THE QUALITY OF WORK-ENVIRONMENT, SUPERVISION AND SAFETY IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

The aims of the study were (1) to determine whether there is any connection between the quality of the work environment and occupational safety; (2) to study the validity of different data collection methods for measuring the quality of the work environment; and (3) to give recommendations on how supervisory fun ions can be developed. The study was conducted at a construction company. Altogether 16 sites were included. These sites had 15 site managers and 16 other first-line foremen. The accidents were analyzed according to the company accident reports. A safety checklist was developed to determine the safety level of the sites. The safety climate was measured by means of a questionnaire. The safety checklist proved to be a useful instrument for measuring housekeeping. The proposed safety climate score used in this study proved to be a valid measure as one part of the hierarchical safety measurement, and it is recommended that the safety climate measurement system be included as one element of the safety information system. This study supports hypotheses proposing that management support is an essential factor in ensuring safety.