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Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168

www.elsevier.com/locate/ssci

Towards occupational health and safety systems

in the construction industry of China
S.X. Zeng a,*, Vivian W.Y. Tam b, C.M. Tam c
a
Antai School of Management, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200052, PR China
b
Griffith School of Engineering, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, PMB50 Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia
c
Department of Building and Construction, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Received 12 January 2007; received in revised form 2 August 2007; accepted 24 August 2007

Abstract

Occupational health and safety (OHS) in the construction industry are of grave concern around the world. Some con-
struction firms have implemented their own safety management systems attempting to improve construction safety; how-
ever, the implementation of a new international standard: Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS)
18001 is not commonly adopted in the industry. This paper examines the implementation of OHS management systems
and the OHSAS 18001 in the construction industry. Questionnaire surveys and structured interviews were conducted. It
is found that the OHS status in the construction industry is not satisfactory based on data of recorded accidents from
construction activities over the past three years. With regard to the operation of the OHSAS 18001 standard, it is suggested
to integrate it with the ISO 9001 quality management system to streamline the process. Based on the similarity and
compatibility of the ISO 9001 and the OHSAS 18001, it is believed that an integrated management system could avoid
duplication of effort and reduce resource inputs.
Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Occupational health and safety; OHSAS 18001; Integrated management system; Construction

1. Introduction

Construction safety is of grave concern around the world due to its unique nature (Behm, 2005; Fang et al.,
2004; Kartam et al., 2000). To improve it, some countries such as Australia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom
have enacted legislations regulating safety working practices on site (Low and Pong, 2003). Owing to the advo-
cacy of self-management approach, some construction firms have actively begun to seek effective safety manage-
ment systems (Herrero et al., 2002; Jannadi and Bu-Khamsin, 2002; McVittie et al., 1997; Tam et al., 2001).
The standard on Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001:1999 offers a good
framework for safety in construction operations. The OHSAS 18001 specifies requirements for an organization

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 21 52302563; fax: +86 21 62932977.
E-mail addresses: zengsaixing@163.com (S.X. Zeng), v.tam@griffith.edu.au (V.W.Y. Tam), bctam@cityu.edu.hk (C.M. Tam).

0925-7535/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2007.08.005
1156 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168

to control its occupational health and safety (OHS) risks to improve its performance (BSI, 1999; Pun et al.,
2003). It should be noted that the OHSAS 18001 does not set out specific OHS performance criteria, nor pro-
vide detailed specifications to design management systems. It is important that organizations should: (i) estab-
lish OHS management systems to minimize risks to its employees and other interested parties; (ii) implement,
maintain, and continuously improve OHS management systems; (iii) assure itself of its conformance with its
stated OHS policy; (iv) demonstrate these conformances; (v) seek certifications/registrations of its OHS man-
agement systems by an external organization; and (vi) make self-determination and declaration of conformance
within specifications (Hale et al., 1997; Low and Pong, 2003; Matias and Coelho, 2002).
However, construction firms are found not vigorously seeking the OHSAS 18001 certification compared
with that of ISO 9001 quality management system (Zeng et al., 2002) as revealed from the following figures.
The number of ISO 9001 certified organizations has reached 129,985 by June 2004, in which construction firms
account for 14,187 (10.9%) and are ranked third (CNAB, 2004). There are 2113 organizations certified under
the OHSAS 18001, which includes 96 construction firms only (4.5%).
The lack of interest from construction firms on the OHSAS 18001 could be resulted from various factors;
e.g., lack of experience. Hence, this paper attempts to investigate the reasons behind and the impacts of the
OHSAS 18001 on Chinese construction firms. The main objectives of the paper are:

(i) To evaluate the OHS status in the construction industry;

(ii) to examine people’s attitude towards the implementation of OHSAS 18001; and
(iii) to explore benefits and difficulties in integrating the OHSAS 18001 and ISO 9001 management systems.

2. Survey

To investigate the existing status in implementing the OHSAS 18001 safety management system in the Chi-
nese construction industry, a questionnaire survey is conducted. The contents of the questionnaire focus on:

 evaluation of the OHS status in the construction industry;

 exploration of behavior and OHS management measures of construction firms;
 evaluation of OHS legal support in construction;
 exploration of attitude towards the OHSAS 18001 implementation;
 demand for the OHSAS 18001; and
 evaluation of benefits and difficulties in integrating the OHSAS 18001 and ISO 9001 management systems.

