Sherif Mohamed

Purpose: Despite substantial efforts to improve safety leadership, the traditional safety leadership approach and practices may be insufficient to achieve a sustained level of employees’ safety compliance. Safety compliance is not only driven by individual leadership behaviors but also shaped by dynamic interactions, feedback loops and interdependent processes that evolve over time. Therefore, complexity science principles (CSP) have been proposed to address the limitation of conventional leadership behaviors in promoting safety compliance at the workplace. This paper aims to examine the interactive effects of safety leadership and CSPs on the level of safety compliance in the oil and gas industry. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using questionnaires from 173 oil and gas projects. The structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used to analyze the collected data. Findings: The results indicated that (1) three dimensions of safety leadership (i.e. empowering and engaging; modeling and reinforcing; and promoting and enabling) have significant and positive effects on safety compliance; and (2) five CSPs partially mediate the positive effects of safety leadership dimensions on safety compliance. The results support that more effective safety leadership behaviors via one or more CSPs entail higher levels of safety compliance. Originality/value: The findings of this study contribute to the knowledge of safety management by providing empirical evidence to clarify the positive effects of selective safety leadership behaviors on safety compliance and the mediating role played by various CSPs. Suggestions are also provided for workplace safety researchers and practitioners to achieve sustained improvements in safety compliance.

This study delves into the dynamics between Agile Response to Change (AR), Adaptive Scoping (AS), Stakeholder Engagement (SE) and Project Performance (PP), with a special focus on the moderating influence of Project Complexity (PC). The research, grounded in a thorough literature review, identifies critical gaps in these areas and examines the extent to which PC moderates the effects of AR, AS and SE on PP, offering new perspectives for managing complex projects. The research develops a conceptual model based on a critical analysis of existing literature. A comprehensive questionnaire was designed, incorporating 28 items to measure AR, AS, SE, PP and PC. Data was collected from 136 project managers across various industries, and the responses were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) to explore the complex interplay between these variables. The analysis revealed that internal AR (ARint) significantly enhances both quantitative (PPqt) and qualitative aspects of PP (PPql). AS and SE were found to positively influence PPql, but their impact on PPqt was not significant. Interestingly, PC was observed to negatively moderate the relationship between ARint and PPql, while its moderating effect on the relationship between ARint and PPql was not significant. The study also notes that PC does not significantly alter the positive correlations between AS, SE and PPql. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by elucidating the relationships between ARint, AS, SE and different dimensions of PP. It uniquely explores the role of PC as a moderating variable in these relationships, offering valuable insights for practitioners and researchers in the field of complex project management.

The Australian Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) Summit in 2018 attracted much-needed national attention towards environmental goals and targets compared with other aspects of sustainability. Road infrastructure is the backbone of modern society and plays a crucial role in accomplishing a targeted balance between these aspects of sustainability and achieving the SDGs. This article presents an integrated sustainability performance assessment methodology that acts as a decision support tool. A series of two conceptual modelling techniques—drivers—pressure—state—impact—response (DPSIR) and system dynamics (SD)—is employed, with the cause-and-effect relationships of the sustainability indicators developed utilising the DPSIR framework, and a quantitative analysis carried out through a subsequent SD model. The end result is the generation of a Sustainability Performance Index (SPI) for road infrastructure created by analysing the SD model and DPSIR index layer relationship. The benefits and applicability of the proposed methodology are validated through case study analysis. The overall aim is to determine restricting factors and response strategies influencing road infrastructure and transport sustainability performance during the operation and maintenance phase. Thus, a significant contribution is made through the proposed methodology for assessing factors influencing the long-term achievement of the SDGs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought global economies to a standstill and created challenges for a variety of sectors, including housing, building and infrastructure. Many business and government organisations have experienced some form of supply chain disruption—either through suppliers going offline, a sudden spike in demand or both. While embedding sustainability in procurement is a powerful tool for bringing about positive change in an organisation’s supply chains, this global pandemic has had a myriad of impacts on these procurement processes. Through focus group discussions with industrial practitioners and government decision makers from the Australian built environment sector, this study presents their lived experiences related to COVID-19 impacts on sustainable procurement. The emergent themes are: (1) the effects of COVID-19 on sustainable procurement, (2) the rapid development of reactive procurement responses and (3) levers for post-COVID-19 sustainable procurement. In order to learn from the challenges related to COVID-19, both government and industry need to re-assess their supply chain risks and determine the supply chain design that will deliver the most resiliency in the event of another large-scale disruption. There are several key levers, including developing reliable, transparent and local supply chains, leveraging innovative tools and digital engineering approaches, creating a coalition between government and industry and assessing risks at multiple levels. This study is the first of its kind to evaluate the COVID-19 impacts on sustainable procurement in the Australian building and construction industries. Government and industry practitioners can immediately apply these actionable recommendations to overcome the impacts of the pandemic and other disruptions on sustainable procurement activities.

The roles of all levels of management in influencing safety, particularly in a complex work environment, are crucial. Therefore, safety managers need to develop leadership competencies (i.e., effectiveness in terms of person-oriented behaviours) to reinforce their influencing capabilities through their safety responsibilities. However, practising leadership behaviours without considering how and when these behaviours should be executed is not enough. Therefore, this paper develops a personal leadership competency model by adopting the Systems Thinking approach. The model was developed by conducting exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis of three behavioural leadership competencies (emotional, social and cognitive) selected to fulfil the holistic view of Systems Thinking. Data were collected via self-administered questionnaire surveys. A total of 180 valid responses were received from construction managers responsible for overseeing site safety. The statistical results revealed three factors belonging to emotional competency—achievement orientation and adaptability, positive outlook, and emotional self-control. Regarding social competency, four factors represented it—teamwork, organisational awareness, coach and mentor, and conflict management. Finally, cognitive competency was found to be formed by two factors—interaction recognition and pattern recognition. All nine identified factors should, in combination, help safety managers to achieve a better understanding of themselves, of others and of their worksite environments.

