Application of Safety Program Elements to Risk Management Analysis in Construction
Chapter One
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the research are as follows:
(a) Examine risk management as it applies to initial project appraisal with a view to identifying various risk elements associated with road construction project.
(b) Identify the various risk analysis and management techniques available to risk management.
(c) Assess the relative impact/probability of each risk.
(d) Determine the necessary degree of safety management required to mitigate risk for a particular construction process.
(e) Formally select a subset of the available 17 safety program elements based on the risks posed by a process and the ability of individual safety program elements to mitigate a portion of such risk.
(e) Minimize the impact of unplanned incidents on the project by identifying and addressing potential risks before significant negative consequences occur.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Risks in Construction Project
According to Flanagan and Norman (1993) the construction industry is subject to more risks than other industries. In construction projects, risks and uncertainties are of several types (Abdou et al, 2004). Checklist of risks in construction project according to Perry and Hayes (1985) include:
(a) Physical risk: Force Majeure (act of God) earthquake, flood, landslide etc. pestilence, disease.
(b) Construction risk: Delay in possession of site, productivity of equipment, quality, availability and productivity of labour; new technology or methods- application and feasibility; failure to construct a programmed and specification; poor workmanship, damage during transportation or storages. Delay of information from designers, damage during construction due to negligence of any party, vandalism and accident etc.
(c) Design risk: Incomplete design scope, availability of information, innovation application, new technology, level of detail required and accuracy, appropriateness of specification, likelihood of change, interaction of design with method of construction, non-standard detail etc.
(d) Political risk: Change in law, war, revolution, civil disorder; constrains on the availability of labour, customs and export restrictions and procedures; requirement to joint venture with local organization; inconsistency of regulations within the country or organization; embargo etc.
(e) Financial risk: Availability of funds of client cash flow of client particularly effect of delay, loss due to default of contractor, subcontractor, supplier or clients; cash flow problems for contractor due to slow payment by clients of completed works, disputes, inflation, inadequate payment variation, insufficient insurance, exchange rate fluctuation etc.
(f) Legal-contractual risk: Direct liability, liability to other local laws and codes, condition of contract liquidated damages, maintenance, hold-harmless clauses.
(g) Environment risk: ecological damage, pollution, waste treatment, preserving historical finds, local environment regulations etc.
Safety Program Element in Construction
This is a general plan element in the construction project seeks by the safety officer aimed at reducing potential risk, death, injuries, damage to property, and economic and social dislocation that could result from safety hazards to new development by proper planning and to minimize existing risk through coordinated City-County actions. A complete safety program will include: (1) The written programs describing how you train your employees and set up a safe working environment for the kinds of tasks and activities your employees perform, (2) A systematic method for documenting your safety compliance activities and compliance of your employees with company safety policies and procedures, and (3) The necessary investment in the equipment and tools, including appropriate personal protective equipment, needed for a safe working environment. In addition to greatly reducing the chances of having an accident or incident in the first place, a good safety program will lead directly to higher employee morale, performance and profitability.
Risk Management Systems
Risk management is a discovery of existing risk, by observation and imagination, the estimation of the probability and seriousness of these potential impacts and the consideration of methods of mitigating these risks and the implementation and evaluation of the decisions made (Okwuoma, 2009). Risk management includes the identification and assessment of risks together with the development of strategies to minimize them and with the development when they do occur, to mitigate any adverse effects or take advantage of beneficial ones (Lockyer and Gordon, 1996). Risk management systems are used in companies and organizations to ensure the control of risks in the business or construction process. In this thesis the simplest possible approach to describe the risk management process is chosen due to the context of the construction sector (Okolie, 2005). One study combines construction safety risk identification with mitigation techniques. Jannadi and Almishari (2003) introduce The Risk Assessor, a knowledge-management program, which quantifies risk using the common risk formula below: Activity Risk Score = (Severity) x (Exposure) x (Probability) (1.1) Risk management process consists of the risk analysis followed by the risk response. Risk analysis refers to the inclusion of identification and assessment.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitutes of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried to examine application of safety program elements to risk management analysis in construction. Selected construction companies in Enugu state forms the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain application of safety program elements to risk management analysis in construction. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of application of safety program elements to risk management analysis in construction
Summary
This study was on application of safety program elements to risk management analysis in construction. Six objectives were raised which included: Examine risk management as it applies to initial project appraisal with a view to identifying various risk elements associated with road construction project, identify the various risk analysis and management techniques available to risk management, assess the relative impact/probability of each risk, determine the necessary degree of safety management required to mitigate risk for a particular construction process, formally select a subset of the available safety program elements based on the risks posed by a process and the ability of individual safety program elements to mitigate a portion of such risk and Minimize the impact of unplanned incidents on the project by identifying and addressing potential risks before significant negative consequences occur. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from selected construction companies in Enugu state. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
The research was able to show that construction works involved risks and occurrence of unforeseen factors which affect the successful project completion. The level of familiarity and awareness which should constitute the greater percentage amongst the construction practitioners is low. In this work it was observed that application of more safety programs ensure more stability and risk or accident free in the construction project. If risks are improperly assessed and prioritize, time can be wasted in dealing with risk of loses that are not likely to occur. Spending too much time assessing/managing unlikely risks can divert resources that could be used more profitably. Therefore applying more safety program element when stability has been ensured should be waste and should not be encouraged. Unlike events do occur, but if the work is unlikely enough to occur, it may be better to simply retain the risk and deal with the result if the loss does occur. It was also discovered that practical use of this model will help to identify the relative effectiveness of safety program elements for a given process, provide guidance for resource allocation to safety programs, and identify the level of safety intervention required for a given process. Risk management that is successfully installed in the project gives the chance of gaining a clearer understanding of the targets, duties, contents of services and the feasibility of the project. It provides fundamental information to support decision-making in the target triangular of costs, deadlines and qualities. Best procurement strategy and balancing risk management equilibrium equation will enhance project completion and ensures that the client discovered the value and function for the project in terms of time, cost and quality before or during construction. Therefore it can be concluded that most of the risk prevalent problem in construction industry which led to casualties are preventable if the risks in the construction are well known at the earlier stage of construction
Recommendation
It is recommended that application of safety mitigation strategy should be done with caution to avoid spending too much money and manpower, and loss which are likely to occur thus, a waste
References
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