Before designing the questionnaire, 12 senior managers charged with safety management responsibility
were interviewed. Then the structured questionnaires were sent to senior management representatives of about
200 ISO 9001 certified construction firms in China and those listed in the Dictionary of Certified Enterprises of
China National Accreditation Board for Certifiers (CNAB, 2004). About 76 completed questionnaires were
received with the response rate of about 38%.
The reason for sending the questionnaire to ISO 9001 certified companies to investigate the implementation
status of OHSAS 18001 is that it is very uncommon for construction firms to seek certification of OHSAS
18001 in China as revealed from the discussions with the senior managers.
After receiving the questionnaires, individual structured interviews were arranged with eight respondents.
The interviews were intended to further gather comments, and elaborate and interpret the questionnaire
results to compensate for the limitation of the low response rate.

3. Profile of firms in the survey

As stated, all the respondents were ISO 9001-certified, in which 21 firms (28%) were awarded the certificate
in the last five years, 47 firms (62%) within three to five years, and 8 firms (10%) less than three years. Some
ISO 9001-certified construction firms have embraced safety management in their quality management systems
and they can perform OHS management with some understanding of the OHSAS 18001.
 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168 1157

From the 76 construction firms, 11 firms (14%) are OHSAS 18001-certified; 43 firms (57%) claimed that
they were familiar with the OHSAS 18001; and the other 22 firms (29%) thought they understood it.

4. Results and analysis

4.1. OHS status in the construction industry

Table 1 summarizes the survey results of the existing OHS status in the construction industry.
From Table 1, about 60% of the respondents highlight that the existing status of OHS in the construc-
tion industry is not satisfactory. From the interview, one of the interviewees explained that four main types
of pollution (i.e. air, noise, waste and water) generated on construction sites had seriously affected labors’
health (Mohamed, 1999; Spangenberg et al., 2003). Another interviewee noted that health hazards affecting
construction equipment operators include: (a) vibration to body, (b) awkward postural requirements, (c)
dust, (d) noise, (e) temperature extremes, and (f) shift work. Some serious accidents are fatal to the work-
ers including falling from height, electrocution, hit by falling materials and collapse of earthwork (Larsson
and Field, 2002; Müngen and Gürcanli, 2005; Yassin and Martonik, 2004). In China, the construction
safety record is inferior to most international standards. In 1999, about 923 site accidents above Grade
IV (Note: Regulations on Procedures for Reporting and Investigation into Serious Accidents in Construc-
tion was issued by the Ministry of Construction of China in 1989; according to the regulations, accidents
on construction sites are classified into four grades) were recorded at countryside construction sites, where
about 1,097 construction workers lost their lives (China Statistical Yearbook of Construction, 2000; Tam
et al., 2004).
From the survey results, it is clear that the existing OHS situation is not satisfactory. About 40% of the
respondents explain that ‘‘low health and safety awareness” is the major reason for the existing poor safety
performance, which is also supported by the survey by Tam et al. (2004). Further, most interviewees
argued that safety awareness was the most important factor affecting construction site safety in China.
‘‘Poor safety awareness of firm’s top leaders” and ‘‘poor safety awareness of project managers” are ranked
first and third respectively in the survey, which simply explains that they do not consider the importance of
safety and thus it affects the safety performance. In addition, there are about 32% opted ‘‘no stringent legal
enforcements” as the major factor. The discussions in this section are associated with the analysis given in
Section 4.4.
As discussed, it should be highlighted that the existing OHS status in the Chinese construction industry is
unsatisfactory. On-site safety performance is poorly performed for most construction and demolition projects.
Air pollution is the most common problems in China, which brings significant health problems to workers
such as pneumoconiosis. One of the main reasons for the low safety performance is the low safety awareness
among organizations, and thus insufficient resources including on-site safety equipment and facilities are
provided.

