Abstract
Safety management is an essential part of running a business among SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) in the construction industry, but a large proportion of SMEs are faced with inadequate financial and organizational resources and have limited safety management capacity. Improving the safety performance of SMEs could therefore be crucially important.
In this study, a questionnaire survey of actual condition of safety training was developed and administered to plumbing contractors who had completed safety training classes. Key findings from the questionnaire were as follow: 1) construction workers appeared to be less likely to take part in safety training classes and their level of understanding was not sufficient.; 2) self-employed craftsmen, employees of micro enterprises (fewer than 5 workers employed), and experienced workers received less safety training; 3) small scale construction enterprises did not effectively use case studies related to workplace accidents; 4) Sub-subcontractors might not undergo suitable safety training due to lack of information about measures to prevent recurrence of workplace accidents; 5) the classes were not properly understood though they were supposedly delivered in easy and clear manner; 6) participants from an old age group might not fully understand the classes; 7) safety education led by contractors was an effective way to enhance the awareness of the importance of workers' safety in SMEs; 8) safety promotion activities at each worksite and worksite support by administrative division were essential part of the accident prevention and safety measures; 9) an excess of confidence in workplace safety led workers to bad-decision making in safety activities if the enterprises could not meet the high safety standards.
