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Abisuga, O (2020) Integrated collaborative facilities management framework for post-occupancy evaluation of higher education facilities, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Afzal, F (2019) A framework to improve sustainability performance of construction organisations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Ahmadian Fard Fini, A (2017) Optimizing crew performance through integration of human resource strategies into planning of construction activities, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Aljassmi, H A (2013) Analysis of complex mechanisms of defect generation in construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Alrasheed, H (2015) A socio-ecological framework for improving the psychological health of foreign workers in developing countries: The case of saudi construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Boadu, E (2022) A framework for promoting health and safety through procurement in the construction industry in developing countries: A case of Ghana, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Chand, A (2015) A socio-ecological resilience perspective to enhance hospital service delivery resilience to extreme weather events, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Chandra, S (2006) Investigating green building assessment tools: a risk-analysis based approach, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Chandra, V (2007) An investigation of cultural learning during the hospital process from a facilities management perspective, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Cooke, J R (1973) Methods of documentation and administration of building contracts, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Coolican, A M (1989) A history of industrial relations in the Sydney building trades, 1870-1914 , Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Cooper, A A (1971) An economic study of housing production and associated works in Australia, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Dave, M (2019) High performance prefab housing: towards an evaluation framework for design, sustainability and affordability, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Deng, Z M (1995) Extended state space modelling and influence diagrams for construction processes and aids, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Denny-Smith, G (2022) The social value of indigenous procurement policies in the Australian construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Forsythe, P (2003) The role of service quality as a determinant of customer satisfaction in residential construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Galea, N R (2018) Built for men: Institutional privilege in the Australian construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Habibi Rad, M (2022) Impact of lean construction on contractor performance and organisational resilience in post-disaster infrastructure projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Heng, H K S (2010) Information brokerage in hospital facilities management: A social network perspective, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Ho, M F C (2003) Ethics management in a construction organisation: Employees' attitudes to corporate codes of ethics, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Hong, Y C (2018) Modelling and evaluating the adoption of building information modelling in Australian and Chinese small and medium-sized construction organisations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Hunt, P (2021) The business case for sustainable development in the Australian built environment, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Hutcheson, J M (1980) Administration of building contracts with particular reference to the builder's financial control, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales (Australia).

Hutcheson, J M (1979) Administration of building contracts with particular reference to the builder's financial control, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Hwang, H (2011) Rational irrationality: The making of property decisions in firms as a part of resource allocation processes - a Korean example, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Kabirifar, K (2022) Effective construction and demolition waste management assessment: A case of Australian large construction companies, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Kaboli, A (2014) Cost and emissions analysis of earthmoving operations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Karunaratne, B M (1994) A new method of analysis for cyclic construction operations using systems engineering approach, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Khalil, K (1994) An evaluation of managerial knowledge and skills of technical professionals in the construction industry in Malaysia, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Kim, S M (2019) Tenants' leasing motivators and decisions about the greenness of office buildings and their rental, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Kim, Y-S (1994) The development and application of a probabilistic model for risk analysis of life cycle cost predictions: For apartment buildings constructed by the Korea National Housing Corporation in Seoul, Korea , Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Lam, K C (1997) The optimisation of financial decision in a contracting firm, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales (Australia).

Lam, K-c (1997) The optimisation of financial decisions in a contracting firm, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Li, Y (2015) Sense of home in post-disaster reconstruction: A study of resident experiences of living in rebuilt houses after the wenchuan earthquake in China, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Liu, L (2003) Models of enterprise-level project performance: Comparative studies of organizational form, control mode and feedback mechanisms in the construction and it services industries, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Liu, Y M (2005) A holistic approach to developing generic vs. regionally specific frameworks for sustainable building tools, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Matsuzaki, H (1995) Construction industry unionism in Japan, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

McLaren, M (2018) An investigation of swift trust formation in disaster management teams, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Mohd Ishak, S S B (2014) Resistance factors to technology innovation in construction organisations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Moon, S (2014) Dynamic control of supply chain quality to improve process performance in construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Ong, E M S (2008) Trust, commitment, satisfaction and learning in construction project teams, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Paterson, I (1981) Contractors' risk and insurance in the Australian building industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Perera, W A S (2018) An investigation into developing productive construction environments to improve quality performance in Australian building construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Qu, Y (2017) An investigation of opportunistic behaviour in public-private partnerships, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Rahnamayie Zekavat, P (2014) Performance assessment of agile communication in construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Recsei, R A (1998) A generalised decision support system for contaminated site management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales (Australia).