Table 1
OHS status in the construction industry and the reasons
Item Response Number
Status of OHS in the construction industry Satisfactory 21 (28a)
Average 9 (12)
Not satisfactory 46 (60)
Others 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
Reasons Low health and safety awareness of firms 31 (40)
No stringent legal enforcements 24 (32)
Lack of firm input on health and safety 6 (8)
Others 15 (20)
Total 76 (100)
a
Figures in brackets are in percentage.
1158 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168

4.2. Behavior on occupational health and safety management

Table 2 depicts the behavior of firms on occupational health and safety management which is measured
with respect to: (i) whether there have been health and safety accidents over the past three years; (ii) methods
used to tackle problems if there were accidents; and (iii) whether the firm had been punished.
With respect to OHS accidents, about 58% of the respondents declare that they have recorded occasional
accidents in the past three years. Although about 42% of the respondents claim that they hitherto have no
OHS accidents recorded, in fact, it does not mean that there are no accidents but might be due to the fact that
some firms would rather compensate the victims than reporting the accidents, especially for minor accidents.
From the interview, the interviewees noted that there were a large number of peasant-workers in the Chinese
construction industry, who had received limited education and were unskilled, untrained, and inexperienced.
If they were injured, they would not have effective channels to protect their right.
About 89% of the respondents agree that they will consciously tackle them if there are OHS accidents.
About 11% of the respondents proclaim perfunctory in handling the accidents.
About 12% of the respondents claim that they have been punished due to OHS accidents. The interviewee
explained that the most commonly occurred punishments are warnings, fines and suspension of construction
work. All punished respondents indicated that the punishment they received was light, which reflected that the
existing legal enforcement cannot effectively protect the victims.

4.3. Measures for OHS management

Table 3 summarizes the survey results on measures used for OHS management.
From Table 3, all respondents consider that their firms provide systematic rules on OHS management.
From the interview, the interviewee claimed that documented procedures for safety management on construc-
tion sites were part of their existing procedural ‘‘product realization” (Clause 7) in ISO 9001:2000.
About 94% of the respondents indicate that their firms always (28%) and occasionally (66%) provide OHS
training to their employees. Only about 6% of the respondents acknowledge that they never provide any train-
ing to their labors. The interviewees suggested that sub-contractors should undertake OHS training, under
whom most of the construction work is undertaken. One of the interviewees suggested training to workers
is difficult due to the transient nature of construction workforce. In fact, a small number of construction work-
ers have undergone training. Statistics reveal that only about 3% of construction workers have been trained
and certified; about 7% trained under short-term programs; and about 90% without any training (Zhang,
2001).

Table 2
Behavior of firms on OHS management
Item Response Number
Whether there have been any health and safety accidents in the firm in the past three years? Always 0 (0a)
Occasionally 44 (58)
No 32 (42)
Others 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
How to tackle problems if there are such accidents? Conscientiously 68 (89)
Perfunctorily 8 (11)
Pay no attention 0 (0)
Others 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
Whether the firm had been punished due to these accidents? Yes 9 (12)
No 67 (88)
Others 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
a
Figures in brackets are in percentage.
 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168 1159

Table 3
Measures for OHS management
Item Response Number
Whether the firm has rules on OHS management? Systematic 76 (100a)
Not systematic 0 (0)
No 0 (0)
Others 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
Whether the firm provides training on OHS? Frequent training 21 (28)
Occasional training 50 (66)
No 5 (6)
Others 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
Whether the firm employs staff to manage OHS? Full time staff 67 (88)
Part time staff 9 (12)
No 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
a
Figures in brackets are in percentage.

The effectiveness of training to improve construction safety has been advocated. From the interview, the
interviewees highlighted that training programs could help firms in effectively carrying out various activities,
establishing a positive safety attitude, and integrating safety with the construction and quality goals. In fact,
the level of education and training for labors is a very important factor during the OHS implementation pro-
cess. One of the interviewees claimed that some accidents such as ‘‘falling from height” and ‘‘hit by falling
materials” in construction could easily be prevented from implementing training programs to their employees
(Tam et al., 2004).
About 88% of the respondents indicate that their firms have full time staff in charge of the OHS manage-
ment, and about 12% have part time staff. From the interview, the interviewee highlighted that protection of
labor from OHS diseases and accidents was defined by law in the China; i.e. construction sites having about 50
employees or more, main contractors have to nominate a full time safety inspector on site; for sites exceeding
10,000 m2 there must be at least 2 safety inspectors on site; wherever the sites exceed 50,000 m2, the main con-
tractor has to establish a safety management team (Tam et al., 2004).

