Training-Within-Industry Job Programs for Improved Construction Safety

The purpose of this book is to demonstrate how a Training-Within-Industry (TWI) Job-Program could reduce human factor-related harm in construction.

The construction industry has a significant impact on issues relating to the health, safety, and well-being (HSW) of people in the workforce. It is important to acknowledge that workers’ behaviour influences the safety management system (SMS) of construction projects either negatively or positively and that it is important for a management team to identify relevant behaviours and take appropriate action to solve problems. In most cases, accidents happen because of the results of human failure in the form of errors, violations and system failures. Human failure causes accidents and site management needs to reduce hazards that might cause such errors, violations and system failures on worksites. The chapters in the book address factors causing human failure on construction sites, how to mitigate errors and violations through SMS and ’learning by doing’ and improving practice of using safety instructors on sites. The book closes with insights from a TWI-informed human failure reduction framework.

This book provides valuable insights into safety management in a construction site context that can be applied to other areas. It is essential reading for safety managers, construction managers, researchers, and advanced students.

Lesiba George Mollo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment, and Information Technology at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT), South Africa. He obtained a PhD in Construction Management and a master’s degree (M-Tech) in Quantity Surveying from Nelson Mandela University (NMU). He has worked for numerous construction companies on a part-time basis. His research interests include construction health and safety, wearable sensing technologies, and building energy management.

Fidelis Emuze, PhD, is a Professor and Head of the Department of Built Environment at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT), South Africa. Lean construction, health, safety, and sustainability constitute the primary research interest of Dr. Emuze, who is a National Research Foundation (NRF) C-rated researcher that has published over 250 research outputs and received over 25 awards and recognitions. Dr. Emuze is the editor of Value and Waste in Lean Construction, Valuing People in Construction, and co-editor of Construction Health and Safety in Developing Countries. Dr. Emuze authored Construction Safety Pocketbook for South Africa in 2020. Dr. Emuze is the International Coordinator of CIB W123 - People in Construction Working Commission.

John Smallwood is the Professor of Construction Management in the Department of Construction Management, Nelson Mandela University, and the Principal, Construction Research Education and Training Enterprises (CREATE). Both his MSc and PhD (Construction Management) addressed construction health and safety (H&S). He has conducted extensive research and published in the areas of construction H&S, ergonomics, and occupational health (OH), but also in the areas of construction management education and training, environmental management, health and well-being, primary health promotion, quality management, risk management, and the practice of construction management.