• Tarcisio Abreu Saurin.
• DEPROT/UFRGS (Industrial Engineering and Transportation Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, 5. Andar, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90035-190, Brazil. Electronic address: saurin@ufrgs.br.
• Accid Anal Prev. 2016 Aug 1; 93: 240-250.

AbstractAlthough safety inspections carried out by government officers are important for the prevention of accidents, there is little in-depth knowledge on their outcomes and processes leading to these. This research deals with this gap by using systems thinking (ST) as a lens for obtaining insights into safety inspections in construction sites. Thirteen case studies of sites with prohibited works were carried out, discussing how four attributes of ST were used in the inspections. The studies were undertaken over 6 years, and sources of evidence involved participant observation, direct observations, analysis of documents and interviews. Two complementary ways for obtaining insights into inspections, based on ST, were identified: (i) the design of the study itself needs to be in line with ST; and (ii) data collection and analysis should focus on the agents involved in the inspections, the interactions between agents, the constraints and opportunities faced by agents, the outcomes of interactions, and the recommendations for influencing interactions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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