An exploratory study into the implementation of safety management systems of Malaysian contractors in processing plants

The accident rate in the Malaysian construction industry is among the highest compared to other developing countries. The Malaysian government has recommended the self-regulation of safety management systems (SMS) for construction projects with the hope of improving the situation; however, the readiness of the local contractors to implement this is questionable. There are many issues involved in implementing SMS. Failures are still common despite advances in the SMS approach. Little has been written on the views of contractors in processing plants about the issue they have with SMS implementation. Therefore, an investigation of SMS implementation can help to identify the problems encountered by contractors. This research sought to develop a theory not only about what the issues are, from the contractors’ perspective, but also how these issues appear in and may affect the outcomes of SMS implementation. In Stage One, the researcher explores the existence and availability of SMS among Malaysian contractors working in processing plants through the distribution of a survey questionnaire. In Stage Two, the researcher explores the issue and underlying problems of SMS implementation in depth through semi-structured interviews with 13 respondents. An adapted grounded theory analysis, following the original Glaser and Strauss (1967) philosophy, was used to analyse the data extracted from the interviews. The findings of this research appear to show that many obstacles encountered by contractors are interlinked, including cultural factors, working conditions and the organisational process. These factors have formed the underlying root causes of ineffective SMS implementation: the misperception of safety responsibility is responsible for the poor communication and training during the SMS implementation process. The findings were then plotted into a model. It is hoped that the findings of this research will lead to effective SMS implementation. The result of this study will be of particular interest to the stakeholder and policymaker. A series of practical recommendations are presented at the end of the thesis.