Kheni, N A; Gibb, A G F and Dainty, A R J (2006) The management of construction site health and safety by small and medium-sized construction businesses in developing countries: A Ghana case study. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 22nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2006, Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
Developing countries have a poor health and safety record compared to the developed world, which may be attributable to a low use of technology, labour intensive methods and low workforce participation in health and safety issues. According to the ILO (1999) construction sites in developing countries are ten times more dangerous than in industrialised countries. Ghana has a low infrastructural growth rate and a fairly unstable political climate. These factors, coupled to a dormant inspectorate division, have led to poor construction site health and safety. This has been exacerbated by lack of financial and administrative resources to effectively combat construction site accidents and ill health. It is posited that a change in attitude is necessary if the health and safety performance of the numerous SMEs operating in the construction sector is to improve. This paper reports on an exploratory study of the Ghanaian health and safety management system with particular focus on Ghanaian small and medium-sized contractors. Based on the analysis, the paper seeks to propose a way forward for safer and healthier construction sites run by construction SMEs working as subcontractors and/or main contractors.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction sites; health and safety; institutional framework; legal framework; small and medium-sized businesses |
| Index terms: | Ghana, exploratory study, construction site, health and safety, case study, developing country, main contractor, subcontractor, health and safety management, construction sector, construction site accident, health and safety issues |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, occupational health and safety management, development economics, Geography, health safety and environment, research methods, health risk and incident analysis, work location, practitioner, data collection methods |
| Topics: | International Construction, Site Management, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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