Safety culture, the hierarchy of controls, and the implementation gap in excavation work: A qualitative descriptive study

BackgroundExcavation work carries some of the most severe fatal-injury risks in construction, yet serious events reflect gaps between formal provisions and field practice. Managers' and workers' perceptions of excavation safety remain underexamined in Türkiye.ObjectiveTo examine how managers and workers evaluate the importance and adequacy of occupational health and safety (OHS) practices, the applications they report relative to the hierarchy of controls, the problems they identify, and the solutions they propose.MethodsA qualitative descriptive field study was conducted with 52 participants (20 managers, 32 workers) on excavation projects in an industrial province of Türkiye. A three-member team conducted interviews in Turkish, supported by observation, field notes, and a reflexive diary. The corpus was analysed through iterative coding and constant comparison, with each participant assigned to one mutually exclusive principal-response category per question and counts reported by role.ResultsAlmost all participants regarded OHS as important (96%), yet most judged implementation inadequate (58%), with workers more critical (63%) than managers (50%). Reported controls concentrated in sloping and benching (27%) and combined administrative measures and PPE (15%); shoring (8%) and shielding (4%) were marginal. Absence of safety culture was the most frequently identified problem (23%) and the most frequently proposed solution (17%). Managers more often emphasised compliance and awareness deficits, workers cave-ins and soil-analysis errors.ConclusionsThe findings indicate a gap between the high stated importance of OHS and its perceived implementation. More consistent use of context-appropriate engineering controls, dynamic risk assessment, and structured worker participation may help reduce this gap.