A systems thinking based method for assessing safety management best practices in construction

Safety management best practices have been explored in several studies, mostly for assessing the degree of implementation of those practices as well as for identifying the ones strongly correlated with low accident rates. However, there are limitations related to the research strategy adopted in those studies, usually based on surveys with managers of construction companies. This research study proposes a method for assessing the implementation of safety management best practices in construction sites, which has distinctive features due to the use of systems thinking as theoretical lens: (i) the organizational context of the application of best practices is considered; (ii) the interactions between best practices are modeled; (iii) safety and accidents as regarded as emergent phenomena; and (iv) diverse perspectives are considered in the definition and evaluation of best practices. The method was tested in ten empirical studies carried out in construction sites from Brazil. Results made clear the utility of understanding how best practices are implemented, instead of only identifying what the best practices are.