Applying TQM Principles in Safety Management A Study on the Effectiveness of Total Safety Management
Li Sai Kwan
Abstract
In the light of Total Quality Management (TQM) principles, some safety management theorists have drawn an
analogy and put forward different Total Safety Management (TSM) models in hope of achieving a major lapforward
in safety management. However, sharing the same drawbacks of TQM, the theoretical base of Total
Safety Management (TSM) has not been adequately explained. Moreover, the effectiveness of TSM in improving
safety performance is largely unexplored. This article re-interprets TQM principles in safety management terms
and investigates the correlation between TSM principles and safety performance through conducting a survey in
Hong Kong construction industry. Survey results indicate that some of the proposed TSM principles have a
positive association with safety performance.
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