Introduction
“Risk perception and cultural differences of Latinos across residential, commercial, and heavy civil construction”, is a masters theses submitted by Kane Bormann to the Construction Management department of the Colorado State University.
In this article, the researcher explores the social cultural obstacles that perpetuate the many incidences of injuries among the Latino workers in the construction industry. Bormann also looks at role of the employees in ensuring system security (Bormann, 2012).
The researcher also goes further to assess the perceptions the Latino construction workers have regarding safety culture and risk.
Bormann’s study explored responses of 219 Latinos and identified major variations across the construction industry in matters pertaining to work, productivity, and quality over safety, their satisfaction with being monitored, comprehension of safety standards, safety of the workplace, and readiness to take greater risks.
The researcher’s objective was, therefore, to come up with quality results to advance the existing knowledge, as well as contribute in minimizing the considerable injuries and safety risks the Latinos experience in the construction sector (Bormann, 2012).
Statement of the research problem
In comparison to other sectors of the economy, the construction sector leads in incidences of injuries and fatalities. Latino workers are the ones who experience most injuries and fatalities, mostly as a result of social cultural factors.
However, the construction sector employing Latino workers could also influence the safety standards. Given the increasing proportion of the Latino population in the United States, they are likely to contribute to a significant ratio of the national workforce.
This, therefore, calls for exploration of factors that predispose the Latinos to increased risks of injury than the other populations (Bormann, 2012).
Various studies investigating the disproportional risks of injury experienced by Latino construction workers have focused on aspects like communication barrier and cultural differences (Vázquez & Stalnakar, 2004).
In this article, Bormann sought to determine the influence particular construction industries have on the safety standards, based on individual perceptions on risk.
Bormann was of the view that variation in challenges existing in various construction sectors could influence people’s perceptions about safety risks as shaped by their cultural and language differences, subsequently contributing to the negative experiences the Latino workers undergo in the construction sector (Bormann, 2012).
Research procedure
This study was cross-sectional in design, based on a previous study to assess safety culture and risk perception differences between Latino and non-Latino construction workers. This early study employed a survey methodology to collect and analyze data, thus Bormann’s study was cross-sectional by default.
The cross-sectional survey helped in generating data that can be generalized in the entire population, thus enabling evaluation of population features, perceptions and habits.
A survey also has the benefits of generating immediate responses; therefore, it enables the researcher to gather data for a long time consistently (Bormann, 2012).
The study utilized data collected through survey questionnaires that were administered on-site in different construction projects in the study area. Participants in the study were volunteers drawn from residential, commercial and heavy civil construction industries.
The construction sites were selected through convenience sampling and the linkages existing between the construction sites and the university. The researcher also used a modified version of safety culture survey tool to collect data, which was subsequently analyzed using an online platform.
In addition, the researcher used statistical tools like frequencies and comparisons to perform data analysis (Bormann, 2012).
Flaws in the procedural design
Though the cross-sectional study design was essential in collecting data from the different construction sites, this technique must have affected the researcher’s ability to make conclusions for all the sites since data was collected at a single site in time.
Historical factors may also have influenced the quality of the data, given that the study focused on the perceptions of the workers already working in the construction industry.
The findings, therefore, did not represent the actual information since change occurs over time. The design could also have introduced a Neyman bias, potentially affecting the findings and their relevance (Babbie, 2010).
Analysis of data
The researcher found out that the attitudes of the Latino workers across the different construction industries showed some variations, though the causes were not established.
Possible causes of the differing perceptions included the degree of inspections and familiarity with quality standards, literacy, and comprehension of safety protocols (Bormann, 2012).
Use of system safety principles
System safety is the use of engineering and management practices in leveling dangerous risks by considering defined effectiveness, appropriateness and costs (Rajendran, Clarke & Andrews, 2012). System safety entails many elements, including human factors such as design and operation.
In this study, the researcher showed that safety principles are not well applied in the construction industry. This calls for the need to continuously identify, monitor and resolve system issues as they arise (Stephans, 2004).
Conclusion
The study design was well suited for the collection of data since it can help in generating information for many variables, such as Latino construction workers’ perceptions and behaviors.
The design also enhanced validity of the findings since the researcher was able to build on early work done by other researchers. This implies that the findings are useful for the construction industry since applications of the findings can enhance safety in construction sites.
References
Babbie, E. R. (2010). The basics of social research. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Bormann, K. (2012). Risk perception and cultural differences of Latinos across residential, commercial, and heavy construction. CSU Theses/Dissertations. Submitted to the Department of Construction Management, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, spring 2012
Rajendran, S., Clarke, B., & Andrews, R. (2012). Quality management in construction. Professional Safety, 57(11), 37-42.
Stephans, R. A. (2004). System safety for the 21st century: The updated and revised edition of system safety 2000. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Vázquez, R., & Stalnakar, C. (2004). Latino workers in the construction industry. (Cover story). Professional Safety, 49(6), 24-28.