Abstract
Safety knowledge appears to be ‘a doing’. In construction work safety is practised in the complex
interrelationship between the individual, pair and gang. Thus the aim is to explore the nature and scope of
individualist and collectivist preferences pertaining to the practice of safety at a construction site. An
ethnographic fieldwork, in which the researcher worked as an apprentice, will provide detailed and experiencenear
insights into the complexity of these processes. Findings show that individualist and collectivist
preferences influence the amount of risk the individual worker will assume and expose workmates to. Aspects
such as self-regulation, self-confidence and independence are acceptable values only to the extent that they do
not pose a threat to the solidarity of the community or safety of other workers. The informal practice of safety
is a tight-rope act that involves balancing the form and scope of these preferences.
interrelationship between the individual, pair and gang. Thus the aim is to explore the nature and scope of
individualist and collectivist preferences pertaining to the practice of safety at a construction site. An
ethnographic fieldwork, in which the researcher worked as an apprentice, will provide detailed and experiencenear
insights into the complexity of these processes. Findings show that individualist and collectivist
preferences influence the amount of risk the individual worker will assume and expose workmates to. Aspects
such as self-regulation, self-confidence and independence are acceptable values only to the extent that they do
not pose a threat to the solidarity of the community or safety of other workers. The informal practice of safety
is a tight-rope act that involves balancing the form and scope of these preferences.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | Construction Management and Economics |
| Vol/bind | 27 |
| Udgave nummer | 10 |
| Sider (fra-til) | 949-957 |
| Antal sider | 9 |
| ISSN | 0144-6193 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 2009 |