Establishing Underlying Structures of Safety Performance Measures Using Factor Analysis of Data on Construction Workers in Gauteng, South Africa

Abstract

The health and safety (H&S) of site workers in the construction industry has been overwhelmingly studied for decades. However, there is scant literature which analyses underlying structures of safety performance measures especially as related to their unhealthy and unsafe eating behavior. The paper presents findings on an exploratory factor analysis of H&S performance measures. A 10-item questionnaire which was developed after an extensive literature review was used to collect empirical data on SP of construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Findings revealed that safety performance of site workers could be reasonably measured by two constructs. The two constructs were clearly defined as trailing and prevailing. The emerged trailing measures were named lagging indicators while the prevailing ones were designated as leading indicators. The results support extant literature which advocates the use of both leading and lagging safety performance indicators for effectively assessing construction workers’ safety performance. The study provides evidence which could be beneficial in psychometric evaluation of construction workers’ safety performance and behaviours on construction sites.

Keywords: construction workers, factor analysis, Gauteng, safety performance