Structural Equation Modeling for Relationship-Based Determinants of Safety Performance in Construction Projects

Safety performance in construction projects is attributed to many determinants (factors) in a safety system. This study identifies various directly or indirectly related determinants and their effects on safety performance of construction projects. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), this study empirically examines the effect of safety climate (SC), hazard management (HM), safety budget (SB), safety rules and regulations (SR), and safe work behavior (WB) of employees and workers on safety performance (SP) of projects. The unit of analysis of this study is a construction project. A questionnaire survey was conducted, and 230 responses were collected from different types of construction projects across India. The results provide evidence that safety climate, safety budget, and hazard management positively influence safe work behavior of employees and the safety performance of the project. Conversely, the SEM findings demonstrate that implementation of safety rules and regulations are positively but weakly related to safe work behavior of employees, although they positively and more strongly influence the safety performance of the project. On the basis of these empirical results, the study advocates allocating a sufficient safety budget to Indian construction projects. It also recommends considering the effects of the safety rules and regulations on safe work behavior of employees and workers while framing and revising them.