Evaluation of Project Managers Understanding of Safety Management Plan on Construction Site.

Abstract

Safety Management Plan (SMP) is a collection of documents that outline how the principal contractor will manage health and safety for employees, sub-contractors, suppliers, visitors and the general public. SMP formulates the approach to risk management and minimizes the potential human and financial loss to employers and employees alike. Thus, project managers are not expected to be health and safety experts, nor are they expected to conduct thorough worksite inspection. However, a basic appreciation of the safety and regulations issue most frequently encounter in construction site will help to ensure a safe work environment for employee and contractors, and minimize potential liability exposure. The objective of the paper is to determine the level of understanding of safety management system in workplace among the project managers of some selected sites in Kuala Lumpur. Structured or standardized questionnaires were used in the project manager’s interview at 5 different construction sites, on average, the score form the five sites as regard to project manager’s interview is 71.67%. In conclusion, the project managers have virtually all the potential and significant knowledge of the safety management plan practice in their sites, but still there was the need for improvement in the knowledge among the project managers as regard to the safety management system. The study therefore, recommended that in order to improve on the knowledge of safety management system on sites adequate training program should be incorporate into the organisational action plan for project managers. Such training program organised by National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Malaysia could be of great help in improving the knowledge of safety management system among the project manager.

Keywords Safety, Health, Management, Construction, Plan