Health and safety communication strategy in a Malaysian construction company: A case study

The accident statistics for the construction industry remain high when compared to other industries. This is not surprising given the fragmented nature of this industry and the involvement of multiple stakeholders in a project. Poor communication on health and safety (HandS) related issues has been identified as a major cause of incidents/accidents and is recognized as a key challenge to construction practitioners. Such communication typically gets diluted as it goes down the chain of command from top management to the project team. The aim of this paper is to report on the actual implementation and administration of HandS communication of a Malaysian construction company targeted at both internal and external stakeholders. The intrinsic case study approach is adopted to provide an in-depth analysis of the HandS communication model. The types of HandS communication, challenges and communication channels of this construction company is discussed. This paper will be of interest to construction practitioners including project managers, contractors, subcontractors and property developers.