Projects

Michelle Turner

Title: The development of a work-life fit model: a demands and resources approach

Date: 2012

Summary: Workers of the Australian construction industry experience demands, such as long working hours, irregular work schedules and geographically isolated work locations. Research has indicated a clear relationship between excessive work demands and work-life conflict, which has negative impacts for workers’ health and wellbeing. Coupled with work demands, workers also experience demands originating from their family and community domains, which is often driven by life stage and individual preferences of workers. To fulfill work, family and community demands, workers often call on resources such as supervisor support, flexibility of work schedule, and childcare. The research sought to (i) identify the demands and resources relevant to workers of the Australian construction industry; (ii) identify the demand-resource profiles on different worker groups within a diverse construction workforce; (iii) investigate whether individual attributes influence demand-resource profiles; and (iv) evaluate whether Q Methodology was a suitable methodology with which to explore the work-life experience of workers of the construction industry. The findings form the basis of a new work-life fit model which applies a demands-resources approach.

Publications:

• Turner, M. & Lingard, H., (2016), Work–life fit: Identification of demand and resource typologies within a systems framework, Construction Management and Economics, 34(6), 377-392.
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2016.1200737
• Turner, M. & Lingard, H., (2016), Community role salience: The development and testing of a new measure, Community, Work & Family, 19(5), 588-603.
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2015.1117419
• Turner, M. & Lingard, H., (2014), Identification and verification of demands and resources within a work-life fit framework: Evidence from the Australian construction industry, Community, Work and Family, 17(3), 268-287.
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2014.933773
• Turner, M. (2013), The development of a work-life fit model: A demands and resources approach, International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 6(4), 792-801.
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijmpb-04-2013-0016

Conference papers:

• Turner, M. & Lingard, H. (2011). Demands and resources of workers in the Australian construction industry: Identification and exploration using Q methodology. Proceedings of the 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom, 5-7 September 2011.
  http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/ar2011-0361-0370_Turner_Lingard.pdf

Nor Haslinda Abas

Title: Development of a Knowledge-Based Energy Damage Model for Evaluating Industrialised Building System (IBS) Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Risk

Date: March 2010 - January 2015

Summary: This research presents a comparative evaluation of the occupational health and safety (OHS) risk presented by different construction approaches, namely Industrialised Building System (IBS) and traditional methods. The evaluation involved developing a model based on the concept of ‘argumentation theory’, which helps construction designers integrate the management of OHS risk into the design process. In addition, an ‘energy damage model’ was used as an underpinning framework. The model provides a means of evaluating OHS risk among construction workers, which could help designers understand the extent to which their design decisions may impact on OHS and thereby assist them to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. The research revealed that different approaches/methods of construction projects carried a different level of energy damage, depending on how the activities were carried out, particularly IBS construction and traditional methods. This thesis contributes to knowledge by suggesting options available to product and process designers that allow them to assess the extent to which their design decisions reduce OHS risk in construction and offering a more rigorous comparison of the OHS risks in IBS and traditional approaches. 

Publications:

• Abas, N. H., Blismas, N. & Lingard, H. (2011). Development of a knowledge-based energy damage model to assess occupational health and safety (OHS) construction risks in Malaysia, CIBW099 International Conference on Prevention: Means to the End of Construction Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities (Washington, United States). 24-26 August 2011, pp.1-16.
• Abas, N. H., Blismas, N. & Lingard, H. (2013). Knowledge-based energy damage model for evaluating Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) construction risks in Malaysia, HKU-HKHA International Conference 2013 - Construction and Housing in the 21st Century (Hong Kong, China). 2-3^rd May 2013, pp.408-415.
• Abas, N. H., Blismas, N., & Lingard, H. (2016). Knowledge-based energy damage model for evaluating Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) risk. In MATEC Web of Conferences (Vol. 47, p. 04015). EDP Sciences.
• Abas, Nor Haslinda, Nick Blismas, and Helen Lingard. "Development of risk assessment tool using damaging energy and argumentation theory for evaluating construction occupational safety and health risks." Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management (2021).
• Abas, N. H., & Blismas, N. (2021). Identification of the hazards/risks involved in construction process for selected construction approaches in Malaysia. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 16(3), 2571-2593.

Payam Pirzadeh

Title: A social network perspective on design for construction safety

Date: 2018

Summary: The high rate of injuries and accidents in the construction industry continues to be a major concern worldwide. Recently, the proactive practice of anticipating and ‘designing out’ work health and safety (WHS) risks at early project stages, known as ‘safety in design’, has gained recognition in construction policy, legislation and practice. Despite this recognition, evidence from the industry indicates suboptimal results in practice. This study was undertaken to investigate the socio-technical complexities of design decision-making and its impact on WHS. Using case studies from the Australian construction industry, the study provided empirical evidence reflecting the vital role of effective communication and interdisciplinary consultation between project participants in achieving WHS improvements by design. Moreover, the features of effective communication that support safety in design were revealed. The findings are useful for design professionals, industry bodies and regulators to identify what good practice looks like in terms of integrating health and safety into construction design.

