Assessing the Impact of Safety Culture and Climate on Construction Site Safety: Concepts and Metrics

Dear Colleagues,

There is agreement on the importance of safety culture and safety climate in injury prevention on construction sites. However, there is still substantial ambiguity regarding the definitions and measurements in practice for construction safety culture and climate. This issue is significantly amplified within the construction industry context due to the following:

• Construction safety culture and climate are used interchangeably.
• The construction industry has adopted safety culture and climate metrics that have not been validated within the construction context.
• Most of the current models and metrics do not capture the uniqueness of the construction industry, such as the fact that upper management and safety personnel often oversee multiple geographically dispersed projects. In addition, these models and metrics are not tailored to the needs of smaller construction firms.

As a result, some scholars have argued that the industry should discard the concept due to ongoing ambiguity in its definition and use. The substantial body of research and practical evidence demonstrating the critical role of safety culture in enhancing overall site safety should not be overlooked (Al-Bayati and Chellappa, 2025). This Special Issue invites scholars, researchers, engineers, and construction practitioners to share state-of-the-art knowledge and innovative practices aimed at creating, monitoring (e.g., through emerging technologies), and strengthening safety culture and climate in construction workplaces. Relevant articles on all aspects of the topic are welcome, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Comprehensive state-of-the-art reviews;
• Measurement metrics, inspection methods, and monitoring practices;
• The interaction of multiple safety cultures on construction sites (e.g., when several subcontractors operate simultaneously).

Reference:

Al-Bayati, A. J., and V. Chellappa. 2025. “Identifying desirable safety actions of upper management to foster higher levels of construction safety culture.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 151 (7). https://doi.org/10.1061/jcemd4.coeng-15913

Dr. Ahmed Jalil Al-Bayati
Guest Editor

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