Llandis Barratt-Pugh

Evaluation of the mandatory Construction Induction Training program in Western Australia: Unanticipated consequences

Since January 1, 2007, Government legislation in Western Australia required all workers in construction to complete mandatory safety awareness training before they began work on site. During the implementation of this new legislation there was considerable resistance from the construction sector due to the mandatory nature of the training. The construction industry viewed this as an unnecessary impost as they considered that there was already sufficient safety training delivered through individual company and site inductions. In 2010, we evaluated the new Construction Induction Training (CIT) in the commercial construction sector in Western Australia to find that since 2007 there has been an unanticipated change in support for the mandatory training. The 2010 study shows a shift in the values of the safety culture for the commercial sector of the construction industry. In 2010, the industry not only supports the mandatory CIT, but is very vocal in its request to re-institute the refresher courses that were withdrawn in 2009. Indeed, 79% of respondents claimed there were measurable benefits to their business having their employees complete the CIT, while 96% claimed the CIT assisted in reducing accidents/incidents on their worksites. This 2010 study indicates that in this case, mandatory training has had a positive effect on safety culture change and gradually reduced work-related injury in the industry since 2007 to the present. The paper uses data from two studies conducted in 2006 and 2010 to highlight the unanticipated change in perception of the value of mandatory safety training in the WA construction industry to one which is positive and supportive.

Safety training evaluation: The case of Construction Induction Training and the impact on work-related injuries in the Western Australian construction sector

Abstract This paper presents the findings of an evaluation of the mandatory Construction Induction Training initiative (CIT). The paper details a pilot study conducted in 2010 with the commercial construction sector and a subsequent study in 2011 of the housing and civil sectors conducting business in the metropolitan area of Perth and in regional Western Australia. The international literature on safety training evaluations and the impact on safety performance is reviewed. We argue that formal evaluation of safety training and evidence of a link with safety culture improvement is limited. The analysis of the study includes discussion of the transfer of safety knowledge through training participation into the construction safety culture. The findings include evidence of a decreasing trend in work-related injuries and significant support for the CIT. Participants were supportive of the mandatory nature of the CIT and believed that the training had not only increased their personal safety awareness but had also contributed to a positive improvement in the safety culture in construction worksites and in the industry. Although the training has been designed for construction workers there is evidence of extended uptake of the CIT as a generic safety course for preparation for those wishing to work in the other industry sectors.

Getting reticent young male participants to talk: using artefact-mediated interviews to promote discursive interaction

During a pilot study that used interviews to collect data from young male apprentices about construction site safety, we were confronted with limited verbal responses. This article is about how we explored this research problem of ameliorating unresponsive interview interactions. The article reviews the options that previous researchers have trialled and developed, and specifically focuses on artefact-mediated interviews conducted with young male participants. We focus on the use of images within artefact-mediated interviews to draw out data from less communicative subjects. Our reflection upon this process proposes that the use of both abstract and concrete images within an artefact-mediated interview can produce diverse and enriched forms of data.

Managing Knowledge: The Critical Role of Culture and Ownership as a Mediator of Systems

For organisations, an environment of continuous change positions knowledge as the source of key competitive advantage and simultaneously mediates change to more fluid structures. More flexible structures challenge the traditions of knowledge flowing through hierarchical and formal chains of command. The emerging more fluid and knowledge based organisational structures present new challenges for developing, retaining and disseminating organisational knowledge. An area of highly contested debate involves the harmony and integration of Knowledge Management Systems KMS and changing organisational cultures. The paper explores KMS and cultural interface through an analysis of three mature organisational cases, identifying the key barriers that appear to prevent the effective use of KMS. The study constructs a framework for exploring cultural integration issues. The study confirms the primacy of culture in shaping integration and the imperative of resourcing learning and development programmes. The findings indicate that the critical issues organisations should explore are the legitimacy of authoring, the transparency of filtering and attribution, and the awareness of cultural dissonance. For practitioners the study provides a framework for exploring employee participation relationships, while academically the study confirms how existing cultural relations will shape KMS relations and how the exploration of existing cultural exchange practices should be equally weighted with practices to build employee capability. Generating ownership may be the key to success.

Do policies on bullying make a difference? Contrasting strategy regimes within higher education in Australia and Croatia

It is well established that bullying within organisations has a significant negative effect on individuals, social relations and business performance. In this paper, we present the findings from a study that investigated and explored the relations between policy, organisational awareness and resulting social behaviours within higher education. It appears that bullying behaviour may require a far greater emphasis on permeating the culture than is achieved by the mere production of informative policy texts. The paper suggests that organisations are challenged in bridging the divide between the words on the page of policy and the actions of actors within the workplace.

Mandatory online training: transmissive learning, issues of abuse and hidden agendas

This paper is based on two studies of mandatory online learning which although unrelated and conducted eight years apart nevertheless provide an illuminating comparison of mandatory training delivered online. The first study was carried out in 2002 in a state government department and the second in 2010 with the commercial construction industry, both in Western Australia. The key findings from both studies are that learning outcomes mirror the learning goals that are imposed and legitimized by the organization or industry. Mandatory learning is often transmissive learning that may not have transformative effects and online training may be open to abuse because it lacks the controls necessary to ensure that those registering actually are the ones that complete the training.

Bullying in higher education: culture change requires more than policy

ABSTRACT This paper argues that higher education managers continually confront the pervasive and corrosive impact of workplace bullying, which appears culturally resilient despite extensive policy regimes. This paper provides a framework for strategic culture change, to reduce the prevalence of bullying behaviour within higher education. While the adverse social impact upon staff provides an ethical rationale for instituting culture change, the organisational cost of bullying provides an additional incentive. The results of our higher education study that was based on academic staff within universities in Croatia and Australia indicated that despite well-engineered policy regimes, levels of bullying remained significantly high, with over one third of staff indicating recent experience of bullying behaviour at work. While staff indicated that a significant gap existed between the rhetoric and reality within the institutions studied, they also indicated actions that might effect cultural change. These options are presented within as a change management model, providing a framework to manage strategic culture change within higher education institutions.

Health and safety legislation in Australia: Complexity for training remains

Abstract This paper presents the findings from a study that examined the impact of the National Occupational Health and Safety Strategy 2002–2012 and the harmonisation of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 on Australian training design, delivery and outcomes. There has been a comparative reduction in work related injuries, fatalities and disease, and positive changes in safety culture towards improved national targets, attributed to both training and structural changes. However, there remains no empirical evidence that supports this link. The study identified an increased uptake of safety training, including high-risk licensing and the inclusion of health and safety modules within many TAFE and universities courses. Industry practitioners called for more formal qualified safety professionals but voiced their frustration and limited understanding of recent legislative changes that are complicating training re-design.