Background: The study was conducted

Background: The study was conducted to investigate the current status of the occupational health and
safety management system (OHSMS) in the construction industry and the effect of OHSMS on accident
rates. Differences of awareness levels on safety issues among site general managers and occupational
health and safety (OHS) managers are identified through surveys.
Methods: The accident rates for the OHSMS-certified construction companies from 2006 to 2011, when
the construction OHSMS became widely available, were analyzed to understand the effect of OHSMS on
the work-related injury rates in the construction industry. The Korea Occupational Safety and Health
Agency 18001 is the certification to these companies performing OHSMS in South Korea. The questionnaire
was created to analyze the differences of OHSMS awareness between site general managers and
OHS managers of construction companies.
Results: The implementation of OHSMS among the top 100 construction companies in South Korea
shows that the accident rate decreased by 67% and the fatal accident rate decreased by 10.3% during the
period from 2006 to 2011. The survey in this study shows different OHSMS awareness levels between site
general managers and OHS managers. The differences were motivation for developing OHSMS, external
support needed for implementing OHSMS, problems and effectiveness of implementing OHSMS.
Conclusion: Both work-related accident and fatal accident rates were found to be significantly reduced by
implementing OHSMS in this study. The differences of OHSMS awareness between site general managers
and OHS managers were identified through a survey. The effect of these differences on safety and other
benefits warrants further research with proper data collection.