Assesment of safety in Nigeria construction industries
Date
2021-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Federal University of Technology, Owerri
Abstract
The study investigated the occupational health and safety of the Nigeria casual worker in the building construction sites for the purpose of establishing the critical issues affecting the overall welfare and safety of casual workers on building construction sites. The population of the study is 235 construction workers/staff in five selected construction sites in Anambra State. A sample of 174 was selected from a cluster junior and senior staff using the random sampling technique. A 48-item, 5-point Likert-type instrument was used to elicit responses that formed the data for the study. The descriptive statistics(frequencies, percentages) were used in answering the research questions and to describe the characteristics of the respondents, while the hypotheses were tested with Chisquare. The results showed that accidents occur in construction sites and the most common sources are trench collapse, faulty assemble of scaffolding and falls; the most common health/safety problems are dislocation of joints, eye problem, chest/heart problem, vibration of white finger, and deafening; among the factors responsible for health/safety problems of constructions workers are complacency, indulgence in unsafe acts, use of improper tools, unguarded open holes, non-use of personal protective equipment and safety gadgets, bad layout and organization, bad construction and design, faulty machines or tools/work techniques, taking things from machine while on motion, insensitivity and responsiveness. The findings further indicate that measures for mitigating health hazards in construction include training, competence, supervision and clear instructions, access to washing and toilet facilities, access to the right tools, equipment, plant and protective clothing, employees’ health surveillance, abstinence from alcohol/drugs and use of mechanism to report all work-related illness to the appropriate authorities. Finally, the results showed that observance of health and safety procedures significantly controls the rate and nature of accidents on construction sites. The study thus concludes that construction is a risky industry. Though, so many hazards are present at construction sites, observance of health and safety procedures significantly control the rate and nature of accidents on construction sites. Among the recommendations to control hazards in construction site is that the regulatory body should be set up to monitor the safety of construction workers and to sanction companies whose staff are adjudged highly prone to accidents at construction sites.
Description
A Masters on safety in Nigeria construction industries
Keywords
Occupational health and safety, construction industries, welfare of casual workers., Department of Project Management Technology
Citation
Mmegha, R. T. (2021). Assesment of safety in Nigeria construction industries. (Unpublished Master's Thesis. Federal University of Technology, Owerri.