Construction practitioners are at a disproportionately higher risk of fatal and nonfatal injuries compared to practitioners from other industries. The absence of and inappropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), hereinafter referred to as PPE non-compliance, are major causes of fatal and nonfatal injuries at construction workplaces. Accordingly, a robust 4-step research methodology was employed to investigate and assess factors that contribute to PPE non-compliance. As a result, 16 factors were identified utilizing literature review and ranked utilizing fuzzy set theory and K-means clustering. Top among them: inadequate safety supervision, poor risk perception, lack of climate adaptation, lack of safety training, and lack of management support. Managing construction safety in a proactive manner is vital to eliminate or minimize construction hazards and improve overall site safety. Thus, proactive measures to address these 16 factors were identified utilizing a focus group methodology. The validation of the statistical findings with that of the focus groups of industry professionals provides validation of the findings as both practical and actionable. This study significantly contributes to construction safety knowledge and practice which, in turn, aids academic researchers and construction practitioners in their continuous efforts to reduce fatal and nonfatal injuries among construction workers.

The construction industry is known for its disappointing safety performance. Therefore, rethinking current safety management frameworks is crucial. This study assesses a newly proposed construction safety culture and climate framework that aims to overcome the present ambiguity in the definitions and measurement of construction safety culture and construction safety climate. The goal is to provide a practical construction safety culture and safety climate framework that fits the construction industry’s needs. A survey was designed to validate the proposed framework and assess its influence on safety behavior and safety motivation. The survey was completed by 275 construction practitioners. The findings suggest that the construction safety culture initiates and maintains the construction safety climate. Similarly, the construction safety culture, which is represented by the actions of upper management and safety personnel, significantly contributes to higher levels of safety behavior and safety motivation, whereas the construction safety climate does not. Accordingly, this study highlights the importance of the construction safety culture’s influence on overall workplace culture. This study’s contribution to the body of knowledge is critical to improving construction workplaces’ overall safety performance. The findings can be strategically used by construction firms to address the construction industry’s higher rates of fatal and nonfatal injuries. Finally, the results obtained support the newly proposed framework of construction safety culture and climate, which, in turn, helps the industry better manage overall site safety.

Structural prejudices and unconscious biases within the construction industry have negatively impacted the construction workforce. Workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion are major concerns in the construction industry. The goal of the present study is to enable the assessment of workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion in the construction industry by identifying and determining the level of influence of applicable indicators revealing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the workforce level. A two-round survey and a panel of 16 experts were utilized to achieve the research goal. After collecting and analyzing the responses, 10 indicators were found to be influential in terms of achieving a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment and were therefore considered measures of workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion. These indicators are (1) ethnic and racial diversity at the company level; (2) gender diversity and inclusion at the workforce level; (3) a corporate policy statement on diversity and inclusion; (4) gender/ethnic diversity in leadership/management positions; (5) knowledge and skill diversity; (6) equitable pay/compensation at the industry level; (7) equality, social justice, and nondiscrimination policy statement; (8) pay structure transparency; (9) equitable pay/compensation at the company level; and (10) merit-based transparent recruitment and promotion. The present study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a means of assessing workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion in the construction industry. It is expected that utilizing the identified indicators would help managers and human resources specialists/professionals in construction perform a thorough assessment of the level of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness of the workforce within their organizations and identify opportunities for enhancing the workforce diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.

Safety communication among construction workers is fundamental to effective safety management. However, evidence suggests that poor safety communication is a common problem in construction workplaces. In fact, previous research has unveiled a number of systemic barriers to effective safety communication in the construction industry. When workers do not sufficiently communicate relevant safety hazards and appropriate injury prevention measures, unexpected injuries can follow. Therefore, research examining factors that promote or impede effective safety communication is necessary. Towards achieving this goal, the purpose of the current research was to evaluate the effect of safety climate and crew cohesion on the demonstrated safety communication levels. The goal was achieved by gathering empirical data from 57 construction workplaces in the United States. More specifically, the participating construction workplaces were visited, and data pertaining to the safety climate and crew-level cohesion were first collected using questionnaire surveys. Next, a safety communication survey instrument was administered, and the data necessary to compute network density—a social network metric that is indicative of safety communication levels was gathered. The analysis of the data suggested that a positive relationship exists between safety climate and safety communication levels. Likewise, construction crews that demonstrated higher levels of cohesion exhibited superior safety communication levels. Finally, evidence also suggested that a synergetic effect exists between safety climate and crew cohesion in improving safety communication levels.

Communication on construction sites is crucial for improving overall construction performance. Cultural barriers influence the clarity of communication between construction supervisors and Hispanic workers on U.S. construction sites, which affects safety performance. In this study, Hispanic workers’ perspectives regarding active cultural differences (ACD) were collected, analyzed, and compared to supervisors’ perspectives and responses that were reported earlier. The results confirmed the existence of three active cultural differences: high power distance, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance. Although the goal of the study was primarily to investigate active cultural differences, the results revealed additional important factors that affect Hispanic construction workers, such as daily work conditions, the effectiveness of government agencies’ regulations, workers’ legal status, and reporting nonsevere injuries. Very few, if any, empirical studies have focused on cultural diversity on U.S. construction sites. Therefore this study provides a meaningful understanding of the nature and influence of cultural differences, which in turn helps construction supervisors manage their diverse workforce as well as aids future research studies that are focused on cultural diversity.