Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

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The Theory of Zero Incident Safety Management

Received: Jun. 20, 2018    Accepted: Jul. 07, 2018    Published: Aug. 16, 2018
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Abstract

Despite the dramatic improvements in construction safety made over the past few decades, the construction industry as a whole is still nowhere near reaching the Zero Injury goal, let alone the Zero Incident goal. The purpose of this paper is to provide an approach to continue improvements of safety performance in order to reach the Zero Incident goal. Since the concept of "Zero Injury" emerged in the 1990s, increasing numbers of owners and contractors have achieved the Zero Injury goal on construction projects. The key to these achievements is the Nine Zero Injury Principles established by Construction Industry Institute (CII). However, the research on which the Nine Zero Injury Principles relied is questionnaire survey rather than theoretical analysis. Without theoretical analysis supporting the research, the conclusions are often challenged, making the concept of Zero Injury difficult to promote throughout the industry. Thus, there exists the need to develop the theory of Zero Incident Safety Management (ZISM) and re-define the concept of "Zero Incident" to provide theoretical insight into the practical application of ZISM techniques and make Zero Incident more acceptable. Drawing on previous theories of construction accident causation and prevention, a new update accident causation theory was developed. This research then identified the management factors that can eliminate the corresponding accident causation factors. Developing the theory of ZISM can not only helps construction leaders deeply understand and accept the concept of Zero Incident, but also guide how to make Zero Incident come true. To facilitate the most rapid implementation of the Nine Principles, a ZISM standard benchmark tool with leading metrics was created. This tool can be easily used to assess the extent of implementation of safety program in construction projects.

DOI 10.11648/j.jccee.20180303.15
Published in Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering ( Volume 3, Issue 3, June 2018 )
Page(s) 83-98
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Construction Safety, Zero Incident, Zero Incident Safety Management (ZISM), Accident Causation Theory

References
[1] E. J. Nelson, "Owners Reap Benefits from Zero Injury," in Collected Papers from the InterConstruct 2003, Stratford-upon-Avon, 2003.
[2] CII, "CII. Zero Injury Economics," CII Publication 32-2, September 1993; CII, "Zero Injury Techniques," CII Publications and Events Center, 1993.
[3] The National Academy of Construction, "The NAC SAFETY White Papers May 19, 2005 thru December 1, 2015," Construction Industry Institute, Austin, TX, 2015.
[4] M. Binsfeld, "Zero Injury Program," April 2010. [Online]. Available: http://www.hilmersonservices.com/safety/consulting/zero-injury-program.
[5] R. U. Farooqui, Achieving Zero Accidents - A Strategic Framework for Continuous Safety Improvement in the Construction Industry, FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertation, 2011.
[6] J. A. Gambatese, “Safety emphasis in university engineering and construction programs,” 2009.
[7] Heinrich, H. W. (1959). Industrial accident prevention : a scientific approach (4th ed.). New york: McGraw-Hill.
[8] G. E. K. a. H. R. Taylor, Enhancing Occupational Safety and Health, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004.
[9] S. S. Hosseinian and Z. J. Torghabeh, “Major theories of Construction Accident Causation Models: A Literature Review,” International Journal of Advances in Engineering & Technology, vol. IV, no. 2, pp. 53-66, September 2012.
[10] R. Liska, D. Goodloe and R. Sen, Zero Accident Techniques, Construction Industry Institute, University of Texas at Austin, 1993.
[11] D. Petersen, Techniques of Safety Management, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.
[12] A. Raouf, "Theory of Accident Causes," in The ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety, 4th Edition ed., vol. II, Geneva, ILO- International Labour Organization, 1998, pp. Part VIII-56. 6.
[13] J. H. W. William A. Stanton, "Conceptual Framework for Computer-Based, Construction Safety Control," Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, vol. 116, no. 3, September 1990.
[14] M. Rosenberg, "Ways Leadership Affects Culture and Culture Affects Leadership.," 24 July 2008. [Online]. Available: http://www.humanresourcesiq.com/hr-talent-management/columns/ways-leadership-affects-culture-and-culture-affect
[15] CII, "Project Site Leadership Role in Improving Construction Safety," January 2012.
[16] M. Plews, "Safety Culture in Construction," 2 May 2012. [Online]. Available: http://djcoregon.com/news/2012/05/02/safety-culture-in-construction.
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  • APA Style

