Title: Assessment of the resilience of safety management systems in the Algerian construction sector

Authors: Youcef Oussama Fourar; Mébarek Djebabra; Leila Boubaker

Addresses: Laboratory of Research in Industrial Prevention (LRPI), Institute of Health and Safety, University of Batna 2, Fesdis 05078, Batna, Algeria ' Laboratory of Research in Industrial Prevention (LRPI), Institute of Health and Safety, University of Batna 2, Fesdis 05078, Batna, Algeria ' Laboratory of Research in Industrial Prevention (LRPI), Institute of Health and Safety, University of Batna 2, Fesdis 05078, Batna, Algeria

Abstract: Traditional safety approaches (safety-I) promote the idea that safety arises from preventing adverse events. This is considered as insufficient to succeed in a complex and uncertain environment such as the construction sector. Therefore, the purpose is to assess SMSs capabilities within the framework of resilience engineering in the Algerian construction sector. For this, a cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted using the resilience assessment grid (RAG) questionnaire that assesses SMSs resilience in terms of four abilities (i.e., respond, monitor, learn and anticipate). The questionnaire was distributed to OHS professionals belonging to 31 construction companies operating on a national scale in Algeria. Findings showed that problematic resilience abilities for the Algerian construction sector were the ability to learn and to anticipate. Areas for improvement were highlighted, such as the focus on collaborative planning, the implementation of decentralised monitoring mechanisms and operationalising of continuous improvement principles.

Keywords: safety management system; SMS; resilience engineering; resilience assessment grid; RAG; construction.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBCRM.2024.140576

International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management, 2024 Vol.14 No.3, pp.287 - 304

Received: 29 Dec 2023
Accepted: 21 Feb 2024
Published online: 27 Aug 2024 *

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