Comparing safety climate in infrastructure and building projects in Indonesia

Abstract

Despite the rapid growth of the Indonesian construction industry and its significance to the national economy, health and safety in the industry remains poor. This research focuses on safety climate, a popular indicator of health and safety performance that has not been adequately investigated in the Indonesian construction industry despite the size of the country and the poor health and safety record of the industry. Specifically, this research aims to compare the safety climate levels in infrastructure and building projects and identify factors that account for their differences or similarities. A safety climate questionnaire was distributed to respondents working in an infrastructure project and two medium-rise building projects, where 311 respondents participated in total. The findings show that the building projects have a higher level of safety climate than the safety climate in the infrastructure project despite the fact that the infrastructure project was managed by a joint venture involving international contractors known for their health and safety commitment. We argue that project complexity is the main factor responsible for explaining this difference. Complex projects require stringent enforcement of health and safety rules and procedures, and supportive work environments conducive for health and safety implementation.