A Systematic Review of Effects of Occupational Health and Safety in Southeast Asian Construction Industry

Patricia Widjaya¹, Funmilayo Ebun Rotimi¹

1. Auckland University of Technology

Published in Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE 2024), edited by Ali GhaffarianHoseini, Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini, Farzad Rahimian and Mahesh Babu Purushothaman. Springer Nature, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, volume 591, 2025, pages 204 to 215. DOI 10.1007/978-981-96-4051-5_20.

Abstract

Health and safety in construction have undergone significant developments over the years, resulting in a range of methods to improve it. However, the situation is contrary in numerous developing countries. Despite significant economic development, the construction sector in Southeast Asia is underdeveloped in many respects, including Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). The challenge is that health and safety considerations are neglected and the implementation of safety measures during the construction phase is perceived as a liability, reflected in the number of occupational accidents and fatalities in these countries. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to explore the significant influence of OHS on the quality of projects and their stakeholders within the construction industry in Southeast Asia, ultimately providing advantages to both the companies involved and the broader community. The study adopted a systematic literature review (SLR) to analyses the findings through the lens of the significant effects of implementing OHS. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on 58 peer-reviewed English-language articles published between 2010 and 2023. Each OHS study highlights the ‘effects’ of OHS implementation in the construction industry. The review demonstrates that the proportion of issues related to human factors is significantly greater than the other factors, which from a project point of view, could point to the underlying causes. There is also a lack of research into the ‘effects’ of OHS practices. This study presents valuable insights into this issue that will guide future research endeavours at developing safety measuring methods suitable for Southeast Asia’s construction industry.

Keywords

Session

Presented in Track B, Friday 8 November 2024, 11:00 to 13:00, room WA 224 B, Auckland University of Technology. Session chair Assoc. Prof. Pernille Christensen.

How to Cite

Widjaya, P., & Rotimi, F. E. (2025). A Systematic Review of Effects of Occupational Health and Safety in Southeast Asian Construction Industry. In A. GhaffarianHoseini, A. GhaffarianHoseini, F. Rahimian, & M. B. Purushothaman (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE 2024) (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol. 591, pp. 204–215). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4051-5_20

About the Conference

Presented at SASBE 2024, the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, held in Auckland from 7 to 9 November 2024 and chaired by Professors Ali and Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini, founders of GDI Academy. The version of record is published by Springer Nature; this page is the conference archive record kept by GDI Academy.