A Study on the Relationship Between Tower Crane Operator Training and Work Safety Performance

This study aims to empirically examine how the quality of training for tower-crane operators influences workplace safety performance. Grounded in the SHELL model and Griffin and Neal’s safety performance model, the study explains the transfer mechanism through which training improves operators’ knowledge and motivation, which in turn leads to enhanced safety behaviors and performance outcomes. Given the construction industry’s structurally high-risk environment and the policy emphasis on a self-regulatory prevention system, the study highlights the need to assess training effectiveness not by training volume alone but by its transfer effects to actual field practice, positioning this as a key research issue. The proposed research model specifies qualification testing and periodic training for tower-crane operators as exogenous variables, and reduced occupational accident rates and work efficiency as endogenous variables. The primary sample comprises tower-crane operators with on-site experience within the past 12 months, while signalers, riggers(slingers), and safety managers are included as a supplementary sample to reflect the operational context. Data were collected using a five-point Likert scale. After establishing reliability and securing convergent and discriminant validity, the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling(SEM). The overall model fit was found to be acceptable. The expected contributions of this study are twofold. First, it strengthens the practical effectiveness of the training system by proposing tailored training strategies based on operator characteristics. Second, it offers a field-oriented management framework that supports a shift toward a quality-centered training system aimed at maximizing training transfer. Ultimately, the study is expected to contribute to improving safety performance and promoting safer construction sites.