Knowledge sharing and hazard awareness in the construction industry: a global perspective

Abstract

The construction industry has had a poor safety record for many years. Many fatal and non-fatal accidents happen each year around the globe within the industry. Low hazard awareness has always been considered as the problem of lack of knowledge. Thus, various safety knowledge sharing methods have been suggested and adopted in the industry to improve hazard awareness and lower the accident rates. We distributed questionnaires to construction practitioners, including safety officers, engineers, surveyors, architects and supervisors, via social media to gauge the global perspective and to gauge practitioners’ viewpoints of knowledge sharing by different means. The results showed that 1) the generations X and Y are far more willing to use Web 2.0, mobile apps and internet of things to share construction safety knowledge. 2) There are far more locals and immigrants who are willing than actual knowledge sharing. 3) Rewards are the most important motivation that motivate the people to share construction safety knowledge via these means.