Assessment of basic measures instituted to curtail the spread of COVID-19 on construction sites in Lagos, Nigeria

Adebowale, O J; Simpeh, F; Kukoyi, P O and Agumba, J N (2022) Assessment of basic measures instituted to curtail the spread of COVID-19 on construction sites in Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 27(2), pp. 43-61. ISSN 1823-6499

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered every industry’s operation and safety requirements, including that of the construction industry. Different measures are thus required to mitigate the spread of the disease among construction site workers. This article explores the basic measures construction organisations have instituted at construction project sites to curb the spread of the virus among construction site workers. A qualitative research method was adopted for the study, while data were collected through open-ended questions. Summative content analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data and determine the frequency of keywords that were further translated to quantitative measurements. The study determined that construction organisations have largely instituted some basic measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 on sites, whereas most organisations were lacking in the area of social distancing. COVID-19 is still new; therefore, the body of knowledge is still in the infancy stage. To date, there is no evidence of empirical studies that addressed the compliance level of Nigerian construction organisations with basic measures for curtailing the spread of COVID-19. Policymakers could adopt the interventions arising from this study to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: construction site; COVID-19; health and safety; Nigeria; pandemic
Index terms: social distancing, construction project, evidence, body of knowledge, compliance, COVID-19, health and safety, qualitative research method, content analysis, construction site, Lagos, empirical study, construction industry, construction organization, pandemic, Nigeria
Subjects: knowledge management, data analysis and analytics, work location, evaluation and assessment methods, organization, research design and methodology, industry analysis, environmental health, production management, Geography, health safety and environment, health risk and incident analysis, research methods
Topics: Sustainability, Information Management, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Site Management
Descriptive scope: 4 PCTA

N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here