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Cost Effectiveness of Safety Initiatives in the Hong Kong

Construction Industry

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DOI: 10.1201/9780203883259.ch36

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 COST EFFECTIVENESS OF SAFETY INITIATIVES IN THE
HONG KONG CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Steve Rowlinson & Brenda Yip

Dept of Real Estate & Construction, The University of Hong Kong

The construction industry in Hong Kong has made a concerted effort

over the past ten years to improve its performance in terms of safety
and the initiatives introduced during this period, over 20 different
initiatives, appear to have been successful. However, it would be
useful to assess which initiatives have been more successful and so
focus attention on enhancing these as the accident rate appears to have
plateaued and a “kick start” is needed to enable the continuation of
the downward trend of the past ten years. Thus, this paper reports on
research aimed at identifying the most effective safety initiatives and
also investigates the factors within organisations which aid or hinder
these initiatives.

Introduction

This paper reviews the current situation with regard to the improvements in con-
struction site safety performance in Hong Kong that have taken place over the
past ten years and the authors identify those safety initiatives which have been
most effective in performance improvement (see, for example, Rowlinson, 2003 &
2004). The approach to this research project is briefly described below.

Problem
Implementation of cost effective safety initiatives in Hong Kong at a time when
construction workload has been in a steady decline:
• throughout a range of projects and organizations;
• with a focus on reducing serious accident rates.

Context
An underlying theme running throughout the study has been the need for empower-
ment of the industry to manage itself effectively. In order to do this many industry
participants have recognized the need for capability development within individual
firms and development of a sustainable industry. As far as safety is concerned,
initiatives have been, in the main, very successful on larger, public projects but a
plateau in the improvement trend has now been reached. In order to further reduce

227
228 S. Rowlinson & B. Yip

accident rates a different approach needs to be adopted and the industry as a whole
needs to examine the skills required industry wide for further successful accident
rate reduction (Lingard & Rowlinson, 2005).

Rationale
The rationale behind the recommendations in this research is:
• successful accident prevention requires a change of mind set – a culture change;
• clients and consultants must collaborate with the contracting side to drive change;
• a fit is required between safety initiatives and capability, leading to improvement;
• a maturity gap has been identified between high performing companies and the
rest.

Objectives
The objectives of this study are to advise on effective strategies for all sectors and
sizes within the industry. In order to achieve this the following need to be addressed:

• an audit is required of the current situation and problems identified and targeted;
• capabilities and costs need to be identified and change focused on effectiveness;
• change needs to be implemented at all levels and in all sectors of the real estate
and construction industry.

Current status

The following sections report on the current status of the study.

Cost effectiveness study

This study has given ambiguous results. For example, respondents identified the
green card system, an accreditation mechanism for assuring a minimum level of
safety knowledge amongst workers, as the least effective safety initiative. However,
the green card system was also seen as being relatively the cheapest initiative.
Hence, when the study team calculated the cost effectiveness of various initiatives
the green card scheme came out as the most cost effective. Obviously, this cannot
be an acceptable result. Hence, the study team are looking at alternative ways of
addressing the issue of cost effectiveness in order to produce a sensible answer to
this question. If cost effectiveness cannot be readily defined in a sensible manner
then one of the objectives of the study cannot be achieved. Indeed, many of the
respondents have expressed the view that cost effectiveness is not an appropriate
measure of safety initiative performance.
Suffice it to say that the most effective safety measures identified in the study
were as follows (from the highest to the lowest rank):
• Safety Management System
• Pay for Safety Scheme
 Cost effectiveness of safety initiatives in Hong Kong construction 229

• Performance Assessment Scoring System

• Contractor Performance Index System
• F&IU Ordinance and Regulations and Occupational Safety and Health Ordi-
nance and Regulations
• Automatic Suspension from Tendering System
• Safety Supervision Plan System
• Green Card System

Benchmarking study
The results of a benchmarking study of contractors were completed in early October,
2007. The results gave rise to a number of questions from those contractors which
had participated in the study. The most striking result was that many respondents,
even high performing respondents, failed to perform adequately on the dimension
of “project specific objectives”. Indeed, there was only one respondent organisation
which could be classified as a good performer and over 40% of respondents were
classed as poor performers. This contrasts poorly with a Japanese study undertaken
previously whereby over 40% of respondents were classed as good. As this study
dealt with the role of the safety management system within the business this is an
area which needs to be addressed by the industry. Indeed, feedback indicates that
this is a structural problem inherent in the construction process which needs to be
addressed by the industry as a whole, particularly the developers who drive the
process (see, for example, Mohamed, 2003). The research team recommends that
a similar study be conducted through Real Estate Developers Association in order
to identify commonalities and mismatches between the supply and demand side of
the industry.

