A case study of safety performance variations among a general contractor’s regional branches

In construction, contractors’ safety performance could differ from each other due to various reasons (e.g., the importance of safety at workplace, the adoption of different safety and health programs, the use of union or non-union workers, etc.). However, it has not been widely recognized that differences in safety performance also exist in the same contractor’s regional offices. So far, the impact of regional differences on contractors’ safety performance has not been well understood. In a case study of a general contractor’s (GC’s) newly launched safety management program, variations in safety performance of the same GC’s regional branches were noticed. This paper analyzes incidence rates (IRs), safety violation rates (SVRs), and workplace safety climate from the GC’s six major regional branches in four states. This research finds apparent regional differences in IR and SVR although the workers’ shared perception of how the safety program is implemented (i.e., program-related safety climate) is consistent companywide. This research also finds that regional IRs, SVRs, and safety climate scores have no correlational relationship. Therefore, integrating all these three factors into a safety management program and its effectiveness measurement is necessary and will lead to a more holistic approach to improving jobsite safety performance.