Identification of Health and Safety Prequalification Criteria for Contractor Selection in Construction Projects: A Systematic Review

Selecting an appropriate contractor is a crucial phase that clients normally conduct to execute projects. Extensive research has been conducted on the main contractor selection criteria such as financial stability and technical and management capability. However, few studies focusing on health and safety criteria are being used to assess contractors' safety performance in the existing selection process. Hence, this paper aims to analyse the existing literature on health and safety criteria for contractor selection in construction. The articles were retrieved using developed search string from renowned databases such as Scopus, Ebscohost, Web of Science, Science Direct and Dimensions. This search resulted in a total of 38 papers which can be systematically reviewed. Six main themes were discovered to represent safety prequalification criteria for construction projects, namely, experience and work history, safety control system, safety policy and management, accident rates and records, safety promotion and environmental concerns. Under these six main themes, there are 25 safety prequalification criteria that have been substantially published in previous literature, and the most-cited criteria are examined. This study brings a significant contribution to construction industry professionals, especially clients, when selecting a capable contractor in construction projects. By identifying the safety prequalification criteria, clients can assess a contractor's efforts in ensuring safe execution of a project before awarding the contract to them. Additionally, the findings of the present study could contribute towards developing a comprehensive framework on contractor selection criteria that incorporates safety leading and lagging indicators.