4.4. OHS legal support

The strong legal system is a prerequisite of effective OHS management. Table 4 shows the survey results on
the current legal system on OHS management.

Table 4
Evaluation of legal system on OHS in construction
Item Evaluation of respondents Number
Act and regulations Systematic 21 (28a)
Average 41 (54)
Not systematic 10 (13)
Others 4 (5)
Total 76 (100)
Legal enforcement Stringent 5 (6)
Average 28 (37)
Not stringent 43 (57)
Total 76 (100)
a
Figures in brackets are in percentage.
1160 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168

From Table 4, about 28% of the respondents agree that China has a systematic legal framework regulating
OHS management. From the interview, the interviewees highlighted that the Chinese government had made
great effort in enacting laws on OHS management in recent years to improve the OHS management.
About 13% of the respondents suggest that act and regulations are not systematically defined. The intervie-
wees claimed that most regulations did not contain explicit clauses defining the action and standards of
performance.
Moreover, about 94% of the respondents indicate that legal enforcement is average (37%) and not stringent
(57%). From the interview, the interviewees highlighted that the administration units of the provincial govern-
ment still held considerable legal implementation powers. Violation of OHS laws was often punished by fines
rather than legal actions. Strict legal enforcements need to be awaited for the improvement of the Chinese legal
framework.
In general, strict legal enforcement is effective in changing people’s mindsets. If the government enforces
safety management for all projects, all contractors will take extra attention in the implementation of safety
systems. One of the interviewees argued that the government should initiate proactively the spread of knowl-
edge and advocate the importance of safety work place.

4.5. Attitude towards OHSAS 18001 implementation

Table 5 summarizes the survey results on the implementation of the OHSAS 18001.
From the 65 non-OHSAS 18001-certified firms, about 38 firms (58%) suggest that they would not seek cer-
tification of the OHSAS 18001 in the near future. Although the other 27 firms (42%) feel that they have inten-
sion to adopt the standard, they would rather adopt a wait-and-seek attitude. From the interview, the
interviewees highlighted that ISO 9001 implementation is the most attractive international standard for con-
struction firms (Chini and Valdez, 2003). Another interviewee explained that ISO 9001-certification could
enable them to bid for tenders as the ISO 9001 is becoming a mandatory requirement for bidding public pro-
jects in the Asian construction markets. Therefore, with the initiation from top management, most organiza-
tions put extra attention and resources to obtain certification of ISO 9001 quality management system. Most
organizations are also aware of the importance of the OHSAS 18001. One of the interviewees noted that one
of their senior project managers foresaw the future potential mandatory requirement of OHSAS 18001 certi-
fication for tendering. This organization has employed five employees to develop a safety management depart-
ment to control and to improve on-site safety performance. The interviewees also claimed that construction
firms must complete projects in scope, on schedule, and on budget. If clients only routinely focus on
safety records of construction firms at the ‘‘pre-qualification” or ‘‘request for proposal” stages on a procure-
ment process, construction firms with a successful safety program and a good safety performance can enjoy

Table 5
Evaluation on implementing the OHSAS 18001
Item Evaluation of respondents Number
Whether the firm plans to implement OHSAS 18001? To plan to implement the standard 27 (42a)
Have no plan to implement the standard 38 (58)
Total 65 (100)
Whether OHSAS 18001 should be made mandatory for the construction industry? Compulsory implementation 15 (20)
Voluntary implementation 42 (55)
No necessary at all 19 (25)
Others 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
Is it necessary to integrate OHMAS 18001 with ISO 9001? Necessary 71 (93)
Not necessary 5 (7)
Others 0 (0)
Total 76 (100)
a
Figures in brackets are in percentage.
 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168 1161

