Socio-Economic Benefits of Implementing a Safety Incentive Program in the Corporate World - Research Proposal Example

Examining the Socio-Economic Benefits of Implementing a Safety Incentive Program in the Corporate World Total Number of Words: 3,773 Table of Contents I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………… 3 a. Problem Statement …………………………………………….. 4 b. Research Objectives ……………………………………………. 5 c. Research Questions and Hypothesis ….……………………….. 6 d. Rationale behind the Proposed Study ………………………….. 6 II. Related Literature Review ……………………………………………….. 8 a. Importance of Workplace Safety Programs in Reducing the Number of Workplace Accidents and Deaths ………………….. 8 b. Types of Safety Incentive Programs, Its Significant Role, and Impact in Enhancing the End-Result of Implementing Workplace Safety Measures ……………………………………. 9 III. Research Methodology …………………………………………………… 12 a. Proposed Research Design …………………………..…………. 12 b. Resources Needed, Instrumentation, and Data Collection ……. 13 c. Population and Sample Data …………………………….……... 13 d. Planned Method of Analysis ……………………….…………... 14 IV. Conclusion …………………………………………………..…………… 14 V. Proposed Time Schedule …………………………………...…………….. 15 VI. Research Ethics …………………………………………………………… 16 VII. Research Study Budget …………………………………………………… 17 References ……………………………………………………………………… 18 - 20 Introduction One of the main responsibilities of the construction safety regulators is to prevent accidents from happening in construction sites. Because of the negligence of some of the U.S. construction safety regulators, the number of construction workers who encounters work-related accidents and deaths remain high. As reported in Las Vegas Sun (2010), the dying rate of construction workers in Las Vegas alone is “one every six weeks”. This figure publicly reveals the flaws in the U.S. safety incentive programs especially when employees are moving around the construction site. At the rate of 3.6 fatal work injuries per 100,000 full-time construction workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the number of fatal work injuries between 2007 and 2008 has declined by 20% from 5,657 in 2007 down to 5,071 in 2008 (United States Department of Labor, 2009a). Despite the significant decrease in the number of fatal work injuries that happens in the U.S. construction industry, it is undeniable that the total number of construction workers who encounters fatal work injuries remain high. Although the use of safety incentive programs are often incorporated in the business operations of the U.S. construction companies, the effectiveness of implementing these safety incentive programs has been questioned by construction safety experts (Gangwar & Goodrum, 2005). In one of the interview that was conducted by Las Vegas Sun, construction safety experts stated that “the deaths and the violations investigators found suggest contractors aren’t taking enough safety precautions and find fault with Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for not forcefully upholding safety laws” (Berzon, 2008a). The safety incentive programs in Las Vegas construction remains weak for the reason that trade unions in this area are not exerting effort to aggressively seek OSHA enforcement. Since it is part of the responsibility of the U.S. construction employers to protect the health and safety of its employees, this study will focus on examining the advantages and disadvantages of implementing a safety incentive program in terms of decreasing the number of work place accidents and increasing the companies’ profit by saving on unnecessary medical expenses, overtime pay, and short- or long-term physical disability on the part of the construction workers (Goodrum & Gangwar, 2004). Incorporating the practice of work safety habits in the U.S. construction sites is necessary in order to minimize and prevent the risk of endangering the lives of the construction workers. Based on the gathered literature and primary research study result, this study will discuss some ways on how contruction companies in the United States could increase the effectiveness of implementing the proposed safety incentive program. Problem Statement One of the major problems of the U.S. construction industry that need to be addressed is the strong association between operating a construction business and the health and safety of the construction workers. Aiming to solve the accident and fatality problems in construction businesses, a lot of HR managers choose to remain focused on designing and implementing occupational health and safety program as a way to protect their construction workers from occupational hazards over the past few decades. Despite the HR managers’ and OSHA’s effort to improve the safety and working condition of each construction workers, past and current statistical figure gathered with regards to work-related accidents and deaths that had occurred within the U.S. construction industry remain high. To solve the problem of the U.S. construction industry in terms of enhancing the health and safety of the U.S. construction workers, the proposed research study will examine the socio-economic impact of designing and implementing a universally effective safety incentive program to keep the number of accidents and deaths among the U.S. construction workers low. In line with the research objectives of the proposed research study, the U.S. economy will continue to progress as a result of improving the working environment of millions of construction workers. To determine the type of safety incentive program that will universally solve the problems related to construction workers’ safety in the U.S. construction industry, the proposed research study will focused on gathering existing literature review and conduct a primary research study concerning the types of safety incentive program that will effectively work in terms of reducing the incident rate of work-place accidents and death as well as increasing the construction companies’ profit by saving on medical expenses, unnecessary overtime pay, and the consequences of law suits concerning the short- and long-term physical disability on the part of the construction workers. Research Objectives The main