Abstract:
Earlier planning outputs a larger impact against unprecedented changes in construction
projects. Pre-task planning (PTP) is a collaborative process that allied prior planning
and safety together at the site in the daily basis. PTP allows task-based planning in the
sense of associated hazard identification, mitigation and resource allocation. PTP starts
with the task definition and moves with job hazard analysis while mandating the
scheduling and a pre-job briefing. Therefore, the research was aimed at investigating
the use of PTP in the construction projects in Sri Lanka. The study adopted a qualitative
research approach. An extensive literature review was conducted and twelve, semistructured
interviews involving project managers, safety engineers, site supervisors and
site engineers were carried out to investigate the application of PTP in the construction
industry, process of PTP, responsible parties to conduct pre-task planning and
proposing a suitable format for a pre-task plan. The collected data through the expert
interviews were then subjected to a content analysis. Findings confirmed that
Construction industry of Sri Lanka is practicing the pre-task planning as safety and
resource allocating technique. Further, tasks identification, recognition of potential
hazards associated with the tasks, mitigation measures, record, and report were
identified as key steps in the process of pre-task planning. Site supervisor was the key
responsible party over others in conducting pre-task planning. Primary components that
need to be included in the pre-task plan as emphasized by the respondents are;
equipment, material, labour, personal protective equipment, work plan and hazards and
precautions.
