Construction safety training: Exploring different perspectives of construction managers and workers

The construction industry has high rates of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries. The number of accidents in construction has been steadily increasing in recent years. Every year, more than 60 thousand construction fatalities happen in the world. In the United States, construction has the highest number of fatalities among all industries. In order to address high rates of accidents, researchers and professionals suggest providing safety training to construction workers. However, past research has demonstrated that existing safety training does not fulfill the requirements of a contemporary effective safety training program. In order to enhance safety training, it is essential to have an inclusive understanding of different perspectives of key players of construction projects: managers and workers. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the perceptions, needs, and expectations concerning construction safety training from two different standpoints of managers and workers. To achieve the research objectives, 53 workers and 79 managers participated in the study. The results showed a significant difference between the workers' and managers' perceptions with respect to the effectiveness of provided safety training and needs for enhancement. Workers claimed that safety training that they received is not sufficiently effective and is not provided frequently. On the other hand, managers argued that safety training programs are valuable, but workers are not engaged in safety training programs and do not use the provided safety information in practice. However, the results of this research study demonstrated that the two perceptions can be reconciled by improving mutual understanding. In other words, the gap between these perceptions can be fulfilled by fostering effective communication among workers and managers concerning safety training. Construction professionals and practitioners can benefit from the findings of this study to facilitate effective communication between managers and workers in their construction projects to substantially improve provided safety training and achieve more desirable outcomes.