Awards:

• RMIT Research Award 2019 - RMIT Prize for Research Excellence – Higher Degree by Research (Design)
• Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Research Award in 2019
• Awarded a bursary for attending the CIB W099 conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2015.

Publications:

Journal papers:

• Pirzadeh, P., Lingard, H., Blismas, N. (2021). Design Decisions and Interactions: A Sociotechnical Network Perspective. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 147(10): 04021110.
• Pirzadeh, P., Lingard, H., Blismas, N. (2020), Effective communication in the context of safe design decision making, Safety Science, 131, pp. 1-14.
• Pirzadeh, P. & Lingard, H., (2017), Understanding the Dynamics of Construction Decision Making and the Impact on Work Health and Safety, Journal of Management in Engineering, 33(5), 05017003. 

Conference papers:

• Pirzadeh, P., Lingard, H. and Blismas, N. (2020), A Multilevel Socio-Technical Perspective on Work Health and Safety Related Design Decision Making. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (Eds.), Proceedings of the 36th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-8 September 2020, UK, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 645-654. 
• Pirzadeh, P., Lingard, H. & Blismas, N., (2019), A dynamic perspective on the integrated design and construction decision making to improve construction work health and safety, Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress: Construction Smart Cities, 17-21 June 2019, Hong Kong.
• Pirzadeh, P. & Lingard, H., (2017), Exploring the dynamic social interactions that underpin work health and safety related design decision-making, In: Chan, P.W. and Neilson, C.J. (eds.) Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2017, Cambridge, UK, Association of Research in Construction Management, 176-185.
• Pirzadeh, P., Lingard, H., Blismas, N., Mills, T. & Kleiner, B., (2015), Proactive evaluation of occupational health and safety performance in construction projects using the hierarchy of controls concept, CIB W099: Safety and Health in Construction (pp. 438-448). CIB. Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Book chapters:

• Pirzadeh, P., Lingard, H., Blismas, N. (2021). Analysing secondary data to understand the socio-technical complexities of construction-design decision-making. In Manu, E. and Akotia, J. (eds.) Secondary Research Methods in the Built Environment. (pp. 221-236). Routledge, London, ISBN: 9781003000532

Tung Pham

Title: The transfer of occupational health and safety training among Australian construction employees

Date: 2015-2020

Summary: Occupational health and safety (OHS) training has been recognised as a formal approach to promote OHS capabilities of construction employees. However, OHS training cannot lead to improved OHS performance if training transfer (i.e. the extent to which trainees utilise acquired skills and knowledge at the workplace) does not occur. Unfortunately, previous research suggests that OHS training is not effective in terms of training transfer. As an attempt to solve this problem, a mix-methods study was conducted to investigate the intention to transfer OHS training and identify factors promoting/ hindering training transfer among managerial and nonmanagerial construction employees. The results provided empirical evidence reflecting differences in intention to transfer OHS training among two groups of employees. Furthermore, various factors arising from OHS training programs and the work environment that affect training transfer were revealed. The findings are useful for training providers and construction employers to provide OHS training programs and the workplace that support employees’ application of OHS training content.

Publications:

Conference paper:

• Pham, T., Lingard, H., Wakefield, R. and Zhang, P., 2017, Training transfer as the result of rational decision-making process, The 41st Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA) Conference Proceedings, Melbourne, Australia, 3-5 July 2017, pp. 735-744. 

Tung was one of three finalists in the WHS Science Sprint competition held at the 2020 National Work Health and Safety Colloquium – The Impact of Research in Sydney on 11 November 2020. His research investigated the effectiveness of work health and safety training and the application of trained skills and knowledge in managerial and non-managerial construction workers. The research indicated perception of construction workers on effective training design and delivery methods, and workplace factors affecting the likelihood that construction workers utilise what they have learned in the work setting.

Watch Tung’s video presentation:

Journal papers

PHAM, T. T., LINGARD, H., ZHANG, P.R., (2023). Factors influencing construction workers' intention to transfer occupational health and safety training, Safety Science, Volume 167, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106288.

Mohammad Sabbir Ahmed Shourav

Title: Impact of job quality on health and well-being of construction workers of Australia

Date: 2020-2023

Summary: Job quality refers to work and employment characteristics of jobs that impact the health and well-being of workers. Research indicates that job quality is a key factor for sustainable workforce participation. Unfortunately, the Australian construction industry shows poor work and employment quality features, such as job insecurity, long work hours, and poor psychosocial environment. So far, limited research has been conducted to comprehensively identify the job quality factors and understand the relationship between different job quality characteristics and health outcomes of workers in the context of Australian construction industry. This knowledge gap gives rise to the current research, which aims to investigate the impact of job quality on construction worker's health and well-being in Australia. A sequential mixed method research design will be adopted for this study. It is expected that the outcomes of this research will help to understand the various job quality factors and their interactive impacts on construction workers’ health and well-being in Australia. This study will also help to develop a framework to elevate the overall job quality of construction works to improve workforce sustainability at organizational, industrial, and national levels.

Publications

Conference papers:

SHOURAV, M. S. A., ZHANG, R. & LINGARD, H. (2022). Impact of job quality on construction worker's health and well-being in a developing country context, Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress 2022, Melbourne, Australia. IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science, doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1101/4/042009.