Results from comprehensive survey of industry participants

The map which appears in Figure 1 (at the end of this paper) indicates the range of
issues which surfaced during the detailed study of perceptions of safety initiatives
and safety management in Hong Kong. Each of these will be dealt with briefly
here but two underlying issues need to be highlighted in order to put the issues into
context.

Maturity is an important issue

It became apparent during the study that a major issue for the industry was the
maturity of organisations. If we were to take a five level maturity system then one
might argue that only the top ten contractors could be classed as level five maturity.
Indeed, much of the industry is seen to be of a maturity level one or two whereby
their main focus in terms of safety management is compliance as opposed to the
continuous improvement philosophy of the top contractors. Such a view could also
be applied to the private developers, in that perhaps less than ten of these can be seen
to be adopting a mature attitude to safety management on their projects. Hence,
in terms of future strategy this leads us to the situation whereby a three pronged
230 S. Rowlinson & B. Yip

Figure 1. Map of Hong Kong safety issues.

Table 1. Maturity of organisations.

Level Nature Commitment Focus

Level 1 – Initial Immature Compliance Compliance

Level 2 – Repeatable [Managed] Maturing Continuance Norm
Level 3 – Defined Normative
Level 4 – Quantitatively Managed Mature Affective Continuous Improvement
Level 5 – Optimizing

(Source: adapted from the Capability Maturity Model: http://valuebasedmanagement.net/

methods_cmm.html).

approach to improving accident rates is necessary. Briefly, this means that three
different foci of attention should be provided for those contractors, and developers,
falling into the three categories of immature, maturing and mature.

Focus should be management not legislation

There was an underlying agreement amongst interviewees that Hong Kong had
enacted sufficient legislation to deal with safety management and that the industry
now needed to focus much more effectively on management of existing systems
rather than the enactment of more legislation. Indeed, this fits in with the safety
effectiveness study results which indicated that the enactment of safety management
legislation was in fact the catalyst for better management of safety processes within
 Cost effectiveness of safety initiatives in Hong Kong construction 231

the industry. The focus now needs to be on implementing more effectively the safety
management systems which already exist and educating the majority of the industry
that a compliance approach, based on conforming with legislation, is not acceptable
as an effective approach to safety management.

Key findings in brief

The current green card system is not effective

This finding was reported from a number of sources and the problem is twofold.
Firstly, the syllabus of the green card accreditation needs to be reviewed so that
it may be more carefully structured and address skill and safety issues at a more
detailed level. Secondly, there is an over provision of underperforming providers
of accreditation courses and this issue needs to be addressed by the industry as a
whole.

Communication is a problem in safety improvement

It was reported by a number of respondents that communicating safety management
ideas, procedures and instructions is often a difficult task. A major issue here is the
overwhelming of middle management with documentation and systems whereas at
the worker level it is the problem of maintaining a consistently focused message to
the workers. It was believed that language wasn’t so much a barrier as the means
of communication. There was also a belief that the ageing of the workforce and
ingrained ideas and attitudes were difficult to change because of this demography.

Drivers for improvement are opposing:

Business issues
Ethical issues
Social responsibility
The forces driving change in the industry are opposing. The overriding principle
of business survival is in conflict with the ethical issues of occupational health
and safety. However, change is taking place and the move towards corporate social
responsibility is an important change in the attitudes and maturity of the participants
in the Hong Kong industry. Indeed, one mechanism for promoting a more mature
attitude might be to adopt SA 8000. SA stands for “Social Accountability” and
SA8000 is developed as a reference standard in the context of human and social
rights. This standard can be applied to all organisations, regardless of their sectors
of activity.

