of the complex organisational setup in construction due to multiple contractors, changing work environments, cost cutting, and project deadlines [45], some of the HROs principles can be implemented, and others may be difficult to fully implement. Preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify , and sensitivity to operations have attributes that can be linked to risk assessment, incident and near miss reporting, permit-to-work, job safety analysis (JSA), and safe work method statements (SWMS) [59], which are construction safety management tools and procedures. Commitment to resilience and deference to expertise is linked to management responsibility, as it deals with maintaining the overall safety performance of an organisation, ability to recover from unexpected events, and training of personnel to be competent in all aspects of their jobs.…”

Improving Organisational Health and Safety Performance: Theoretical Framework and Contemporary Approaches

“…In spite of these, human error and safety rules continue to be subject of interest; with recent research suggesting that flexibility in the applications of such rules are critical to their success [93]. In the construction industry for example, such flexibility has been suggested, for example; in safe work method statements (SWIMS) being reserved for tasks that are out of the ordinary instead of every-day construction work, used as a cognitive artefact, and as a tool for social interactions [94] [95]. However, the extent to which such flexibility are likely to reduce workrelated incidents, accidents; or improve safety performance; are yet unknown.…”