A dynamic perspective on the integrated design and construction decision making to improve construction work health and safety

Research in construction has identified considerable benefits in integration of construction expertise and knowledge into early project decision making. Improved constructability and work health and safety (WHS) have been frequently highlighted among other benefits. Research evidence has suggested that early-stage collaboration and effective interaction within and between design and construction participants are vital to make construction process knowledge accessible to design decision makers. Nevertheless, effective interaction still seems to be a problem in practice and in many cases, the efforts to promote collaborative interactions have failed to cope with the complex and dynamic nature of the design process. A study was undertaken to explore the way in which the interactions between design and construction decision makers impact on the quality of design decisions and WHS outcomes. Social network analysis (SNA) was applied to explore the patterns of interaction between project participants. Unlike the previous applications in construction, which have largely been cross-sectional, a longitudinal SNA approach was adapted. Key design decisions were identified and the patterns of interactions between participants were mapped and analysed at each decision point. The results revealed changing social networks over the decision making period. Furthermore, improvement in WHS-related design outcomes was observed as participants with relevant construction knowledge joined the social networks and contributed to the decision making. Through this study, a realistic understanding of the role of information exchanges in supporting integrated design and construction decision making was facilitated. The findings suggest that project teams need to understand, proactively design and maintain interaction networks that support effective decision making, particularly in the context of constructability and WHS improvement approaches such as 'safety in design'.