objective of the proposed research study is to determine the types of existing safety incentive programs used in the enhancement of safety programs implemented in the U.S. construction industry. Upon identifying the existing safety incentive programs used in construction businesses, each of the identified safety incentive program will be examined to determine its effectiveness in terms of encouraging the U.S. construction workers to observe the safety measures while moving around the construction sites. After conducting a thorough study with regards to the effectiveness of each safety incentive program, this study aims to design a universal safety incentive program which could effectively encourage more construction workers to participate and strictly observe the safety measures implemented to minimize the risk of occupational hazards and deaths. Research Questions and Hypothesis The following research questions will be used as a guide in going through the proposed research study: 1. What is the degree in which the U.S. construction companies are incorporating safety incentive programs to improve the end result of implementing their individual health and safety programs in their construction sites? 2. Does the implementation of a safety incentive program have a positive impact on lowering the U.S. construction company’s accident and death rates? 3. What are the types of safety incentive programs that are commonly used in the U.S. construction industry? 4. What is the best way to design and implement a universal safety incentive program that will work best in reducing the accident and death rates in the U.S. construction industry? It is a common knowledge that workplace related accidents, injuries, and deaths could negatively affect the financial performance and work attitudes of the U.S. construction companies. In line with this, the proposed research study assumes that designing a universally applicable safety incentive program with the U.S. construction industry is effective enough to control and prevent workplace related accidents, injuries, and death rates. Rationale behind the Proposed Study The U.S. construction industry is a significant part of the entire U.S. economy. In line with this, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that the U.S. construction business accounts for as much as 13% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) (Goodrum & Gangwar, 2004). Since the U.S. construction industry contributes a lot to the economic success of the country, there is a strong need to examine the socio-economic impact of having a high number of workplace accidents and fatalities and ensure that the safety incentive programs implemented in the U.S. construction industry is effective enough to protect the health and safety of the U.S. construction workers. Even though the U.S. construction companies has long time been implementing workplace health and safety programs as required by the OSHA, there are still a lot of U.S. construction companies that encounters serious problem concerning the health and safety of its employees while being deployed in their assigned construction sites. In order to overcome this problem, the proposed research study will determine the degree in which the U.S. construction companies are implementing safety incentive programs as a way of enhancing the effectiveness of its health and safety programs. To enable the U.S. construction companies have a better idea on how to solve this problem, it is crucial for this study to identify and examine and design the best safety incentive program by going through the socio-economic advantages and disadvantages of each existing safety incentive program. Related Literature Review Importance of Workplace Safety Programs in Reducing the Number of Workplace Accidents and Deaths Through the provision of training, outreach, education, and assistance, the United States Department of Labor established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure the safety of engineers and construction workers in the United States (United States Department of Labor, 2010b). As part of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Plans, OSHA implemented the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 which focuses on encouraging the stakeholders to participate in the development and implementation of job safety and health programs in each state (United States Department of Labor, 2010c & 2010d). Because of problems regarding engineering and construction safety practices in the United States, the number of construction workers who died from building casinos, condos, and hotels has been very disturbing (Berzon, 2008b). As the result of OSHA’s efforts to ensure a safe and healthy working environmental condition for construction workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the number of fatal work injuries between 2007 and 2008 has declined by 20% from 5,657 in 2007 down to 5,071 in 2008 (United States Department of Labor, 2009a). Despite OSHA’s effort in enhancing the workplace safety, the number of fatal work injuries throughout the United States remained high. Based on the cross-sectional telephone survey that was conducted by Runyan et al. (2006), 19 out of 187 construction workers were younger than the age of 16 years old and 84% of the research participants between the age of 16 to 17 years old has participated in at least one prohibited task whereas 47% participated in 3 or more prohibited tasks. A portion of the U.S. construction workers is composed of the growing number of immigrants (Nissen, Angee, & Weinstein, 2008). Since immigrants are less knowledgable with regards to the OSHA’s guidelines and employees’ rights to have a safe working environment, it is less likely for this group of construction worker to report any forms of work safety irregularities straight to OSHA. Since some of the U.S.