Improving construction industry safety standard through audit: Shassic assessment tools for safety

Construction industry plays a prominent role in the Malaysia's economy. However, it is well known that construction projects have many work related accidents. The activities of construction often take place outdoor under conditions not conducive for safety and health. In Malaysia, several efforts had been initiated by government to prevent occupational safety and health problems in construction site. This study reports the various strategies have been planned and implemented that included in Building Construction Master Plan. It contains enforcement, standardization, training and promotion to monitor occupational safety and health performance at all level of construction. This background eventually has inspired and gave the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia the initiative to introduce Safety and Health Assessment System in Construction (SHASSIC) with the main objective to assess and evaluate safety and health performance in construction projects. As the construction industry hungers for an effective safety management on construction sites, SHASSIC is believed to have the necessary ingredients in measuring safety, and at the same time improving safety performance on site proactively. The elements and contents of SHASSIC are further explored. They have their own role and function to contribute SHASSIC as an effective safety and health performance tool. Understanding the whole concept of SHASSIC is vital for safety management in every company levels toward fulfilling the industry's needs in having a proactive safety performance measurement tool.