Citation

Wu C, Luo X, Wang T, Wang Y, Sapkota B. Int. J. Occup. Safety Ergonomics 2018; ePub(ePub): 1-11.

Affiliation

Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering , City University of Hong Kong , Tat Chee Ave., Kowloon , Hong Kong . E-mail: bibek.spkt@gmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10803548.2018.1466508

PMID

29667878

Abstract

Due to cultural differences, ethnic minority construction workers are more difficult to manage and more vulnerable to accidents. This study aims to identify the major barriers faced by ethnic minority workers from their own perspectives and determine potential strategies to enhance safety climate of construction projects, thus ultimately improve their safety performance. A survey with modified Nordic safety climate questionnaire was conducted in a certain sub-contractor in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews, status quo description, major challenge investigation and safety knowledge tests were carried as well. The top three most important safety challenges identified are improper stereotypes from the whole industry, lack of opportunities for job assignment, and language barriers. To improve the safety performance, employers should allocate sufficient personal protective equipment and governments should organize unannounced site visits more frequently. Besides, the higher-level management should avoid giving contradictory instructions to foremen against to the standards of supervisors.

Language: en

Keywords

construction safety; ethnic minority workers; safety challenges; safety climate; safety improvement strategies