-based construction companies violate the guidelines set by the OSHA regarding work hazards and workplace safety, it becomes difficult to control and reduce the annual number of fatal work injuries particularly within the U.S. construction industry. In relation to the importance of workplace safety programs in terms of reducing the number of workplace accdients and deaths, the research study that was conducted by Hilyer et al. (2000) revealed that a union-initiated safety training program could lead to the improvements in workplace safety. This is the primary reason why there are some companies today that are working together with the labour unions in order to improve the working environment condition and safety of its employees. Upon examining issues related to the duration, intensity, and interaction between the trainor and a group of employees when transfering knowledge related to the strategic ways on improving workplace health and safety measures, Kramer & Cole (2003) revealed that it is equally important to establish a strong positive relationship between the workplace safety trainors and the construction workers when discussing the importance fo using personal protective equipments and other related employer safety practices (Nissen, Angee, & Weinstein, 2008; Kramer & Cole, 2003). Types of Safety Incentive Programs, Its Significant Role, and Impact in Enhancing the End-Result of Implementing Workplace Safety Measures OSHA fines can put any construction companies out of business (Lang, 2006). Implemented by the top management down to the low ranking construction workers, there are several types of safety incentive programs being used in the U.S. construction industry to encourage more employees to strictly observe the compliance with OSHA work safety guidelines. In general, the implementation of safety incentive program should start from the top management down to lower rank position to enable the construction workers have a better understanding with regards to the safety goals and incentives set by the construction owners and managers. Under safety incentive program called “Rewarding and Challenging Employees for Profits in Masonry (RACE)”, Lang Masonry Contractors is using monetary incentive as a strategy to improve the company’s workplace safety goals which includes “no lost time workdays” and “No OSHA violations”; such that the safety manager will receive a total of US$1,000 incentive each quarter provided that the company’s safety goals are met whereas the safety committee group responsible for ensuring that each of the construction workers oblige with the safety rules particularly with reards to the use of safety equipments like hard hats, steel toed boots, safety glasses and respirators will be given US$300 per quarter provided that the company’s goal with regards to the use of safety equipments is met (Lang, 2006). Walter (2010) discussed three ways in which monetary incentives can be applied in safety incentive programs known as the linear piece-rate system, tournament-based bonus system, and a target-based scheme which is adopted by Lang Masonry Contractors (Walter, 2010; Lang, 2006). In relation to the use of pay-for-performance schemes as part of safety incentive programs, a recent study that was conducted by Ryerson University and the University of Guelph researchers revealed that the use of monetary reward as incentive in improving the work safety issues in construction companies could only tempt employees to cheat by misrepresenting the quarterly report on safety performance of the construction companies (Walter, 2010). Although monetary incentive can be used as part of the safety incentive programs designed for U.S.-based construction companies, it remains a challenge on how the company could reduce the risk of deception out of using of this type of reward option. Another type of safety incentive program is called the “safety jackpot program” wherein construction workers who actively participate and observe the workplace safety measures as implemented by the construction company will be given a “scratch-off cards” (Safety Jackpot, 2010). The reward card will enable each of the construction workers the opportunity to win gift certificates, debit cards, imprinted merchandises, bingo or cash rewards. As one of the advantages of using the scratch-off safety and accident prevention incentive program, construction workers who are employed with construction companies using this type of safety incentive program are more likely to develop work environment safety awareness. On the other hand, there are also some U.S. construction companies are also using free travel packages for construction employees who exert extra effort to improve the safety performance of the company (Travel Around, 2010). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stated that construction companies can make use of the three types of strategies in promoting a positive work safety behavior in construction sites. These strategies include: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment (Health and Safety Executive, 2002, p. 5). In relation to the use of rewards in safety incentive programs, Kohn (1993, p. 27) stated that “all rewards, by virtue of being rewards, are not attempts to influence or persuade or solve problems, but simply to control”. It means that the use of pure monetary reward does not guarantee improvements in the workplace safety of the U.S. construction workers. Since the long-term effects of using safety incentive programs remains unclear, OSHA is inspecting the effectiveness of these programs in terms of improving the construction safety performance. Upon conducting a primary research study on this matter, Gangwar & Goodrum (2005) revealed that the effectiveness of implementing safety incentive programs gradually reduces in the long run. Research Methodology Proposed Research Design A couple of U.S.-based construction company located close to where the researcher is residing will be chosen to complete the requirements of the proposed research study. Based on the research questions presented in this study, the researcher will formulate two sets of questionnaires which will be used in the actual quantitative and qualitative survey and the personal interview with a couple of managers who are personally handling the safety incentive programs of US-based construction companies. A semi-structured interview questionnaire will be used as a template to ensure that all necessary questions will be asked during the personal interview. The expertise of at least 2 individuals working on the safety incentive programs of U.S.