Investigating the Impact of Safety Management Communications on Safety Culture in Construction Industry: Mediating Role of Behavioural Safety and Perceived Working Environment

Abstract

The construction industry is high-risk by nature due to its outdoor operations, occupational hazards, work-at heights, complicated on-site plants, equipment operation, and workers’ behaviours towards safety culture. Using a total safety culture model, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between behavioural safety, perceived working environment, safety management communications, and safety culture. A quantitative research approach was applied to collect data from employees working at different construction sites in Namibia. The hypothetical relationship between the constructs was tested using structural equation modelling. The results indicate that behavioural safety, perceived working environment, and safety management communications significantly impact safety culture. In addition, perceived working environment and behavioural safety mediate the relationship between safety management communications and safety culture. This study contributes new knowledge in controlling the safety culture at construction sites, and thereby, this study also contributed new knowledge to the literature on the safety culture model in the construction industry.