Developments in safety management on large UK construction sites have seen a paradigm shift from enforcement-based systems to safety-culture programmes, which seek to engage with the workforce to create fully cooperative and safety-conscious sites. Founded in social constructionism, recent research sought out the master discourses of safety on large UK construction sites through the examination of safety signage, talk around safety and safety documentation. Two of the most prominent discourses of safety on sites were found to be safety as enforcement and safety as engagement, reflecting the change in safety management strategies. These discourses were found to be interrelated in their constructions of safety, yet also varied in their associations with practice, responsibility, social interactions and the management hierarchy of the sites. These findings develop the current understanding of safety found on sites, with relation to the hierarchical structures of safety management and the discourses of enforcement and engagement in practice. The findings have significance for the safety practices of large UK contractors in developing and improving their safety-culture programmes, as well as suggesting potential new directions in the academic research of safety in construction.

The culture of an organisation is a vital element of business competency that must align with its strategic goals, and enhance peoples’ perceptions, feelings and behaviour in adapting to the world around them. Organisational culture may also bring about negative practices such as dishonesty and unethical behaviours. Recently the culture of some construction organisations has been called into question. For example, major construction projects around the globe have become involved in allegations of fraud and corruption. The cost is currently estimated at US$860 billion globally; with forecasts that it may rise to US$1.5 trillion by 2025. Hitherto the role of the culture of construction organisations in fraud and corruption activities has been largely hidden. The study aim is to establish whether the culture of construction organisations promotes corrupt practices in the UK construction and infrastructure sector. The study employed mixed research methods with interviews supported by a questionnaire and an examination of five case studies in different countries. Findings show that the culture of construction organisations together with the nature of the industry promotes fraud and corruption. The study subsequently highlights key cultural factors that support fraud and corruption in a way that is almost institutionalised.

Construction mega-projects are typically associated with cost overruns and time delays due to conflicts of interest between diverse stakeholders. This research investigates the influence of the partnering approach and the adoption of Design and Build (D-B) contractual agreement on the behaviour of stakeholders on mega-projects. Through a case study, the significant factors that influence stakeholder management are appraised, such as cooperation, developing trust, and a dearth of communication. The research concluded that mutual trust, transparency, leadership, the well-defined scope of work, a clear definition of responsibilities, collaboration, and training are the main success factors of partnering projects. The research also emphasised that Building Information Modelling (BIM) plays a vital role to secure the mentioned key successful factors for partnering. Furthermore, BIM facilitates achieving project objectives with the adoption of D-B contracts. This research contributes to the developing body of knowledge addressing the application of partnering in construction. The outcomes of this research will be beneficial for clients, contractors, project managers, and contract managers when taking into account future execution plans for D-B projects. Forthcoming studies can develop a framework to combine various stakeholders to obtain optimum satisfaction.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and evaluate current directions in construction site health and safety management by examination of large UK industry contractors' web sites, revealing the motivators that are potentially informing and driving these directions. Design/methodology/approach – A desk study approach examined 20 large UK contractor web sites. Subsequent hermeneutic content analysis established current industry direction, enabled comparison to comparable government and academic directions, and also revealed potential motivators and influences behind recent innovations. Findings – Large UK contractors have readily adopted corporate social responsibility and placed health and safety under this remit. Industry direction correlates with current government approaches, however academia appears to influence industry through government, rather than direct conduits. Bespoke safety management programmes have been a key innovation, but the influence of marketing was clear and may have led to focus on easily promotable goals, rather than the processes and methods needed to achieve them. Practical implications – Marketing may overtake practicality in the direction of health and safety management on construction sites; industry innovation focused on the promotable rather than the practical, could stagnate. The lack of direct influence of academia on industry direction indicates a requirement for relationships to be better established in order to inspire continuous improvement. Originality/value – A holistic review of large industry contractor approaches to site health and safety management has not previously been undertaken. Neither has the use of promotional web-based data been examined; thereby providing a unique insight into the direction of current efforts within industry.

American scientific publishing group

The befalling of natural disasters has been experienced at an alarming level in the last decade due to discharging excessive amounts of CO₂ into the atmosphere. The world needs to decarbonise itself sooner than later. To combat environmental impact and the climate change, several key initiatives were taken by countries like the UK, Japan, Europe, and Canada. That includes decarbonising the power sector entirely by bringing in renewable energy in place of fossil fuel on an agreed timeline. Many countries have committed to zero emission by 2050. However, it will not be easy to depend on 100% of renewable energy grid without renewable energy storage capability to assure grid stability. Therefore, this publication's key fundamental objective is to discuss the most suitable energy storage for energy generated by wind. A review of the available storage methods for renewable energy and specifically for possible storage for wind energy is accomplished. Factors that are needed to be considered for storage selection and the requirements are discussed. Wind farm capacity is one of the essential parameters that could affect selection procedures. It is recommended that detailed calculations be made of available energy and the excess power amount to be stored. However, the article discusses the most viable storage options such as liquid metal batteries grid embedded storage for frequency and voltage stability and produces green Hydrogen from surplus wind energy, especially in Sri Lanka.