Construction Safety Climate in Ontario: A Longitudinal Study

The aim of this paper is to document changes in the relationship between demographics, attitudes, physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, and accidents over time in the construction industry. This longitudinal study compares periodic measures of the construction safety climate in Ontario in 2004/6 and 2014. A total of 442 self-administered questionnaires were collected from 22 construction sites in 2014. The 2014 data were compared to 911 valid questionnaire responses obtained in 2004/06 from 84 construction sites across Ontario. The questionnaire contained 105 questions and took participants 15 minutes to complete. Demographic data remained consistent over time. The participants had an average experience level of 15 years, having spent a median of 2.5 years with their current employer. Considerable attitudinal improvements were observed in the areas of leadership, coworker perception, supervisor perception, management perception, and safety program perception. The prevalence and occurrence of physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, and accidents decreased over time.M.A.S