Developing a probabilistic model for evaluating the organisational safety climate factors in offsite manufacturing

Abstract

Purpose

Offsite manufacturing (OSM) is a modern construction technique that offers several advantages over traditional construction, including using less material to produce a similar product, lowering costs, increasing quality and enhancing environmental sustainability of the final product in several ways. However, there is evidence of increased safety related incidents at an OSM facility due to the varying nature of its organisational safety climate. Therefore, this study aims to ascertain the relationships between organisational safety climate factors and safety performance in an OSM context, with a view to developing better safety outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

A Bayesian Network (BN) approach was adopted to uncover the probabilistic relationships among organisational safety climate factors. First, a literature review was conducted to develop a conceptual model, which was validated by industry experts. Second, a questionnaire survey with Australian OSM professionals was employed to quantify the BN model. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed to validate the BN model and identify critical factors.

Findings

Owing to the influence of organisational safety climate dimensions, there is a 79% probability that Australian OSM facilities obtain “high” safety performance. Despite this result, improvements in management safety response, the balance between safety and production, supervisor safety expectations, credibility in training and accessibility to safety rules and procedures are critical to maintaining and improving this current outcome.

Originality/value

This study develops a probabilistic model determining relationships between organisational safety climate factors and safety performance, particularly in an OSM context. The proposed model facilitates safety managers’ comprehension of safety climate issues and provides decision-making support when implementing safety management strategies.

Citation

Vithanage, S.C., Sing, M.C.P., Davis, P.R. and Newaz, T. (2025), "Developing a probabilistic model for evaluating the organisational safety climate factors in offsite manufacturing", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-06-2023-0647