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Barriers and Facilitators for Usage of Self-Compacting Concrete—An Interview Study
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, Ergonomics. Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7573-3247
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, Ergonomics. Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Swedens.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5338-0586
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, Ergonomics. Unit of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Swedens.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5777-4232
2024 (English)In: Inventions, E-ISSN 2411-5134, Vol. 9, no 3, article id 50Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Workers in the construction industry must endure different weather conditions, long working hours, and engage in repetitive and strenuous jobs with unrealistic deadlines. Sick leaves, caused by accidents and by work-related diseases, are common in the construction industry. Hand–arm vibration from hand-held power tools is a cause of significant ill health (disorders of the blood vessels, nerves, and joints). Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is a fluid concrete and does not need to be vibrated. Despite the health advantages of SCC, its market share in Sweden is lower than in comparable countries. The aim of this article is to describe views, opinions, and knowledge concerning the work environment and health in concrete casting and to identify barriers and facilitators of SCC usage. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 interviewees from the construction industry in Sweden. The answers were analysed from a human–technology–organisation (HTO) perspective in order to identify barriers and facilitators for a broader usage of SCC. The results indicate that knowledge about SCC is low within the Swedish construction industry, including educational institutions; when SCC is chosen, it is chosen exclusively due to its technical characteristics, and not because it eliminates vibrations. Barriers to a broader usage of SCC comprise an incomplete knowledge base, clients who never choose it, recipes that are said to be too demanding, and workplace traditions. Facilitators comprise large companies investing in knowledge development about SCC and engaged persons promoting it. This study used an HTO-based model (BTOH) to identify barriers and facilitators for a broader usage of SCC, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of reasons for the low usage of SCC and ways of increasing it.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI AG , 2024. Vol. 9, no 3, article id 50
Keywords [en]
construction workers, hand–arm vibration, qualitative, self-compacting concrete
National Category
Civil Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-349922DOI: 10.3390/inventions9030050ISI: 001255782700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85196891820OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-349922DiVA, id: diva2:1881706
Note

QC 20240705

Available from: 2024-07-03 Created: 2024-07-03 Last updated: 2024-07-05Bibliographically approved

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Mikhaltchouk, IngaEklund, JörgenForsman, Mikael

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