-based construction companies is needed to provide us with necessary information concerning the effectiveness of implementing safety incentive programs over the company’s quarterly safety performance. As part of selecting a qualified interviewee, the manager should have at least 3 years work experience in designing and implementing safety incentive program for a construction company. In case this requirement is not met, the researcher will select another U.S.-based construction company until the said requirement is met. Focusing on the two selected qualified construction companies, a total of 100 construction workers will be invited to participate in the research survey study as qualified survey respondents. To avoid getting a bias result, 50 construction workers for each company will be invited to participate in the study. In line with this, gathering at least a total of 100 research respondents is necessary to avoid getting a biased quantitative research result. Needed Resources, Instrumentation, and Data Collection For the primary research study, a semi-structured questionnaire will be used to guide the interviewer in the process of going through the actual interview with the two selected qualified managers who are directly involved in the development and implementation of safety incentive program for U.S.-based construction companies. Another set of research survey questionnaire will be designed to enable the researcher have a better understanding with regards to the effectiveness of the safety incentive programs used by each of the two qualified interviewees. For the secondary research study, some of the most recently published peer-reviewed journals and news reports will be used in composing the literature review portion of this study. Population and Sample Data Population and sample data for this study is composed of two (2) managers who are directly involved in the development and implementation of safety incentive program for U.S.-based construction companies and a total of 100 construction workers. Conducting a personal interview with a couple of managers who has the expertise with regards to the development and implementation of safety incentive programs will provide the researcher an idea with regards to their personal opinion behind their preferred safety incentive technique. In line with this, the qualified interviewee should have at least 3 years of working experience in the development or implementation of health and safety programs for construction companies. Managers with less than 3 years of experience in this field will be automatically disqualified in the research interview process. Staying focused on the two selected U.S.-based construction companies, a total of 50 construction workers from each company will be invited to participate in the research survey study. The quantitative and qualitative research survey result will enable the researcher to have an idea how each of the safety incentive programs developed and implemented by each of the two qualified interviewees has been effective in terms of minimizing the risk of workplace accidents, physical injury, and absenteeism at work. Planned Method of Analysis The quantitative research survey results will be analyzed using simple statistics on excel software. It is important to analyze the quantitative and qualitative research findings with the best of the researcher’s ability to prevent bias result. For this reason, the gathered quantitative and qualitative study results will be analyzed together with the gathered literature review in order to minimize the risk of bias conclusion. Through the use of the Internet and library resources, the secondary data collection that will be used in this study will be composed of related academic journals and the most current news reports. Basically, gathering the most up-to-date news report will enable the researcher determine the real-life situation with regards to the development and implementation of safety incentive program. Conclusion The hypothesis of the proposed research study assumes that designing a universally applicable safety incentive program with the U.S. construction industry is effective enough to control and prevent workplace related accidents, injuries, and death rates. To be able to verify the accuracy and validity of the research hypothesis, the proposed research method will be used in determining whether or not U.S.-based construction companies should spend capital resources to fund the designing a universally applicable safety incentive program to reduce workplace accidents that could result to serious physical injuries and deaths. In the process of analyzing the proposed research study result, specific ways in which the designing and implementation of safety incentive programs could benefit the U.S. construction companies by saving on medical expenses, unnecessary overtime pay, and short- or long-term physical disabilities as a result of workplace accidents will be tackled in details. Proposed Time Schedule The proposed research study will be completed within the time span of six (6) months. In line with this, the following schedule will be used as a guide throughout the completion of the research study: Events 1 Conduct related literature review   2 Design & print research interview questionnaire     3 Contact & set appointment with 2 experts from U.S.-based construction companies     4 Design & print research survey questionnaire       6 Set Appointment w/ two U.S.-based companies & Conduct Actual Research Survey Study       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Week Events 6 Set Appointment w/ two U.S.