Climate change presents challenges for road infrastructure asset managers, with uncertainty about the impacts of increasingly frequent and intense disasters on asset functionality and lifespan. Budgeting for disaster response and recovery is improving; however, there are calls for more evidence to support budget allocations. This exploratory study aimed to create a systematic approach for integrating climate-related disaster risks within road asset evaluation, towards improving the evidence-base for capital works and maintenance budgets. It involved a systematic literature review of 63 research papers about resilient road infrastructure, followed by sense-checking key findings through eight semi-structured interviews with road asset management experts from the Australian government and industry. The authors present a set of 15 parameters for evaluating road infrastructure resilience, within four commonly used asset management categories: robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness and rapidity. These are placed within a disaster management planning framework for resilient road infrastructure outcomes, with the key parameters matched to the commonly used disaster management phases of ‘Prevent, Prepare, Respond, Recover’. The parameters and the framework have immediate use for road infrastructure asset managers, providing clear decision-support regarding what data are important to collect and analyse and at what time, to inform capital works and maintenance budgets.

This paper provides an examination of direct and mediated relationships among occupational stressors (responsibilities towards family and living environment), mental health (anxiety and depression), fatigue (physical and mental fatigue), and safety behaviour (safety compliance and safety participation). In this cross-sectional study, data were collected by means of a questionnaire among oil and gas workers (foreign employees working at a remote oil and gas field site located in Kuwait), during a two-month period (November–December 2018). Regression analyses (bivariate and hierarchical), carried out on 387 responses, were employed to test the links between occupational stressors, mental health, fatigue, and safety behaviour in the hypothesised model. The results provide support for the direct relationship in the model, in that both responsibilities towards family and living environment predicted safety behaviour participation. Further, the results provide partial support for the mediated relationships in the model, as mental health and fatigue were found to mediate the relationship of responsibilities towards family and living environment with safety participation behaviour. It is concluded that occupational stressors have a negative effect on safety behaviour, while mental health and fatigue can operate as risk factors. Given this, it is recommended that organisations need to enhance remote oil and gas workers’ safety behaviour by encouraging them to effectively balance their stress, mental health, and level of fatigue. This can be achieved by actions such as promoting spirituality, boosting workers’ resilience, providing recreational facilities and encouraging communications.

Linear infrastructure such as roads, railways, bridges and tunnels enable critical functionality within and between metropolitan and regional cities and towns, facilitating the movement of goods and services, as part of vibrant, thriving economies. However, these asset types are typically challenged by costly asset management schedules and continually eroding maintenance and refurbishment budgets. These challenges are compounded by the increasing frequency and intensity of disruptive events such as fire, floods, and storm-surge that can damage or destroy property. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG-9) highlights the urgent need for enabling evidence-based decision making for infrastructure asset management (IAM). Around the world, digital engineering (DE) efforts are underway to streamline the capture, processing, and visualization of data for IAM information requirements, towards timely and evidence-based decision support that enables resilient infrastructure outcomes. However, there is still limited understanding about which IAM information can be digitized and the types of tools that can be used. This study sought to address this knowledge gap, through reviewing the extent of available and emerging linear infrastructure related DE technologies and their IAM information requirements. A systematic literature review elicited 101 relevant conceptual and empirical papers, which were subsequently evaluated with regard to the extent and characteristics of digital infrastructure asset management tools. Findings are discussed using three themes that emerged from the analysis: (1) DE tools and their IAM asset information requirements; (2) Interoperability and integration of DE tools across IAM platforms; and (3) Application of DE tools to enable resilient linear infrastructure outcomes. A ‘Digital Technology Integration Matrix’ is presented as an immediately useful summary for government and industry decision-makers, particularly in the field of disaster management preparedness and recovery. The Matrix communicates the synthesis of tools and likely end-users, to support effective data gathering and processing towards more timely and cost-effective infrastructure asset management. The authors conclude with a research roadmap for academics, including recommendations for future investigation.

Purpose: The large number of stakeholders in a project is a source of complexity because their inter-relationships can lead to complex interactions, an inadequate understanding of the other stakeholders and conflicting stakeholder interests. Although several studies have investigated the role and effects of engaging stakeholders in improving project success, studies examining the relationships between stakeholder engagement (SE) and quantitative and qualitative project performance (PP) in complex projects (CPs) have been limited. This study empirically examined the relationships between SE and project performance within complex and non-CP contexts.Design/methodology/approach: The study used an extensive literature review to develop the conceptual model. The study identified 22 factors of measuring SE and project performance’s association within the context of CPs. The literature review followed by a questionnaire survey to collect data from quantifying the relationships. One hundred forty-four responses were received from project managers in different locations. The response data were subjected to structural equation modelling analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the measurements model.Findings: The current study generated several key findings. In the context of CPs, SE was found to negatively affect quantitative PP but to positively and significantly affect qualitative PP. In non-CPs, SE also positively affects qualitative PP. Further, in the context of CPs, SE negatively affects schedule performance, whereas no significant relationship was found between the two variables in non-CPs. In terms of cost performance, no significant relationship was observed between SE and cost performance for either group.Originality/value: This research provides insight into differences in the relationship(s) between SE and PP in non-complex and CPs. The research also makes recommendations for project team members.