【正文】 na, all large construction firms were stateowned establishments under the traditional planned economy system. Since the adoption of the reform and opening policies in 1978, the traditional planned economy system has been gradually replaced by the market economy in China. A great number of peasants were liberated from traditional cultivation and farming works and organized themselves into ruralvillage enterprises and rural construction teams (RCT). This was closely associated with the rapid economic expansion, which results in high volumes of construction activities and renders China the largest construction market in the world. As at 1999, the proportion of RCT has reached 51%, with that of stateowned enterprises (SOE) at 10%, urban collectiveowned (UCO) at 26%, and others (including publiclisted sharingholding, foreignfunded enterprises) at 13% (see Fig. 2), which represents a great change in the form of ownership of construction enterprises in China. Previous research has revealed that there is a relationship between sizes of firms and accident rates (Hinze and Raboud, 1988). A study by McVittie et al. (1997) indicated that accident rates decrease as the sizes of firms increase. The underlying factors include the degree of planning and organization in large firms versus that of small firms, the presence of inhouse health and safety expertise or resources, the degree of unionization, access to and use of external support services relating to health and safety, levels of government inspection and the effects of economies of scale. Comparing SOEs with RCTs in China, the average numbers of employees are 735 and 150 respectively (China Statistical Yearbook, 2020). However the fatality rate for the former is three times that of the latter (China Construction Statistical Yearbook, 2020). This trend contradicts to the findings of McVittie et al. (1997), representing the exceptional behavior of construction safety in China. The fatality rate for SOEs was per 100,000 workers and for RCTs. This is closely associated with the operational nature of construction firms in China. Almost all Chinese construction firms of different sizes pete for similar jobs in the construction market and manage similar projects, which results in _excessive petition_ and thin profit margins, especially for large SOEs which need to maintain a sizable business turnover. Fig. 2. Categories of construction firms of various ownerships in 1999 In spite of the welldefined roles of the above parties in construction safety, the safety performance on construction sites is still disappointingly poor in China. Occupational accidents have not been effectively prevented. When paring the figures of 1998 and 1999, the serious accidents on construction site had increased by % while the number of fatalities had increased by %. 3. Root causes affecting safety performance There are various factors influencing safety management in the construction industry. These factors can be grouped into people_s role, organization, management, technology, industrial relationship and so on. Due to differences in culture, management and the market structure, these factors have diverse influence on construction safety. The related literature to date on safety management is tabulated in Table 1, based upon a literature search in our libraries. Table 1 Previous researches on safety management 4. Research methodology Based on the above, a questionnaire survey was designed by incorporating 25 factors affecting construction safety. The objective of the survey is to explore the status of construction safety management in China. The survey was conducted in 200 large and mediumsized construction firms listed in the Dictionary of Quality System Certificated Enterprises. As ISO 9000 certified panies have embraced safety management in their quality systems, they should, theoretically, perform better in safety. The results of the survey can be expected, therefore, to give a better picture of safety management than in the average pany. Structured questionnaire surveys and interviews were used to collect the necessary information and data. Questionnaires were sent to the safety representatives including safety inspectors, managers and directors, who were responsible for safety, of the construction firms listed in the Dictionary of ISO 9000 Certified Enterprises. The areas of investigation of the questionnaires are summarized as follows: ? safety management system。 for example, for construction sites having 50 employees or more, main contractors have to nominate a fulltime safety inspector。 ? to identify the factors affecting construction site safety。 or – million RMB Yuan in direct economic losses) were recorded at countryside construction, in which 1097 construction workers lost their lives (China Statistical Yearbook of Construction, 2020). The total construction workforce was 24,286,000 in 1999, representing a rate of these Grade I–IV serious site accidents of per 100,000 workers. The fatality rate in these serious accidents is per 100,000 workers. This seriously underestimates the total fatality rate, as single fatalities are not all reportable. (It is estimated that the actual fatality for USA is per 100,000 workers according to NIOSH, 2020.) This paper describes the findings from a structured questionnaire survey and interviews on safety management to the Chinese construction industry with the following objectives: ? to examine the status of safety management in the industry。 Hinze and Wilson, 2020). As regards construction safety in China, the record is poor in terms of international standards. In 1999, 923 site accidents of Grade IV 1 and above (each accident involves two fatalities。 Mattila and Hyodynmaa, 1988。 Tam et al., 2020). Measures taken to prevent occupational injuries and improve safety perfo