Association between working conditions, safety behaviour and work-related injuries among foreign construction workers in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

Malaysian construction sector is one of the critical sectors represented by high accident and fatality rates over time (1st in fatality rate in the last 5 years). Construction workers come in contact with dangerous equipment and substances which can easily affect their physical and health conditions. Safety behaviour and working conditions-related risk factors combine to contribute in construction accidents which can result in work-related injuries. Therefore, to facilitate the expansion of current theoretical perspectives in this research area, this study attempts to determine the prevalence of work-related injuries and its association with safety behaviour, safety commitment, safety climate, physical operations and the overall working conditions’ safety level among construction workers, and furthermore, this study intends to determine the predictors of work-related injuries in construction sites. A cross sectional study design was conducted in six (6) construction sites of large construction company in Klang Valley. Structured questionnaire to evaluate working conditions and work-related injuries was distributed to the workers in English and Malay languages. On-site observation was conducted using Behaviour Based Safety (BBS) checklist to assess the workers’ safety behaviour. Data was collected from 1st July 2016 to 30th September 2016. The researcher ensured that all the questionnaires were answered (n=323 respondents). The results revealed that the majority of the construction workers were from Bangladesh and Indonesia; 48% and 39% respectively. The prevalence of work-related injuries in one year period is 22.6% where most of the injuries were moderate severity (39.7%) and falls from heights represented the major cause of work-related injuries with 31.5%. Majority of the workers have perceived between moderate and high safety commitment, safety climate and physical operations’ safety level, all in which reflected good working conditions. The on-site observation recorded safe and unsafe behaviours from the workers; thus, the overall safety behaviour (percent safe) was at 51.62%. Independent t-test revealed a significant difference in the mean of safety behaviour between Yes/No work-related injuries (p<0.001). Chi square test showed also that work-related injuries is significantly associated with safety commitment (χ2=6.726, p<0.05), safety climate (χ2=13.606, p<0.001), physical operations (χ2=13.837, p<0.001) and the overall working conditions’ safety level (χ2=7.901, p<0.05). Safety behaviour was associated with safety climate (p<0.05), physical operations (p<0.05) and the overall working conditions’ safety level (p<0.001). The predictive model of work-related injuries showed that safety behaviour (p<0.001), safety climate (p<0.05) and physical operations (p<0.05) are the predictors for work-related injuries, where high safety climate and high safety level of physical operations are reducing the occurrence of work-related injuries, and for any additional increase in safety behaviour, work-related injuries occurred less. Therefore, based on the findings, it is recommended to implement Behaviour Based Safety (BBS) program in the company in order to reduce the occurrence of accidents and work-related injuries in construction sites.

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