sustainable competitive advantages. Under this circumstance, this can encourage construction firms to imple-
ment the OHSAS 18001.
About 20% of the respondents considered that the implementation of the OHSAS 18001 should be a man-
datory requirement for the construction industry. However, about 25% of the respondents think that it is not
necessary to implement the OHSAS 18001. From the interview, the interviewees pointed out that the imple-
mentation of the ISO 9001 system had embraced the OHS management. Furthermore, one of the interviewees
highlighted that the mandatory implementation and certification of OHSAS 18001 can help force organiza-
tions to input more resources including equipment, facilities and labor for improving on-site safety perfor-
mance. Another interviewee also opined that after the initial mandatory implementation that can improve
the industrial safety awareness, organizations can then enjoy a better safety performance in the long-term.
Otherwise, no organizations will take their first step. This highlights the importance of a mandatory certifica-
tion system for OHSAS 18001.
About 93% of the respondents claim that the OHSAS 18001 should be integrated with the ISO 9001 system.
The OHSAS 18001 is a specification used to develop, to maintain and to improve OHS management systems.
One of the interviewees highlighted that the OHSAS 18001 standard was compatible with the standards of the
ISO 9001:1994 quality management systems; both can be combined to facilitate the integration of quality and
OHS management systems (BSI, 1999). However, an interviewee noted that although the updated version of
ISO 9001:2000 and OHSAS 18001:2007 provide similar requirements for the integration, the implementation
of the two systems is still hard to be combined and administered.

4.6. Reasons for integrating ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001

Fig. 1 summarizes the survey results for the reasons of integrating the ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 man-
agement systems.
Fig. 1 shows that about 58% of the respondents believe that the similarity of the ISO 9001 and the OHSAS
18001 is the main reason for the integration. One of the interviewees claimed that the ISO 9001 and the
OHSAS 18001 management systems contained similar documentation procedures which could be used by
organizations to integrate and to improve management performance. There are several requirements that

Others(5%)
Similarity (58%)

Compatibility (37%)

Fig. 1. Reasons to integrate the ISO 9001 and the OHSAS 18001 management systems.

Table 6
Principles and relationship of quality and safety management systems
Safety Quality
Objective: zero accidents Objective: zero defects
Analysis of incidents Analysis of events
Documenting the politics of safety, the procedures and the Documenting the politics of quality, the procedures and the instructions
instructions of work
Safety committees Quality circles
Participation of the workers Participation of the workers
Statistical analysis Statistical control of the process
All accidents and injuries could be prevented The not conformities could be prevented
Source: Manzella (1997).
1162 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168

Table 7
Comparison between ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 standards
ISO 9001:2000 OHSAS 18001:1999
1 Scope 1 Scope
2 Normative reference 2 Reference publications
3 Definitions 3 Terms and definitions
4 Quality management system 4 OH&S management system elements
4.1 General requirements 4.1 General requirements
5.1 Management commitment 4.2 OH&S policy
5.3 Quality policy
8.5 Improvement
5.4 Planning 4.3 Planning
5.2 Customer focus 4.3.1 Planning for hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control
7.2.1 Determination of requirements related to the
product
7.2.2 Review of requirements related to the product
5.2 Customer focus 4.3.2 Legal and other requirements
7.2.1 Determination of requirements related to the
product
5.4.1 Quality objectives 4.3.3 Objectives
5.4.2 Quality management system planning 4.3.4 OH&S management programs
8.5.1 Continual improvement
7 Product realization 4.4 Implementation and operation
7.1 Planning of product realization
5 Management responsibility 4.4.1 Structure and responsibility
5.1 Management commitment
5.5.1 Responsibility and authority
5.5.2 Management
6.2.2 Competence, awareness and training 4.4.2 Training, awareness and competence
5.5.3 Internal communication 4.4.3 Consultation and communication
7.2.3 Customer communication
4.2 Documentation requirements 4.4.4 Documentation
4.2.1 General
4.2.2 Quality manual
4.2.3 Control of documents 4.4.5 Document and data control
7 Product realization 4.4.6 Operational control
7.1 Planning of product realization
7.2 Customer-related process
7.2.1 Determination of requirements related to the
product
7.2.2 Review of requirements related to the product
7.3 Design and development
7.3.1 Design and development planning
7.3.3 Design and development outputs
7.3.4 Design and development review
7.3.5 Design and development verification
7.3.6 Design and development validation
7.3.7 Control of design and development changes
7.4 Purchasing
7.4.1 Purchasing process
7.4.2 Purchasing information
7.4.3 Verification of purchased product
7.5 Product and service provision
7.5.1 Control of product and service provision
7.5.2 Validation of process for production and service
provision
7.5.3 Identification and traceability test records
7.5.4 Customer property supplied product
7.5.5 Preservation of product
8.3 Control of non-conforming product 4.4.7 Emergency preparedness and response
(continued on next page)
 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168 1163