Institutional barriers exist to a concerted effort

The construction industry is a cacophony of competing voices with conflicting
interests. A major barrier to a concerted effort on safety initiatives is the lack
of one voice with which the industry can speak. There are different problems at
different levels within the industry and an industry-wide body which can take an
232 S. Rowlinson & B. Yip

independent and considered view on all of the competing issues is a necessity. The
newly formed Construction Industry Council has responsibility for addressing this
issue. However, government, through Works Bureau and Housing Authority, can
also help to address this issue but there is a need to bring in diverse interests such
as the insurance industry and Labour Department if the effort is to be effective.

Education and training at tertiary and professional levels are inadequate

The coverage of occupational health and safety issues at tertiary institutions can be
improved quite considerably. A whole series of professions are educated in Hong
Kong’s tertiary institutions, such as civil engineers, builders, facility managers,
building services engineers, structural engineers, architects, etc. and there is no
common syllabus in terms of occupational health and safety and there are no courses
designed to integrate the design and management of construction projects excepting
MIDIM at Hong Kong University. This is an issue which should be addressed by
both the universities and the professions. It is now a cause for failure in ICE (UK)
professional assessments if the candidate does not show adequate knowledge of
occupational safety and health. Such an approach should be mandated for all of
the professions within Hong Kong. For further details and examples, refer to “A
Construction Safety Competency Framework: Improving OH&S performance by
creating and maintaining a safety culture”, CRC Construction Innovation, Australia.

Potential issues which can be used as drivers for improvements

The sections below give a brief indication of the issues involved in driving
improvements in safety management systems in Hong Kong.

Corporate social responsibility

This is now a very important issue for listed companies and organizations such
as China Light and Power provide excellent examples of how CSR can be used to
promote the occupational health and safety message to employees and their families.
Indeed, CLP might be considered as an exemplar developer.

Developer attitude
Following on from the previous point, it is important to recognize that developers as
well as contractors exhibit different levels of maturity. Such a problem needs to be
addressed at an institutional level in that the organizations representing developers
and government departments interacting with them need to lay down basic principles
and procedures they are expected to follow.

Client insurance
The insurance industry plays an important role for the real estate and construction
industries. However, the Insurance Industry Ordinance does not allow for the active
and comprehensive sharing of information on construction industry performance.
 Cost effectiveness of safety initiatives in Hong Kong construction 233

Hence, an experience rating modification system is difficult to implement in Hong

Kong at the present time. This is an institutional barrier to progress which would
allow better performing contractors to experience lower premiums and so higher
competitiveness. Indeed, one mechanism for addressing this might be to put the
insurance in the hands of the clients and so focus clients’ attention on occupational
health and safety management.

Design management
Design management is an important issue as far as occupational health and safety
performance is concerned. Up to 60% of accidents on site can be attributed to
design decisions. Hence, there must be an initiative developed in this area if the
more mature contractors are to be facilitated in improving their OHS performance.
The CDM regulations in the UK have been shown to be ineffective and so it is
recommended that an alternative approach be considered.

Work life balance

Work life balance has been shown to be an important moderator of management
effectiveness and the presence of stress in the workplace. Anecdotal evidence from
Macau has indicated that an improved work life balance leads to more effective
working and safer construction. This is an area which needs to be further investigated
and is an area that Hong Kong University propose as a new research project. Lingard
et al. (2006) and Yip and Rowlinson (2006) have indicated the positive effects of
an improvement in work-life balance.

“Can do” attitude

One of Hong Kong construction industry’s distinctive competences is its “can do”
attitude. The ability to construct high-rise buildings on four day floor cycles cannot
be matched in many places worldwide. However, this “can do” attitude comes at the
cost of flooding sites with plant and equipment and a focus on long working hours
in arduous conditions leading to stress all round. This is an issue which needs to be
reviewed and the industry needs to be educated to take a more mature attitude to
this problem. The ability to say no to unreasonable client demands for speed needs
to be developed and the Housing Authority’s initiatives in the 1990s in this area are
an excellent, successful example.

Use of data
The industry as a whole and the Labour Department in particular collect a massive
amount of data on construction site accidents and their effects. A program should
be put in place to make better use of this data in order to inform contractors and
developers of trends in accident causation. This work should be let competitively
to an organisation outside of the Labour Department in order to ensure an unbiased
opinion. Examples of issues which have been identified but not so far addressed are
234 S. Rowlinson & B. Yip

the occurrence of a high rate of accidents in the summer months and the existence
of two peaks in accident occurrence at different times of the day.

