The Owners' Role in Construction Safety

Overall owner involvement results in improved safety performance. This is exemplified in typical better safety performance in private projects as compared to public, and in petrochemical projects as compared to general manufacturing. In both cases, the project types with better performance are generally viewed as having more owner involvement. (RS190-1, p. 6)

Design-build contracted projects (in which the constructor is responsible for the design) deliver better safety performance than projects where design and construction are contracted separately. (RS190-1, p. 9)

Contractor selection, which includes safety performance as an important selection criterion, results in better safety performance. (RS190-1, p. 12)

Research findings indicate that when safety requirements are established in the language of the contract, better safety performance occurs. Example of a provision associated with better safety performance is where the contractor is required to assign at least one full-time safety representative to the construction site. (RS190-1, p. 18)

Owner involvement and continued verification throughout the execution of the project result in better safety performance. (RS190-1, p. 22)

Although it is typical for industrial (petrochemical) projects to have better safety performance than commercial projects, one case study shows that if commercial construction adopts the same proactive safety measures as those used in the industrial sector, commercial project safety can be dramatically improved. (RS190-1, p. 37)