Experience of using Delphi method in construction health and safety research

Abstract: This paper discusses the Delphi method which is an inductive approach to research. It has been argued that Delphi method is an essential vehicle of reaching consensus in issues that cannot be resolved in a once off discussion. This paper reports on the experiences achieved by the authors in using the Delphi method among a group of experienced health and safety (H&S) experts in two separate case studies in the construction industry in South Africa. The first case study used three rounds of iteration whilst the second case study used four rounds of iteration. The authors argue that the Delphi method is a comprehensive method of attaining consensus on challenging issues of H&S in the construction industry. Furthermore the method requires proper communication to achieve the required results