The effects of multi-sociodemographic characteristics of construction sites personnel on perceptions of safety climate-influencing factors: The construction industry in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The construction industry in Saudi Arabia relies prominently on migrant workers of multi-sociodemographic characteristics with different perceptions of a safety climate. The exploration of the perceptions regarding the safety climate among various groups of migrant workers may help identify effective means of improving safety levels at construction sites in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to examine the effects of multi-sociodemographic characteristics of construction site personnel on their perceptions of the factors that influence the safety climate at construction sites in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from 401 construction site workers, employed at ongoing construction project sites in Saudi Arabia, using a designed questionnaire. A generalized, linear model approach was applied, using the single ordinal logistic regression method, to analyze the collected data. The results revealed the significant sets of sociodemographic characteristics and their associated subgroups that had significant effects on the perception of importance assigned to each safety climate-influencing factor. These findings provide a better understanding of the views of construction site personnel on the safety climate and can assist construction industry decision-makers, safety policy designers, government agencies, and stakeholders when designing better-targeted enhance-ment plans and strategies to improve the safety climate of construction sites, based on the socio-demographic makeup of the personnel at each construction site.