Situation awareness approach to construction safety management improvement

Situation Awareness (SA) improves decision-making and performance in complex, dynamic environments by enhancing ambient awareness of the system-user. Until now, SA has not been considered as a potential method of improving job-site safety in construction. The purpose of this study is to provide a conceptual model of situation awareness approach to construction safety management. Developing construction management methods and support systems that centre on SA requirements can improve safety managers' decision-making processes. This study applies the Goal Directed Cognitive Task Analysis (GDTA) technique to obtain the Construction Safety Manager’s information requirements. These SA requirements lay the foundation for future role-based decision support systems that will assist construction personnel in decision making in dynamic environments such as the construction job-site.