Safety Management in Building Construction Site
CHAPTER ONE
Main Objective
This study focuses on the practice employed for health and safety risk assessment, communication and control at construction sites in FCT, Nigeria. The main objective is to map out the current practices employed for health and safety risk assessment, communication and control on Nigerian construction sites with a view to develop pre-conditions necessary to improve health and safety risk situations in construction sites.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter provides the theories used for this research. A construction site involves a lot of activities and participants, and to understand the process and the interacting elements there is a need to understand the whole system. System thinking has been used in this study to show the setup of construction projects on construction sites and the flow of information having an impact on risk assessment and communication. From the system thinking perspective, construction projects have been guided by regulations and system which influences risk assessment and communication. In addition, some social aspects from social theories of risk and risk management are discussed in this chapter to give a richer context for understanding factors contributing to risk management.
System Thinking
A system is considered to be a complex whole in which the components continually affect each other over time and operate toward a common purpose (Checkland, 1990; Olsson and Sjostedt, 2004). These elements can be best understood in the context of their interactions and also their relationship with other systems rather than in isolation (Mohamed, 2004). Systems thinking recognize the multiple, mutual and recursive causation that exists in a complex, dynamic system thereby acknowledging that a change in one area of the system can have a drastic influence on other parts of the system. Stephenson (1991) defines a construction system as the composite of people, procedures, plant and hardware working within a given environment to perform a given task. Following this line of thinking, construction sites are complex system involving multiple and mutual components. Thus, construction sites have multiple participants such as clients, design teams and contractors, who have different roles from conceiving to commissioning a typical construction project. Construction is guided and regulated by different regulatory boards, professional societies, policies and regulations in both the designing and construction process.
Systems theory understands risk as a fundamental social construct that is closely linked to the particular rationalities of societal subsystems. The setup of construction projects in construction sites is based on the hierarchical nature of the system where there are levels and sublevels that influence one another. A construction site is a system that is the part of a larger system such as the building industry in which the process of risk management is undertaken. The building industry is part of the wider system that operates and is influenced by the nature of the specific country, such as the political and market context and its regulations. Risk assessment and communication will follow the same trend in relation to the market and political context, and regulations.
Similarly, construction sites operate and are influenced by the nature of the client, the client’s brief, the design process and procurement system, which also influence risk assessment and communication. On the other hand, the nature of the construction firm and its management system also influence the construction process, while at the same time influencing risk assessment and communication. Meanwhile individuals on the site, such as site managers, foremen and workers, as well as the work environment, influence the process of risk assessment and communication. From the systems perspective, individuals within a system do not make decisions or take action solely on their own as their decisions are motivated and driven by other factors within the system at other levels. Thus, individuals on the construction site will make decisions depending on the political system and regulations in the county, the nature of the client, the nature of project and the way project has been designed, the design team, the management culture of the firm and the work environment itself.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter covers the description and discussion on the various techniques and procedures used in the study to collect and analyze the data as it is deemed appropriate
Research Design
For this study, the survey research design was adopted. The choice of the design was informed by the objectives of the study as outlined in chapter one. This research design provides a quickly efficient and accurate means of assessing information about a population of interest. It intends to study safety management in building construction site. The study will be conducted in Abuja metropolis.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Introduction
This chapter deals with the presentation and analysis of the result obtained from questionnaires. The data gathered were presented according to the order in which they were arranged in the research questions and simple percentage were used to analyze the demographic information of the respondents while the chi square test was adopted to test the research hypothesis.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION
This study aimed to ascertain the current practice of health and safety risk management on Tanzanian construction sites, focusing on risk assessment, risk communication and risk control. In pursuing this objective, the case study strategy was adopted, with a holistic view of health and safety risk assessment, risk communication and risk control on construction sites. The study revealed that the responsibility for construction site health and safety lies with the main contractor, resulting in many designers, consultants and clients absolving themselves from responsibility if accidents occur on the site. The active participation of clients and design teams in the built environment in health and safety matters in Tanzania is yet to be realised. Meanwhile an appropriate procurement practice that promotes the adoption of good health and safety risk management is an issue. The study also revealed that no systematic methods were used, but risk was assessed by brainstorming, checklists and health and safety regulations. Judgement of risk was based on individual judgement assisted by experience, educational background and knowledge of health and safety regulations. Working at height and manual handling observed to be most critical hazards in Tanzania construction sites. Based on methods used to communicate risk at construction sites, it was revealed that toolbox meetings, site meetings, posters and informal verbal communication are used to communicate risk. It was also revealed that safety committees and gang supervisors play a major role in communicating health and safety risks. However the issue of power relations and conflicts was observed when there is a clear separation between health and safety communication and quality and productivity. The study also reveals that PPE is the main item used for risk control. However, there was not enough PPE on the sites and, comfort, the weather and work pressure were mentioned by workers as reasons for not wearing PPE. Based on factors influencing risk management, the study reveals that legal system plays a major role in risk assessment, communication and control. The regulations provide for some hazards such as falling from a height and control mechanisms. They also require that health and safety risk to be communicated to workers and that PPE be provided for workers. Regular inspections, penalties and compliance certificates issued by regulatory institutions influence risk management more. Furthermore, the organisational culture of safety is another factor influencing risk management. It is observed that construction firms with a safety culture considered health and safety when employing the site manager, the safety coordinator and safety officer. Knowledge of health and safety is a criterion for employment. Meanwhile firms with a safety culture provide resources for site workers, such as PPE and training. Additionally, individual characteristics such as experience of those working on construction sites, their educational background and knowledge of health and safety matters also influence health and safety risk management. It was observed that risks were assessed based on experience and educational background. Furthermore, the study revealed that the work environment such as site layout and location, the nature and the size of the project, working methods and working team influence health and safety risk management. The study also provides factors hindering health and safety risk management in construction sites. The factors include the low level of public awareness of regulations, lack of resources such as personnel and funds, coverage of the regulations, complexity of design, the procurement system, the low level of education, site configuration, and location. An important contribution from this study is that one cannot rely and be dependent on risk management systems as applied in construction sites in Tanzania. There is a need for a systematic approach and a wider perspective that includes individual’s judgement, while at the same time an holistic approach which consider all project phases such as design, procurement and construction.
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