Table 7 (continued)
ISO 9001:2000 OHSAS 18001:1999
8 Measurement, analysis and improvement 4.5 Checking and corrective action
7.6 Control of monitoring and measuring devices 4.5.1 Performance measurement and monitoring
8.1 General
8.2 Monitoring and measurement
8.2.1 Customer satisfaction
8.2.3 Monitoring and measurement of process
8.2.4 Monitoring and measurement of product
8.4 Analysis of data
8.3 Control of non-conforming product 4.5.2 Accidents, incidents, nonconformance and corrective and
preventive action
8.5.2 Corrective action
8.5.3 Preventive action
4.2.4 Control of records 4.5.3 Records and records management
8.2.2 Internal audit 4.5.4 Audit
5.6 Management review 4.6 Management review
5.6.1 General
5.6.2 Review input
5.6.3 Review output

Source: Annex A, B of ISO 9001:2000.

are common for the two management systems, and there is notorious similarity between the general require-
ments of the ISO 9001 and the OHSAS 18001, namely: system requirements, leadership (management respon-
sibility), management of resources, management of processes, system implementation, and monitoring and
measuring. The two sets of standards contain a common underlying principle: continuous improvements
based on Deming’s cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act). Hence, the two sets of standards share the same structure,
and are composed on the basis of that cycle. System documentation, records, policies, planning, responsibility,
implementation, operational control, communication, verification, audits, conformity, continuous improve-
ments and prevention are specific requirements that are common to both standards (Matias and Coelho,
2002).
Some previous researchers defend the idea of integrating occupational risk prevention management systems
with quality management systems. Susana et al. (2002) noted that programs of quality and safety shared the
same components. They concluded that ‘‘safety is a dimension of quality, after everything, the elimination of
defects includes the elimination of unsafe work practice”.
Herrero et al. (2002) showed that there were three stages in safety management systems which were safety
control, safety assurance or guarantee and total safety, which are similar to procedural steps of quality man-
agement (i.e. quality control, quality assurance, and total quality).
Manzella (1997) affirmed that to obtain excellent safety results, integrating of the safety management sys-
tem with the quality management system was required. They claimed that quality and safety management
principles were essentially the same as that shown in Table 6.
In addition, about 37% of the respondents choose compatibility as the second major reason for the integra-
tion. The OHSAS 18001 has been developed to be compatible with the ISO 9001 to facilitate the integration of
quality and OHS management systems in organizations. The OHSAS 18001 supports a systematic manage-
ment of risk incurred by workers/employees/collaborators under different working conditions. In fact, a
change has been made in ISO 9001:2000 version towards emphasizing Human Factors, with the introduction
of a new concept of ‘‘working environment”. The importance of human resources and the working environ-
ment for producing quality products is explicitly emphasized. Consequently, the quality management systems
of organizations should systematically be integrated with the OHS management systems. Structures of the
OHSAS 18001 are developed to foster compatibility with that of the ISO 9001 quality management system.
This compatibility facilitates the integration of the two systems, since each contribute to part of the overall
management goal, despite their differences (Matias and Coelho, 2002). Comparisons of the two standards
are summarized in Table 7.
1164 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168

4.7. Benefits in implementing an integrated management system (IMS)

Fig. 2 summarizes the survey results on the benefits in the integration of the ISO 9001 and the OHSAS
18001 management systems.
The results show that about 47% of the respondents consider that an integrated management system can
avoid duplication of procedures; about 35% think that an integrated system can reduce requirements for
resources; and about 11% believe that the IMS can reduce conflict of procedures. Benefits of the IMS have
also been reported in other literature (Shen and Walker, 2001; Wilkinson and Dale, 1999; Herrero et al., 2002).
During the interview, an interviewee noted that his company started integrating ISO 9001 and OHSAS
18001 three years ago and the number of accidents had been significantly reduced. They had not recorded
any accidents for the last three years and the cost of system implementation had been significantly reduced
by about 40%.

