Assessment of Pre-construction Health and Safety elements for public buildings in Nigeria

Abstract

Accidents and fatalities on construction sites impact construction project performance and construction stakeholders negatively. Studies indicated that accident prevention measures undertaken before the start of construction work can reduce workplace accidents and increase workers' safety. Therefore, the research assesses the extent to which health and safety (H&S) elements are considered in the pre-construction stage of public building projects. Data were collected from 300 construction industry professionals through well-structured questionnaires. The data were analysed using Relative Important Index (RII) and One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result shows that identification of possible needs for projects, alignment of H&S policies for projects, and identification of H&S hazards were the most considered H&S elements in the concept phase. In the feasibility phase, feasibility study considering H&S risks, cost evaluation of specific H&S items, and preparation of project brief including H&S objectives and milestones were most considered. For the design phase, review of construction strategy and H&S strategy update, development of H&S milestones for project programme, and prevention through design were the most considered. The study also found that the views of the respondents on the various H&S elements at the three phases of pre-construction – concept phase, feasibility phase and design and planning phase – were affected by their professional disciplines. Overall, H&S is given low priority in the pre-construction stage of public building projects. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the government should develop a standard approach to increase the level of H&S considerations among major stakeholders in the pre-construction stage of public projects.