-based companies & Conduct Actual Research Survey Study   7 Analyze Interview Results     8 Tally & Analyze the Research Survey Findings     9 Finalize Research Findings       16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Week Research Ethics As part of the research study, it is ethical to personally seek the approval of the two randomly selected qualified interviewee and the qualified 100 research survey respondents followed by explaining to them the main purpose of the study. When conducting the interview, interviewer should keep in mind that a strategic questioning is highly correlated to the accuracy and validity of the survey results. It means that data that has been collected through an interview process and other data gathering techniques such as the actual research survey should always be appropriate to the research question of the study. For this reason, it is necessary for the interviewer to carefully prepare the type of questions to be asked with the interviewee and research respondents. With regards to data gathering, it is ethical not to include misrepresented data gathered in the measuring of data results. For example: There is a possibility that some respondents would give a bias answer by answering both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ for a specific question. When similar bias answer occurs, it is best not to include the data entry from the official statistical measurements. Instead, the researcher should take note or mention it on the research and data analysis section that such error has occurred in the research process. With regards to the analysis and interpretation of the gathered primary information, the researcher will analyze the qualitative research findings together with the gathered secondary data. This will minimize the risk of gathering bias result. In the process of finalizing the research study result, it is ethical to keep the identity of the company, the two research interviewees, and the rest of the 100 research survey respondents as confidential. Therefore, the names of the companies, interviewees, and research survey respondents will not be specified in the final research study report. Research Study Budget Throughout the six (6) months time schedule, the budget for the proposed research study is US$500. With the proposed budget for the study, a large portion will be allocated for food allowances followed by internet access, travel expenses, and printing expenses. (See Table I – Proposed Research Study Budget below) Table I – Proposed Research Study Budget References Berzon, A. (2008a, March 30). Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved June 23, 2010, from Construction Worker Deaths on the Strip: Pace is the new peril. Amid pressure to finish massive projects, 9 men have died in 16 months: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/mar/30/construction-deaths/. Berzon, A. (2008b, April 1). Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Construction Worker Deaths on the Strip: ‘Not in this city Safety engineer says fundamental change impossible in build-crazy Vegas: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/apr/01/not-city/. Gangwar, M., & Goodrum, P. (2005). Types of Safety Incentive Programs and Its Significant Role and Impact in Enhancing the End-Result of Implementing Workplace Safety Measures. Construction Management and Economics , 23(8), 851-859. DOI: 10.1080/01446190500184527. Goodrum, P., & Gangwar, M. (2004). Safety Incentives: A study of their effectiveness in construction. Professional Safety , 24-34. Health and Safety Executive. (2002). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Strategies to promote safe behaviour as part of a health and safety management system. In Lessin, N. & ONeil, R. (eds) "BS ALERT: BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY SCHEMES WARNING" Hazards Magazine: http://www.hazards.org/bs/badbehaviour.htm#references. Hilyer, B., Leviton, L., Overman, L., & Mukherjee, S. (2000). A Union-Initiated Safety Training Program Leads to Improved Workplace Safety. Labor Studies Journal , 24(4), 53-66. DOI: 10.1177/0160449X0002400403. Kohn, A. (1993). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Punished By Rewards. In Lessin N. & ONeill R. (eds) "BS ALERT: BEHAVIOURAL SAFETY SCHEMES WARNING" Hazards Magazine: http://www.hazards.org/bs/badbehaviour.htm. Kramer, D., & Cole, D. (2003). Sustained, Intensive Engagement to Promote Health and Safety Knowledge Transfer to and Utilization by Workplaces. Science Communication , 25(1), 56-82. DOI: 10.1177/1075547003252334. Lang, D. (2006, April). Masonry Construction. Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Achieve safety goals through incentive pay: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTA/is_4_19/ai_n16130574/. Las Vegas Sun. (2010, June 23). Retrieved June 24, 2010, from Construction Deaths: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/topics/construction-deaths/. Nissen, B., Angee, A., & Weinstein, M. (2008). Immigrant Construction Workers and Health and Safety. Labor Studies Journal , 33(1), 48-62. DOI: 10.1177/0160449X07312075. Runyan, C., Dal Santo, J., Schulman, M., Lipscomb, H., & Harris, T. (2006). Work Hazards and Workplace Safety Violations Experienced by Adolescent Construction Workers. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine , 160(7), 721-727. . Safety Jackpot. (2010). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Safety Jackpot Program Overview. The Scratch-off Safety & Accident Prevention Incentive Program: http://www.safetyjackpot.com/programoverview.html. Travel Around. (2010). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Construction Safety Incentive Program: Workers: http://www.travelround.com/SafetyIncentivePrograms.html. U.S. Department of Labor. (2010c). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from State Occupational Safety and Health Plans: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html. United States Department of Labor. (2009a, August 20). Retrieved June 23, 2010, from Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2008: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm. United States Department of Labor. (2010b). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from About OSHA: http://www.osha.gov/about.html. United States Department of Labor. (2010d). Retrieved June 22, 2010, from State Plan Occupational Safety and Health Acts & Statutes: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/statestatutes.html. Walter, L. (2010, May 20). EHS Today. Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Study: Employees More Likely to Cheat with Bonus-Based Incentives Programs: http://ehstoday.com/safety/incentives/employees-more-likely-cheat-bonus-based-incentives-7462/. Read More