Effectiveness of Contractor Safety Training in the Reduction of Work-related Accidents

Abstract

Background and Objective: Safety training as the most important step in the obtainment of safety qualifications for construction contractors can help reduce the accidents rate. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of safety training for construction contractors in the reduction of work-related accidents during a 5-year time period (2014-2018). Materials and Methods: This historical cohort study was conducted on 44 contractor companies in 2019. Half of the 44 contractors were qualified by safety training, and the other half were unqualified. The data of the current study included the characteristics of the contractors, the provided safety training documentation, contractors' safety qualification certificates, as well work-related accident reports. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS (version 22.0). Results: The highest and lowest levels of desirability in the training provided to contractors were reported as training time (77.8%) and training technique (40.7%), respectively. The results of Cochran's test demonstrated that the incidence ratio of work-related accidents and deaths in the exposure group significantly decreased after providing safety training and obtaining a certificate of safety qualification (P<0.05). Furthermore, the incidence ratio in the two groups of exposure and non-exposure was significantly different in 2017 and 2018 (P<0.05). Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, apart from a reduction in the incidence ratio of work-related accidents and deaths after providing safety training, the improvement of the quality and desirability of safety training to obtain a certificate of safety qualification of contractors can greatly increase the effectiveness of training and help reduce the incidence of construction accidents.