Construction Safety Personnel at a Crossroads: Challenges and Organisational Interventions in Malaysia

Abstract

Construction safety personnel are responsible for translating statutory requirements and organisational policies into daily site practices, yet their effectiveness depends on the resources, authority and cooperation available to them. This study examined the challenges encountered by construction safety personnel and identified organisational interventions that could strengthen their performance in the Malaysian construction industry. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 54 construction practitioners with safety-related knowledge, experience or responsibilities in Penang, Malaysia. The questionnaire measured four domains using a seven-point Likert scale: current safety-compliance conditions, challenges affecting safety personnel, organisational interventions and expected safety outcomes. Data were analysed using frequencies, mean scores, standard deviations and Cronbach’s alpha. Limited resources ranked first among the assessed challenges (mean = 5.20), followed by communication and language barriers (mean = 5.17). Adapting to technological advancements and balancing safety with productivity were jointly ranked third, with both recording a mean of 5.15. Clear roles and responsibilities and training and education were jointly ranked as the most strongly supported interventions, with both recording a mean of 5.56, followed by technology adoption (mean = 5.43) and leadership support (mean = 5.39). Prevention of accidents, proactive hazard mitigation and control, and timely hazard identification and risk assessment were jointly ranked as the leading expected outcomes, with each recording a mean of 5.70. Internal-consistency coefficients ranged from 0.981 to 0.992, indicating highly consistent responses, although these values may also reflect similarity among some questionnaire items. Drawing on these results, the study proposes an exploratory conceptual framework for role realisation that organises the identified factors into role inhibitors, role stimulators, and pessimistic and optimistic organisational conditions. The framework provides a structured interpretation of the descriptive findings rather than a statistically tested causal model. The findings indicate that the organisational contribution of safety personnel may be strengthened through clear authority, adequate resources, continuing competency development and management support. The study provides context-specific evidence from construction practitioners in Penang and establishes a basis for wider investigation across the Malaysian construction industry.