4.8. Difficulties in implementing the IMS

Difficulties in implementing the IMS can be grouped under internal and external barriers. Internal barriers
are obstacles arisen within the firms which prevent or impede IMS implementation or its adoption. The inter-
nal barriers are classified into five main categories (Zeng et al., 2006): (i) human resources; (ii) understanding
and perception; (iii) organizational structure; (iv) company culture; and (v) others. External barriers are obsta-
cles arisen outside the firms which prevent or impede IMS implementation from its adoption. The external
barriers are classified into five main categories (Zeng et al., 2006): (i) certifying bodies; (ii) stakeholder and
customers; (iii) institutional environment; (iv) technical guidance; and (v) others.
Traditionally, organizations have separate and competing staff groups to handle different management sys-
tems, which easily results in organizational conflicts. In addition, coordination from top leaders to employees
is very important in implementing the management systems. The leaders must personally be involved in com-
municating the company’s goals and plans and in motivating and rewarding employees. Top management
must be seen by the rest of the employees to be totally committed and involved. Its support and commitment
are thus essential for the integration process to be initiated, completed and subsequently maintained within
organizations. The managers consequently need to recognize that for the integrated system to be implemented
and maintained, they must continuously push it forward. Negative corporate attitude towards the IMS and
any unfavorable company culture, often cited in organizations, conspire to deprive the IMS implementation
process. When quality and OHS management systems exist as two parallel systems, the quality and OHS man-
agement systems are focused respectively, which results in cultural incompatibility in organizations.
Although the scopes of quality and safety system audits are different, the procedure is almost identical.
After identifying the auditing objectives, roles and responsibilities of all parties involved, the audit is initiated,
the scope is defined, and an audit plan is prepared. Subsequently, audit, reports and records executed by audi-
tors or audit teams are submitted to clients, and appropriate follow-up actions are taken. Not to integrate
them will certainly cause unnecessary waste of resources. Apart from the focus on the overall system improve-
ment, joint audit systems will bring cost savings, better allocation and deployment of human, material and

Avoid duplication of
Others (7%) procedures (47%)

Reduce conflict of
procedures (11%)
Reduce requirements of
resources (35%)

Fig. 2. Benefits of integrating ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 management systems.
 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168 1165

information resources, as well as a unified problem solving approach that will increase efficiency and effective-
ness of other interlinked systems.

4.9. Supports needed for implementing the IMS

Fig. 3 summarizes the survey results on the supports required for the implementation of the integrated ISO
9000 and OHSAS 18001 management systems.
The results show that about 48% of the respondents need technical guidance. The interviewees noted
that although the IMS started to be advocated, there is scarcity of its actual implementation experience.
Only five of the seventy-six respondents integrated their ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 management sys-
tems. However, they claimed that they had difficulties in the integration of quality and OHS management
systems by using a single department at the beginning of their implementation. An interviewee suggested
that consulting organizations should provide adequate technical guidance to contractors for the
integration.
About 27% of the respondents expect support from the certifying bodies, which had to face the demand to
conduct joint certifications. About 16% of the respondents feel that it is important to obtain support from
customers. Moreover, about 9% of the respondents expect support from their employees. The ISO 9001
and the OHSAS 18001 standards require all working procedures to be traceable and auditable. An interviewee
who had implemented the integration suggested that if a firm planned to implement the IMS, it was indispens-
able for the employees to be trained with a good understanding of the new system.
In practice, it is not easy for construction firms to implement the IMS. Some researchers developed dif-
ferent approaches for the integration. For example, Wilkinson and Dale’s (2002) developed ‘total quality
model’. Rahimi (1995) suggested integrating the strategic planning (long-term) of safety inside total quality
management. A conceptual frame is developed to include concepts of strategic safety management and self-
managed teams. One of the characteristics of Rahimi’s model is the integration of safety and quality man-
agement teams. The idea includes integrating teams with workers from several levels: (a) people with
enough experience to design and to supervise physical components of the working environment (for exam-
ple machines, teams and facilities, and buildings) and (b) people able to plan, to organize, to direct, and to
control actions that need to be carried out. These working teams do not eliminate authorities from top
management but they provide additional tools for continuous improvement. These working teams have
to begin integrating, so that top management and workers have enough time to adapt to the new rules.
An interviewee suggested that the working teams should begin by working on small pilot projects and then
move forward to adopt new organizational structures (Rahimi, 1995).
Karapetrovic and Jonker (2003) analyzed a ‘system model’ for the integration. They indicated that
using a system approach could lead towards the formulation of a set of ‘ingredients’ necessary for the
establishment of the IMS in an organization. These ingredients are the common elements of function-spe-
cific management system standards that are harmonized under generic IMS framework. The system model
for IMS contains five ingredients: (i) determination of goals; (ii) system planning and designing; (iii) acqui-
sition and deployment of resources; (iv) system implementation; and (v) system evaluation and
improvement.

