Citation

Low BKL, Man SS, Chan AHS. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018; 15(10): e15102250.

Affiliation

Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. alan.chan@cityu.edu.hk.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph15102250

PMID

30326573

Abstract

High accident rates have been a complicated and persistent problem in the Hong Kong construction industry. This situation has stimulated this investigation into factors that influence the risk-taking propensity of construction workers. However, interviewing workers who had a bad experience is problematic because changes in attitude and perception may occur as a result of such an experience. Using quasi-expert interviews can reduce this problem. The objective of this study was to identify factors that influence the risk-taking propensity of construction workers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 safety professionals all with accident inspection experience and six super-safe workers with no incident record for the past five years. Seven factors that affect the risk-taking propensity of construction workers were successfully identified. Each factor is thoughtfully discussed, and this study shows that quasi-expert interview is a pragmatic approach for deepening the understanding of risk-taking propensity among construction workers.

FINDINGS of this study will hopefully help and encourage further quantitative research on the risk-taking propensity of construction workers with different perspectives.

Language: en

Keywords

construction safety; individual factor; organisational factor; quasi-expert interview; risk-taking propensity