Framework for improving safety compliance of construction workers in Australia

The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries worldwide. The statistics concerning fatality and injury speak to the need for a determined effort to develop and implement measures to resolve many safety issues in the construction industry. The role of people in accidents is undeniable and construction workers’ safety compliance plays a decisive role in improving safety on construction sites. Although there has been some impartial research examining influential factors of safety compliance in various industries, there are few, if any, investigations: firstly, applying the concept of differentiating safety compliance into deep compliance and surface compliance; and secondly, identifying the antecedents of deep compliance and surface compliance in the construction industry. To address this gap, this study aims to identify the influential factors and their effects on construction workers’ deep and surface compliance, respectively. Drawing upon the technology acceptance model, the theory of job performance, the trait activation theory, and the social exchange theory, this study proposed a framework for improving safety compliance of construction workers by identifying eight factors relating to construction workers’ safety compliance. These were as follows: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, safety knowledge, safety motivation, management commitment to safety, situational awareness, emotional intelligence, and safety communication. This study adopted the survey approach to collect quantitative data from construction workers in Australia. These responses were statistically analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to validate the proposed models. Drawing on the data collected from the construction workers in Australia, this study proposed and tested four models describing the antecedents of construction workers’ deep and surface safety compliance. As a result, this study revealed that the antecedents of Australian construction workers’ deep compliance were perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, safety knowledge, safety motivation, management commitment to safety, situational awareness, emotional intelligence, and safety communication. Those factors significantly and positively shaped deep safety compliance. Referring to surface compliance, perceived ease of use, safety knowledge, situational awareness, emotional intelligence, and safety communication were identified as the antecedents. Those factors significantly compromised surface safety compliance. Furthermore, this study conducted mediation analysis on the proposed models and found that perceived usefulness, safety motivation, situational awareness, and safety knowledge could be considered as partial mediators. This study contributes to the safety management literature by shedding light on the antecedents of deep and surface safety compliance in the Australian construction industry. From a practitioner’s perspective, this study suggests that site managers and safety professionals should understand and notice the difference between deep and surface compliance, pay attention to the possibility of surface compliance, and take measures to ensure that deep compliance is adhered to.