The challenge of safety clutter is becoming increasingly evident in the Australian construction industry. Something needs to change, but what?
New Findings from SHINe: Stakeholder Perspectives on Safety Clutter in the Australian Construction Industry – A position paper.
The challenge of safety clutter is becoming increasingly evident in the Australian construction industry. Something needs to change, but what?
Since Rae, Provan, Weber and Dekker* coined the term, the concept of safety clutter has attracted considerable attention.
In the Australian construction industry, it is extremely common to hear complaints that health and safety management activities are excessive, ineffective and full of clutter. Yet, while new things are frequently added, things are rarely – if ever – taken out of health and safety management systems or processes.
This newly released position paper presents key findings from the first stage of our research project into safety clutter. Our team has conducted in-depth interviews with stakeholders across the construction ecosystem, including:
- Contractors
- Clients
- Trade unions
- Regulators
Our aim: to foster an industry-wide understanding and consensus on:
- What is safety clutter
- Where does it come from
- How can we reduce it
A key insight, consistent with the findings of Rae and colleagues, is that safety clutter accumulates as the result of the interactions between different organisations. This is particularly problematic in construction because of its complex procurement and supply arrangements.
So who needs to be involved in the removal of safety clutter? The answer is all industry stakeholders.
The research forms the basis for an industry-led, multi-stakeholder effort to de-clutter health and safety management systems in the construction industry. This work extends the focus of attention beyond internal organisational systems to examine inter-organisational impacts and opportunities for improvement.
We would like to thank our Foundational Members for their support. Without their contributions, this report and future projects wouldn't be possible. Construction Health and Safety NZ (CHASNZ), HammerTech , Laing O'Rourke, McConnell Dowell, Melbourne Park, Multiplex, WorkSafe ACT.
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Contact shine@rmit.edu.au if you’d like to get in touch.
*Rae, A. J., Provan, D. J., Weber, D. E., & Dekker, S. W. (2018). Safety clutter: the accumulation and persistence of ‘safety’ work that does not contribute to operational safety. Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, 16(2), 194-211.
