The Experts below are selected from a list of 16122 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Nadezhda Gotcheva - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Safety culture and Subcontractor network governance in a complex safety critical project
Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 2015Co-Authors: Pia Oedewald, Nadezhda GotchevaAbstract:In safety critical industries many activities are currently carried out by Subcontractor networks. Nevertheless, there are few studies where the core dimensions of resilience would have been studied in safety critical network activities. This paper claims that engineering resilience into a system is largely about steering the development of culture of the system towards better ability to anticipate, monitor, respond and learn. Thus, safety culture literature has relevance in resilience engineering field. This paper analyzes practical and theoretical challenges in applying the concept of safety culture in a complex, dynamic network of Subcontractors involved in the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Finland, Olkiluoto 3. The concept of safety culture is in focus since it is widely used in nuclear industry and bridges the scientific and practical interests. This paper approaches Subcontractor networks as complex systems. However, the management model of the Olkiluoto 3 project is to a large degree a traditional top-down hierarchy, which creates a mismatch between the management approach and the characteristics of the system to be managed. New insights were drawn from network governance studies.
Andrew Rae - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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behind Subcontractor risk a multiple case study analysis of mining and natural resources fatalities
Safety, 2020Co-Authors: Charan Teja Valluru, Andrew Rae, Sidney DekkerAbstract:Subcontractors have always been linked to higher risk by the industry and academia. However, not much work exists in establishing the reasons behind this relationship. Much of the existing work, either categorise Subcontractors under a theoretical label of work to apply the drawbacks of the label to them, or directly enter problem-solving mode. This study focusses on taking the perspective of Subcontractors and explores ways in which this viewpoint interacts with safety systems and processes. This study applies a case study methodology to this problem. It examines a total of six cases reflecting six closed single Subcontractor fatality accident investigation reports from the year 2004 to 2014 obtained from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) Queensland. These cases are then thematically analysed by employing Subcontractor theory to identify themes to categorise the links between higher risk and Subcontractors. The themes identified match two pre-existing categories (Institutional safety mechanisms do not cope with variability introduced by Subcontractors; expertise in work does not translate to expertise in safety) and two new categories (communication does not flow to the Subcontractor from the layers above them; safety work is viewed differently by Subcontractor staff when compared to principal contractor’s/operators’) of Subcontractor risk. This study aims to serve as a starting point for further research in understanding the Subcontractor safety situation by putting things into the Subcontractor’s perspective.
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How and why do Subcontractors experience different safety on high-risk work sites?
Cognition Technology & Work, 2017Co-Authors: Charan Teja Valluru, Sidney Dekker, Andrew RaeAbstract:In high-risk industries such as construction, mining and energy, Subcontractors play an increasingly significant role. A typical arrangement is for the site owner to hire a principal contractor who in turn hires multiple Subcontractors. This means that multiple Subcontractors from multiple companies can be working on the same site at the same time. There is evidence that the use of Subcontractors is not only increasing, but that the accident rates for Subcontractor employees are higher than those of operator/site owner employees. Existing research on Subcontractors, which focuses on the role of the prime contractor in selecting and managing Subcontractors, fails to explain why Subcontractors continue to experience higher rates of serious injury even where Subcontractor management systems are in place. The purpose of this paper is to understand how and why employees of Subcontractors’ experience safety differently from employees of principal contractors. The paper does so by extensively reviewing the applicable literature and reporting on a cross-industry focus group study.