Procurement systems
Many of the recommendations indicated in this paper are predicated on a more col-
laborative and cooperative approach to procurement. Indeed, without a relationship
management approach to design and construction it is impossible to further reduce
the current accident rates. Hence, a move towards more innovative and collaborative
procurement systems is essential in this respect (Walker & Rowlinson, 2007).

Relationship management
The process of planning, design, construction and facility management is highly
complex, recursive and interdependent. However, we still maintain rigid structures
for managing these processes in a separate, sequential manner. Such an approach
is no longer acceptable and there must be a move to a new paradigm of relationship
management across the whole development process. This will, of course, incur
transaction costs but the benefits will far and away exceed these costs.

Honest auditing – focus on improvement

Independent auditors are placed in an ambiguous position in that they strive to
provide honest audits and yet are under pressure to ensure that their auditees actually
achieve a passing grade. Hence, there is a tendency to underplay faults in audited
safety management systems in order to address this ambiguity. However, the mature
contractors and developers expect to be given feedback from audits which will
allow continuous improvement within their organizations. Thus, there needs to be
a careful review of the existing system to protect the integrity of the auditors and
provide best value for the auditees.

References

Lingard, H. Yip B., Rowlinson S. and Kvan T. (2006), The experience of burnout
among future construction professionals: a cross-national study. Construction
Management and Economics, 24, 11, 10–12, November.
Lingard, H.C. and Rowlinson, S. (2005), Occupational Health and Safety in
Construction Project Management, Taylor & Francis Books Ltd., United
Kingdom.
Mohamed, S. (2003), Scorecard approach to benchmarking organizational safety
culture in construction. J. of Construction Engineering and Management,
American Society of Civil Engineers, 129, 1, 80–88.
Rowlinson, S. (2004), (ed.), Construction Safety Management Systems, Taylor &
Francis Books Ltd., United Kingdom.
Rowlinson, S. (2003), Hong Kong Construction – Safety Management and the Law,
Sweet & Maxwell, Hong Kong.
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Rowlinson, S., Mohamed, S. and Lam, S.W. (2003), Hong Kong Construction
Foremen’s Safety Responsibilities: A Case study of Management Oversight,
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Blackwell Science:
Oxford, United Kingdom, 10, 1.
Walker, D.H.T. and Rowlinson, S., Eds. (2007), Procurement Systems – A Cross
Industry Project Management Perspective. Series Procurement Systems – A
Project Management Perspective. London, Taylor & Francis.
Yip, B. and Rowlinson, S. (2006), Coping Strategies among Construction Profes-
sionals: Cognitive and Behavioural Efforts to manage Job Stressors. Journal for
Education in the Built Environment, 1, 2, 70–79.
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VIII Contents

Implementing a health management toolkit in the

construction industry 197
P. Bust, A.G.F. Gibb & C. Brace

Survey of heavy equipment operators whole-body

vibration profiles 203
G. Newell, N.J. Mansfield & L. Notini

Maintenance workers and asbestos: Understanding influences

on worker behaviour 209
C. Tyers & S. O’Regan

Employing foreign workers in Sweden construction sector 215

R.K. Ahmad & B. Hansson

Ageing workforce in construction – equipment use and

the prevention of early retirement 221
J. Leaviss, A.G.F. Gibb & P.D. Bust

Cost effectiveness of safety initiatives in the Hong Kong

construction industry 227
S. Rowlinson & B. Yip

HCI

Human-computer interaction: The elephant in the corner 239

H. David

The cultural issues in icon design 246

H-F. Wang

Charles babbage and the “facility of using” 252

R.B. Stammers

INCLUSIVE DESIGN

Reasonable adjustments: Collecting user experiences for

a “solutions database” 261
N. Geddes & V. Haines

A framework for estimating exclusion from work tasks during

inclusive design 267
D. Nery, P. Langdon & J. Clarkson

Categorising design methods: How designers view the roles of

user methods in design 273
J. Goodman-Deane, P. Langdon, S. Clarke & P.J. Clarkson
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