| Author | Oulawan Kulchartchai |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.CM-10-01 |
| Subject(s) | Construction industry--Safety measures
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| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering in Construction, Engine ering and Infrastructure Management, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. CM-10-01 |
| Abstract | The construction industry is considered to have the highest rate of fatal occupational injuries in many countries. I n Thailand, the accident rate in the construction industry is reportedly the highest compared to other industries. Fatal injuries to workers occur more often in construction industry. Previous research emphasis often analyze the effective safety programs rather than those that are geared towards creating safe working environments. W orkers are expected to play and act as the “key driver” in safety p rogram imple mentation. Due to this, w orker engagement is now considered to be one of the most important approaches in reducing work- related injuries and diseases. Without this worker engagement, safety program s will be difficult to achieve . It is hypothesized that wor ker engagement can substantially reduce accidents and improve safety performance continuously. The primary objective of this study was ‘ to develop a reliable assessment tool to measure worker engagement in safety program implementation in construction projects ” and ‘to identify critical factors of successful worker engagement (WE) in safety program implementation’ . The findings therefore will enable construction firms to identify gaps in worker engagement with in the safety program implementation , and faci litate improvements. This study used triangulation techniques including; theoretical model construct by a thorough literature study, components of worker engagement indicated by Grounded Theory’s techniques, verification of the theoretical model using Law she’s techniques, the development of a scale instrument by using DeVellis’s (1991) process supported by Clark and Watson’s (1995) and used by Du Plessis (2004), a reliability test of the developed worker engagement measurement tool by using Independent sam ple, t -test . In developing the WEMT, several consultation and tests were conducted with national safety experts. Results showed that worker engagement (WE) consist ed of 3 domains; cognitive (21 items), affective (26 items), and psychomotor (6 items) . Th e content validity index of the domains according to safety experts are 0.72, 0.60, and 0.43 respectively. Additionally, the situation -related factor (31 items) and individually related factors (12 items) with respect to the content validity index were 0.5 6 and 0.59 respectively. A questionnaire with 53 variables in three dimensions of worker engagement and 43 variables in affecting factor was distributed to the sample group of construction workers and personnel basis either by electronic -mail or hand carri ed to the rep resentative sample group of 494. Approximately fifty two percent (258/494) responded anonymously . A scale instrument was developed through the item analysis and exploratory factor analysis function of the Statistical Package for the Social Sci ences (SPSS). A worker engagement measurement tool (WEMT) comprised of 39 items in a six -factor instrument was developed. It was found that the items in these factors were highly acceptable, receiving a Cronbach alpha coefficient above 0.8. The develop ed WEMT was tested in two distinct construction projects in Oil&Gas and Building projects. These test confirmed that WEMT was a reliable diagnostic tool that can discriminate worker engagement level among different projects, particularly in the Thai constr uction firm context. |
| Year | 2010 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. CM-10-01 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management (CM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Hadikusumo, Bonaventura H. W.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Chotchai Charoenngam ;Sunanta Siengthai; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2010 |