A new international research review conducted by New Zealand health & safety software innovator, SaferMe, has shed light on the role of social relationships in the costly incident record in
our construction industry.
The research, part of SaferMe’s Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) - funded project to develop a predictive worker
safety algorithm - has identified a number of new factors that elevate risk for workplace accidents and particularly
musculoskeletal ‘sprain & strain’ injuries.
SaferMe CEO & Founder Clint Van Marrewijk says the insights from the company’s research work will impact the current thinking of most
businesses.
“The first thing businesses do is look at tasks & equipment to assess risk on a worksite. That is helpful but it’s only a start. There is less focus on the wellbeing of
the people doing the work - but what this research shows is the strong links between psychosocial factors and safety
incidents.”
Among the findings of note for New Zealand’s construction industry was a set of research on the social environment at
work - in particular the impact of interpersonal conflict, including issues such as manager relationships and workplace
bullying.
A key study, published in 2021 in the Engineering Construction and Architectural Management journal, concluded that: “psychosocial factors indirectly influenced workers' safety performance by impacting on their
occupational psychology condition.”
The research authors explained: “Work stress, role ambiguity, work-family conflict and interpersonal conflict were
negatively related to safety performance by promoting burnout and affecting engagement. Autonomy and social support were
positively related to safety performance by improving work engagement and reducing burnout.”
Chief executive of industry body Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ), Alan Pollard, said his organisation had partnered
with SaferMe in the innovation project as it had “serious potential” to drive a new wave of safety improvement in the
industry.
“Civil construction companies are severely impacted by strains and sprains. We need to start thinking outside the box
about what causes these injuries and how to prevent them in future. Not just because this will improve productivity and
reduce downtime for people unable to work, but also for the improved wellbeing of the people and teams who are out there
working.”
SaferMe’s next step in the ACC-funded project is development of an algorithm to calculate relative risk of workers based
on a comprehensive set of data points.
“Off the back of helping businesses through the pandemic with our world-leading contact tracing solution, we’re excited
about delivering another ‘next generation’ solution,” Van Marrewijk said.
It’s easy for construction businesses to get involved in the pilot phase of SaferMe’s innovation project - they can
register interest here.
safer.me