Cost‐effectiveness of construction safety programme elements

Abstract

Every year the construction industry accounts for a disproportionate injury rate when compared to the all‐industry average. In recent years, incident rates have declined as a result of improvements in safety management. While there is a great deal of knowledge regarding the safety management strategies of highly effective construction firms, little is known about the cost‐effectiveness of these strategies. Interviews with 26 representatives of construction firms headquartered in the US were undertaken to quantify the cost of implementing common safety programme elements by: (1) quantifying cost for each element per US$1 million of project scope; and (2) determining the distribution of safety funding to each element. Using these cost data and effectiveness ratings from previous research, the cost‐effectiveness of 13 safety programme elements was quantified. The results indicate that the most cost‐effective safety programme elements are subcontractor selection and management and upper management support and commitment. Alternatively, the least cost‐effective elements are the employment of a full‐time safety manager and record‐keeping. The information presented in this paper may be used by practitioners to direct resource investments, strategically select a subset of safety programme elements when resources are limited, and to justify additional resource investment in accident prevention.

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