IGLC 10 · Gramado, Brazil · 2002
Working Near the Edge: A New Approach to Construction Safety
- Executive Director, Lean Construction Institute, Box 1003, Ketchum, ID 83340. 208/726-9989. ghowell@leanconstruction.org
- Research Director, Lean Construction Institute, 4536 Fieldbrook, Oakland Ca. 510/530- 8656. gballard@leanconstruction.org
- Assistant Professor, 207 Farrall Hall, Construction Management Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1323. tabdelha@msu.edu
- Ph.D., Process Improvement Coordinator, Menlo Park, CA, 94025. takism@earthlink.net
Abstract
Construction safety has substantially improved, but has reached a plateau. Further improvement will come from spreading Best Practice throughout the industry, or from Breakthrough that transcends Best Practice. We are working on Breakthrough and propose that what is needed is a new theory of accidents. Current Best Practice is described along with its underlying theoretical assumptions. An alternative theory is proposed, based on the work of Jens Rasmussen, a leading thinker on risk management in dynamic environments. A research program is proposed to test that theory and to develop a new approach to safety management.
Keywords
- Accident
- accident theory
- decision making
- hazard
- risk
- safety
Cite this paper
APA 7th edition
Howell, G. A., Ballard, G., Abdelhamid, T. S., & Mitropoulos, P. (2002). Working Near the Edge: A New Approach to Construction Safety. In C. T. Formoso, & G. Ballard (Eds.), 10th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (pp. 49–60).
Shortened reference for IGLC papers
Howell, G. A., Ballard, G., Abdelhamid, T. S., & Mitropoulos, P. (2002). Working Near the Edge: A New Approach to Construction Safety. IGLC10.