Nick Blismas - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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safety climate in conditions of construction subcontracting a multi level analysis
Construction Management and Economics, 2010Co-Authors: Helen Lingard, Tracy Cooke, Nick BlismasAbstract:A multi-level safety climate model was tested in the Australian construction industry. Subcontracted workers' perceptions of the organizational safety response (OSR) and supervisor safety response (SSR) in their own organization and that of the principal contractor were measured using a safety climate survey administered at a large hospital construction project in Melbourne. One hundred and fourteen construction workers completed the survey, representing nine Subcontractors engaged at the project. Two requisite conditions for the existence of group-level safety climates, i.e. (1) within-group homogeneity; and (2) between-group variation were satisfied for perceptions of Subcontractors' OSR and SSR. This supports the contention that Subcontractors working in a single construction project exhibit a unique group-level safety climate. Subcontracted workers also discriminated between group-level safety climates (i.e. the SSR) in their own and in the principal contractor's organizations. The results suggest some cross-level influence. Perceptions of the SSR were positively predicted by perceptions of the OSR in both the principal and Subcontractor organizations. Perceptions of the OSR of the principal contractor were also a significant predictor of the perceived OSR and SSR in the Subcontractor organizations. Perceptions of the Subcontractors' SSR were a significant predictor of the rate of lost-time and medical treatment incidents reported by the Subcontractor. Although perceptions of the principal contractor's SSR were not directly related to Subcontractors' injury rates, they were a significant predictor of Subcontractors' SSR, revealing an indirect link. The results suggest that supervisory personnel (e.g. foremen and leading hands) play an important role in shaping safety performance in subcontracted workgroups.
Pia Oedewald - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Safety culture and Subcontractor network governance in a complex safety critical project
Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 2015Co-Authors: Pia Oedewald, Nadezhda GotchevaAbstract:In safety critical industries many activities are currently carried out by Subcontractor networks. Nevertheless, there are few studies where the core dimensions of resilience would have been studied in safety critical network activities. This paper claims that engineering resilience into a system is largely about steering the development of culture of the system towards better ability to anticipate, monitor, respond and learn. Thus, safety culture literature has relevance in resilience engineering field. This paper analyzes practical and theoretical challenges in applying the concept of safety culture in a complex, dynamic network of Subcontractors involved in the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Finland, Olkiluoto 3. The concept of safety culture is in focus since it is widely used in nuclear industry and bridges the scientific and practical interests. This paper approaches Subcontractor networks as complex systems. However, the management model of the Olkiluoto 3 project is to a large degree a traditional top-down hierarchy, which creates a mismatch between the management approach and the characteristics of the system to be managed. New insights were drawn from network governance studies.
Charan Teja Valluru - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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behind Subcontractor risk a multiple case study analysis of mining and natural resources fatalities
Safety, 2020Co-Authors: Charan Teja Valluru, Andrew Rae, Sidney DekkerAbstract:Subcontractors have always been linked to higher risk by the industry and academia. However, not much work exists in establishing the reasons behind this relationship. Much of the existing work, either categorise Subcontractors under a theoretical label of work to apply the drawbacks of the label to them, or directly enter problem-solving mode. This study focusses on taking the perspective of Subcontractors and explores ways in which this viewpoint interacts with safety systems and processes. This study applies a case study methodology to this problem. It examines a total of six cases reflecting six closed single Subcontractor fatality accident investigation reports from the year 2004 to 2014 obtained from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) Queensland. These cases are then thematically analysed by employing Subcontractor theory to identify themes to categorise the links between higher risk and Subcontractors. The themes identified match two pre-existing categories (Institutional safety mechanisms do not cope with variability introduced by Subcontractors; expertise in work does not translate to expertise in safety) and two new categories (communication does not flow to the Subcontractor from the layers above them; safety work is viewed differently by Subcontractor staff when compared to principal contractor’s/operators’) of Subcontractor risk. This study aims to serve as a starting point for further research in understanding the Subcontractor safety situation by putting things into the Subcontractor’s perspective.
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How and why do Subcontractors experience different safety on high-risk work sites?
Cognition Technology & Work, 2017Co-Authors: Charan Teja Valluru, Sidney Dekker, Andrew RaeAbstract:In high-risk industries such as construction, mining and energy, Subcontractors play an increasingly significant role. A typical arrangement is for the site owner to hire a principal contractor who in turn hires multiple Subcontractors. This means that multiple Subcontractors from multiple companies can be working on the same site at the same time. There is evidence that the use of Subcontractors is not only increasing, but that the accident rates for Subcontractor employees are higher than those of operator/site owner employees. Existing research on Subcontractors, which focuses on the role of the prime contractor in selecting and managing Subcontractors, fails to explain why Subcontractors continue to experience higher rates of serious injury even where Subcontractor management systems are in place. The purpose of this paper is to understand how and why employees of Subcontractors’ experience safety differently from employees of principal contractors. The paper does so by extensively reviewing the applicable literature and reporting on a cross-industry focus group study.