Support from
Support from employees (9%) Technical
certifying bodies (27%)
guidance (48%)

Support from
clients (16%)

Fig. 3. Support and needs for the implementation of integrated management systems.
1166 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168

Planning Define corporate vision

Senior and mission Organizational
stage
management resources,
leadership Develop company constraints and
and initiatives goals and objectives priorities

Situational
Process Identify critical process analysis and
diagnosis and and factors and competitive
performance formulate strategies benchmarking
analysis and plans

Integration Incorporate quality Incorporate safety

system elements system elements
stage
(e.g. ISO 9001) (e.g. OHSAS18001)

Evaluation and Integrate Total Quality Operation, finance,

assessment criteria Management markets and legal
requirements considerations

Installation People training and Establish an IMS Quality/safety

stage education culture

Documentation Measure results and People

control evaluate achievements involvement

Recognition and Standardize procedures Management

reward systems and practices reviews

Reinforce continuous
Feedback and
improvement
system refinement

Fig. 4. Three stages of safety-focused quality management model (source: Pun and Hui, 2002).

Pun and Hui (2002) proposed a process model of safety-focused quality management (SQM) based primar-
ily on the total quality management philosophy and compliance requirements of the ISO 9001 and the OHSAS
18001:1999 standards. The model has three processing stages: planning, integration and installation (see
Fig. 4).
In the planning stage, corporate vision and mission of an organization need to be established. The vision
indicates where the organization wants to go and the mission shows why a function is important to the orga-
nization. Safety/quality goals and objectives need to be clearly set, so that everyone is aware of the desired
results.
In the integration stage, the organization needs to document policies and procedures in combining quality
and safety management into a single system.
In the installation stage, top management commitment, training and education, documentation control and
audit govern the adoption of the system.
In general, each approach for integrating management systems has different advantages and disadvantages.
It is also evident that there is no ‘best approach’ for every conceivable situation. For firms, the most important
issue is to design a suitable and effective IMS based on their own characteristics.
 S.X. Zeng et al. / Safety Science 46 (2008) 1155–1168 1167

5. Conclusion

To improve construction safety, some construction firms have begun to seek effective management systems.
The standard on Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001:1999 offers a good
framework for construction firms to follow. However, construction firms are found not vigorously seeking
the OHSAS 18001 certification. This paper has examined the occupational health and safety (OHS) status
in the construction industry, explored behavior and OHS measures of construction firms, and evaluated levels
of legal support for OHS in construction. Questionnaire surveys and structured interviews were conducted. It
has been found that construction organizations have not satisfactorily met the existing OHS status. This can
be reflected from a large number of recorded accidents in the past three years and lenient legal enforcement. In
addition, it is suggested that the OHSAS 18001 system should be integrated with the ISO 9001 quality man-
agement system. One of the main reasons for the integration is the similarity and compatibility of the ISO 9001
and the OHSAS 18001. It is believed that an integrated management system could avoid duplication of effort
and reduce the resources input.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the very helpful comments and suggestions given by Editor Professor
Hale and two anonymous referees. This study is sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (No. 70772067) and the Shuguang Planning of Shanghai Education Development Foundation.

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