Small home building contractors (those with 20 or fewer employees) face significantly higher injury and fatality rates than larger firms as they operate under constraints that can potentially influence their ability to implement safety measures effectively.
To explore best safety practices for small construction businesses, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering has been awarded a grant by the Job-Site Safety Institute (JSI), a nonprofit research and educational organization.
“Most U.S. studies of safety in small construction businesses have relied on surveys, which provide breadth but not always depth,” said Vineeth Dharmapalan, principal investigator and assistant professor in the UH Mānoa Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering. “Our work embeds researchers directly within real job sites to conduct direct observations and interviews and utilize stressor checklists. Our aim is to capture the daily pressures behind safety decisions. Triangulating these perspectives will allow us to create best practices that are both solidly evidence-based and grounded in the lived experiences of small contractors.”
The grant will enable researchers to investigate the practices of small construction firms via ethnographic case studies. The study will document work operations, workplace culture, decision-making influences, and stressors that influence safety outcomes within residential construction projects, including new home construction and renovations.
“This grant is exciting for JSI because this research brings us to the front line of construction sites, where safety isn’t just a manual or checklist but a real-world experience,” said Rob Matuga, JSI executive director. “The project will allow researchers to be immersed in the daily realities of the jobsite, where they can listen to the voices on the ground and observe the hidden risks, habits, unspoken rules and human factors that truly shape safety on site.”
Based on insights garnered from the study, the grant will allow for the development of practical safety guidance for small construction businesses to improve safety in their workplaces, which includes best practices, safety training programs and behavioral interventions tailored for small businesses. UH Mānoa is partnering with Oregon State University on this project.
