The Relationship Between Safety Climate and Safety Performance in Large-Scale Building Construction Industries in Ethiopia

This study examines the relationship between safety climate and safety performance in large-scale construction sites in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,203workers from 22 large-scale construction sites. The Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire was administered using interviews. A model was hypothesized to determine the interrelations between safety climate and performance; examined and validated using confirmatory factor analysis. The results show that the mean score of the seven safety climate dimensions was low: 2.70, ranging from 2.33 to 3.08. Similarly, the mean score of the safety performance construct was 2.95 for safety participation and 3.58 for safety compliance. The model predicts a strong positive correlation between safety climate and the safety performance constructs with 29.2% of the variance in safety involvement and 28.6% of the variance in safety compliance. The suggested association between self-reported injuries and safety climate was not confirmed. Nonetheless, a Pearson correlation analysis demonstrates a statistically significant negative correlation with safety climate. In conclusion, a low score for all the safety climate dimensions shows safety in the construction sector needs improvement. Safety climate positively influences employees’ safety behavior (safety compliance and safety participation) and minimizes occupational injuries.