Hazard Recognition and Risk Perception Skills among Union Electricians

Abstract

Although most safety guidelines and standards put hazard recognition as the first step of risk management, researchers found that only 6.7% of construction foremen could identify all the site hazards. Regarding construction safety and training, much research has shown that lack of hazard recognition could be attributed to familiarity with the task and being desensitized to the associated risks. The primary objective of this research was to assess hazard recognition and safety risk perception skills in the electrician trade among electricians in unions. Journeymen and apprentices were given photos of leading hazards in this trade. Each individual was asked to find hazards in the photographs and, once they were finished, they were asked to assess the risk associated with each photo. Hazard recognition and risk perception results were compared with those of subject matter experts. The results showed that both apprentices and journeymen were unable to identify an acceptable number of hazards when benchmarked to the experts’ expectations. The results also showed that journeymen were unable to perceive risks, compared with subject matter experts’ expectations. The primary contribution to the body of knowledge is the establishment of an evaluation process of hazard recognition and risk perception, as well as demonstration of the gap in outcomes of safety training programs. With the findings of this effort, electrical unions can understand existing hazard recognition and risk perception abilities and gaps of their apprentices and journeymen.