Implementing Occupational Health and Safety in Small Construction Enterprises

This research is based on a benchmarking study of occupational health and safety (OHS) management practices of construction companies in Australia. It is mandatory for Australian construction firms to provide a safe working environment for their workers and sub-contractors. However, many small to medium enterprises that are not in a position of financial strength, struggle to provide adequate levels of OHS. The results show that the size of the company is a major contributing factor to their OHS performance. Small enterprises employing less than 25 employees have comparatively low levels of management performance compared to larger enterprises. Company size is a limiting factor that impacts on the ability of small firms to implement comprehensive OHS plans. Nevertheless, some firms seem to be able to provide better OHS management practices than their size would suggest. This research analyses a group of good and ‘mediocre’ performers across a range of OHS management criteria, in order to identify benchmarks that lead to best practice. The results show that a variety of risk management practices, particularly design control and health and safety review, were used by the better performing contractors. The paper concludes with the implications of the study for small to medium enterprises in the construction industry.