Ridyard, J (1976) Computer based management games for the building industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Salehudin, M S B (2012) Developing sustainable resorts in developing countries: A proposed new generation rating framework for Malaysia, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Seemann, K W (1997) The socio-technical sustainability of shelter systems and hardware in remote indigenous Australian communities, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Shahbazi, B (2020) A mathematical optimization approach to account for career development, job security, and job satisfaction in human resource planning in construction organizations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Slay, P G R (2019) Development of an ontology for project management success criteria and associated technical and personal competencies in an Australian engineering context, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Sufianto, H (2013) A fire safety improvement framework for residential buildings: A socio-ecological behaviour modification approach, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Sunindijo, R (2012) Skills for developing safety climate in construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Ta'i, B (1994) Critical evaluation of stormwater management practices on urban construction sites in the Sydney region, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Teo, A L E (1997) Strategic market positioning in the construction industry: Model for evaluating mobility and diversification, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Teo, M M M (2009) An investigation of community-based protest movement continuity against construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Tran, H V (2013) Contractor internal profiling of owners, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Trethewy, R (2002) Influences on subcontractor OHS management outcomes in construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

  • Type: Thesis
  • Keywords: construction project; construction site; injury; workforce; audit; documentation; feedback; health and safety; occupational health and safety; partnership; supervision; tendering; subcontractor; effectiveness; measurement; interview; Australia
  • ISBN/ISSN:
  • URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/69681
  • Abstract:
    Construction in Australia is dominated by subcontracted labour arrangements within an open and competitive tendering environment, with subcontractors comprising around 85-90% of the workforce on a typical construction project. It follows that the successful management of subcontractors is a key to managing occupational health and safety (OHS) on a typical construction project. The aim of the research was to monitor the implementation of a series of management interventions designed to improve subcontractor safety performance. At the same time the influence on safety performance and subcontractor attitudes and perceptions of risk - based on feedback, strong management commitment, and improvement in documented safety systems, was assessed. A literature review identifying international practices in subcontractor OHS management was conducted to identify weaknesses in practices in the Australian construction industry. A series of key areas for intervention were identified (in partnership with construction industry representatives). The interventions included assistance with hazard identification, development of standardised documentation - which included a safe work method proforma and a subcontractor assistance pack, and the introduction of a behaviour-based positive performance measurement technique with feedback. Ten construction sites in New South Wales (NSW) were nominated by four participating construction companies to implement the management interventions. A baseline measurement of site safety performance and subcontractor attitudes was carried out on each site and then change was monitored over 12 months. An improvement in site safety performance was identified using the behaviour-based positive performance measurement technique over the period of the research. Where feedback on safety performance was provided to subcontractors, both safety performance and attitude against risk taking improved more significantly over those sites where no feedback was provided. A definitive link between safety performance measured using the behaviour-based technique and low probability, high consequence events (accidents) was not determined. However, the research intervention coincided with a downward trend in Lost Time Injuries (L Tis) and first aid treatments. This finding is consistent with other non-construction-based research and provides further argument that observation frequencies when measured over a protracted period (i.e. using tools such as the behaviour-based measurement technique adopted) may be predictive of recordable injury occurrences like LTIs. Superior OHS performance on the construction sites that participated in the research corresponded with the reporting of significantly higher injury numbers. The participating principal contractor in control of these sites was found to demonstrate superior management commitment to OHS determined by research interviews. The finding strengthens the link identified by research in other industries between strong management commitment and superior safety performance. In addition, strong commitment was found to generally coincide with more sophisticated OHS management and therefore better recording and reporting of injuries, which resulted in the higher injury numbers recorded. The management tools developed to enhance subcontractor OHS management were slow to be adopted by the construction industry in NSW but at the end of the study had increased to 80% of subcontractors on the sites evaluated. There was a corresponding improvement in the OHS content of subcontractor documentation from 1998 to 2001 which is attributed to the research interventions. However, the increased take-up of the research tools and corresponding improvement in documented safety did not necessarily correspond with safer practices at the workface. Although, the behaviour-based positive performance measurement technique showed an improvement in safety behaviour and overall OHS performance in general there was little improvement in implementation of the specific safe work methods which the subcontractors had themselves specified in their improved documentation. The research indicated that subcontractor safety behaviour was influenced more by supervision and a perception that: 'an accident will not happen to me' (i.e. the low probability of involvement in a serious accident occurrence), than on documented procedures related to the type of work to be carried out and their implementation. Measurement of OHS performance was a key issue in assessing the effectiveness of the research intervention and in refining its initiatives. Traditional OHS outcome performance levels based on injury rates failed to correspond with the performance levels determined by the behaviour-based positive performance measurement technique used. This prompted further comparison and corroboration of the research findings with independent audits using standard safety management system auditing tools. A further outcome of the research was the development of a series of positive performance indicators (PPls) for safety in the construction industry. These consist of areas of appraisal for all stages of a construction project including tender and design. The on-site research findings identified that a mix of PPls and traditional outcome measures was required to provide the basis for improved OHS performance appraisal of a construction project.

Trethewy, R W (2003) Influences on subcontractor OHS management outcomes in construction, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales (Australia).

Uher, T E (1990) The effect of risks and uncertainties on subcontract bid prices, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Wang, R (2015) The virtual learning experience: Learning styles, task complexity and presence in the context of emerging VR technologies, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Wang, Z (2019) Effects of main contractors' service quality on subcontractors' behaviours and project outcomes in the Chinese construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Wang, Z (2014) Housing pathways and homeownership determinants of the young middle class in beijing, China, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Xiao, P (2018) Development of colletive intelligence for building energy efficiency, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Yamaguchi, H (2002) Risk allocation in privately financed projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Zaid Alkilani, S (2018) Performance measurement and improvement model for small and medium contractors in developing countries, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.

Zhang, Q (2021) Key influencing factors of corporate social responsibility implementation in the Chinese construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of New South Wales.