    Yin Wang, Fletcher Griffis. (2018). The Theory of Zero Incident Safety Management. Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, 3(3), 83-98. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jccee.20180303.15

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    ACS Style

    Yin Wang; Fletcher Griffis. The Theory of Zero Incident Safety Management. J. Civ. Constr. Environ. Eng. 2018, 3(3), 83-98. doi: 10.11648/j.jccee.20180303.15

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    AMA Style

    Yin Wang, Fletcher Griffis. The Theory of Zero Incident Safety Management. J Civ Constr Environ Eng. 2018;3(3):83-98. doi: 10.11648/j.jccee.20180303.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jccee.20180303.15,
      author = {Yin Wang and Fletcher Griffis},
      title = {The Theory of Zero Incident Safety Management},
      journal = {Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering},
      volume = {3},
      number = {3},
      pages = {83-98},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jccee.20180303.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jccee.20180303.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jccee.20180303.15},
      abstract = {Despite the dramatic improvements in construction safety made over the past few decades, the construction industry as a whole is still nowhere near reaching the Zero Injury goal, let alone the Zero Incident goal. The purpose of this paper is to provide an approach to continue improvements of safety performance in order to reach the Zero Incident goal. Since the concept of "Zero Injury" emerged in the 1990s, increasing numbers of owners and contractors have achieved the Zero Injury goal on construction projects. The key to these achievements is the Nine Zero Injury Principles established by Construction Industry Institute (CII). However, the research on which the Nine Zero Injury Principles relied is questionnaire survey rather than theoretical analysis. Without theoretical analysis supporting the research, the conclusions are often challenged, making the concept of Zero Injury difficult to promote throughout the industry. Thus, there exists the need to develop the theory of Zero Incident Safety Management (ZISM) and re-define the concept of "Zero Incident" to provide theoretical insight into the practical application of ZISM techniques and make Zero Incident more acceptable. Drawing on previous theories of construction accident causation and prevention, a new update accident causation theory was developed. This research then identified the management factors that can eliminate the corresponding accident causation factors. Developing the theory of ZISM can not only helps construction leaders deeply understand and accept the concept of Zero Incident, but also guide how to make Zero Incident come true. To facilitate the most rapid implementation of the Nine Principles, a ZISM standard benchmark tool with leading metrics was created. This tool can be easily used to assess the extent of implementation of safety program in construction projects.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AB  - Despite the dramatic improvements in construction safety made over the past few decades, the construction industry as a whole is still nowhere near reaching the Zero Injury goal, let alone the Zero Incident goal. The purpose of this paper is to provide an approach to continue improvements of safety performance in order to reach the Zero Incident goal. Since the concept of "Zero Injury" emerged in the 1990s, increasing numbers of owners and contractors have achieved the Zero Injury goal on construction projects. The key to these achievements is the Nine Zero Injury Principles established by Construction Industry Institute (CII). However, the research on which the Nine Zero Injury Principles relied is questionnaire survey rather than theoretical analysis. Without theoretical analysis supporting the research, the conclusions are often challenged, making the concept of Zero Injury difficult to promote throughout the industry. Thus, there exists the need to develop the theory of Zero Incident Safety Management (ZISM) and re-define the concept of "Zero Incident" to provide theoretical insight into the practical application of ZISM techniques and make Zero Incident more acceptable. Drawing on previous theories of construction accident causation and prevention, a new update accident causation theory was developed. This research then identified the management factors that can eliminate the corresponding accident causation factors. Developing the theory of ZISM can not only helps construction leaders deeply understand and accept the concept of Zero Incident, but also guide how to make Zero Incident come true. To facilitate the most rapid implementation of the Nine Principles, a ZISM standard benchmark tool with leading metrics was created. This tool can be easily used to assess the extent of implementation of safety program in construction projects.
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Author Information
  • Civil and Urban Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, New York, US

  • Civil and Urban Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, New York, US

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