TY  - CONF
TI  - Safety as an Emergent Property of the Production System: How Lean Practices Reduce the Likelihood of Accidents
AU  - Mitropoulos, Panagiotis
AU  - Cupido, Gerardo
AU  - Namboodiri, Manoj
AD  - Assistant Professor, Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ, 85287- 0204. Email: takism@asu.edu.
AD  - Previously graduate assistant, Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ, 85287-0204. Email: gcupido@periniwest.com
AD  - Graduate assistant, Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ, 85287- 0204. Email: manoj.namboodiri@asu.edu.
ED  - Pasquire, C.L, Christine L.
ED  - Tzortzopoulos, Patricia
PY  - 2007
DA  - 2007/07/18
T2  - 15th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction
C3  - 15th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction
CY  - East Lansing, Michigan, USA
SP  - 282
EP  - 293
AB  - The current approach to accident prevention does not account for the effect of work practices on the likelihood of accidents. This paper addresses the question “How do the production practices, and particularly lean practices, affect the likelihood of accidents in construction operations?” First we propose that the production system affects the likelihood of accidents in two ways: (1) by generating (or preventing) situations with increased task demands (increased potential of accident), and (2) by affecting the workers’ ability to cope with these situations (capabilities) and avoid errors. Then, we review the production system factors (technical and social) that influence the likelihood of accidents. The effect of production practices was examined through an exploratory field study of framing operations. The case study compared the production practices of a High Performance crew (in terms of productivity and safety) with the practices of an average performance crew. The evidence indicates that a focus on reducing uncertainty, errors and rework (practices consistent with lean production practices) and matching skills to task demands increased productivity while reducing the likelihood of accidents.
KW  - Safety management
KW  - Accident prevention
KW  - Production management
L1  - https://www.iglc.net/papers/details/512/pdf
UR  - https://www.iglc.net/papers/details/512
DB  - IGLC.net
LA  - English
N1  - Export date: 04 October 2026
ER  -