Mwanaumo, E M (2013) An integrated approach to multi-stakeholder interventions in construction health and safety. DPhil thesis, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Abstract
The construction industry has been recognised internationally as one of the most dangerous industries in which to work, with the statistics often explained in terms of the industry’s inherently hazardous nature. In Botswana a total of 281 fatalities were reported to government agencies, mainly recorded in the high-risk sectors over the period of 2000-2004. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role played by key stakeholders in the health and safety (H&S) performance of the Botswana construction industry and to evaluate their level of H&S commitment and implementation. The aim was to determine how clients, designers and contractors can successfully contribute to H&S performance. Five objectives were identified in this research study. The first was to examine the role of key stakeholders in minimising H&S accidents and incidents in the overall H&S performance of the construction industry of Botswana. The second was to establish whether relevant health and safety planning measures contribute to health and safety performance of the construction industry in Botswana. Thirdly, it was to investigate the extent to which the existing legislative framework is relevant to health and safety performance in the construction industry. The fourth was to determine health and safety commitment levels of clients, designers and contractors’ top management in the construction industry of Botswana. The final objective was to design a multi-stakeholder consultative framework that would address H&S from inception to implementation of the construction project. These objectives were achieved through a research design which included a literature review, methods used and procedures developed to administer the questionnaires, data-collection and analysis through various statistical methods. These included descriptive statistics and nonparametric inferential statistics. The results are then presented in statistical format, tables and graphs. While the literature review revealed that construction industry H&S in developed nations is driven by legislation and regulations, the analysis indicated that there is neither statutory obligation nor the desire on the part of designers and the clients to consider H&S during project conceptualisation in Botswana. Existing legislation is not industry-specific and is outdated resulting in insufficient enforcement. The results led to the design of the multi-stakeholder consultative framework that seeks to address H&S, and is designed to operate in the traditional procurement setup. The contribution addresses: 1) the role played by key stakeholders in minimising accidents and incidents in the overall H&S performance of the construction industry of Botswana; 2) the influence of relevant H&S planning measures on the H&S performance of the construction industry; 3) highlighting the irrelevance of the existing legislative framework (the Factories Act and the Worker’s Compensation Act) to health and safety performance in the construction industry; and 4) the health and safety commitment levels of clients, designers and contractors’ top management in the construction industry of Botswana. In addition, this study addresses the concerns of key industry stakeholders in the Botswana construction industry by exploring the level of commitment to H&S issues of clients, designers and contractors’ top management. It further provides the industry with information on the current status quo within the Botswana construction industry.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Thwala J. H. C., W D P |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction project; government; health and safety; legislation; safety; Botswana; regulation; client; designer; stakeholder |
| Index terms: | construction industry, implementation, enforcement, fatalities, statistics, compensation, statistical method, designer, traditional procurement, research design, Botswana, regulation, questionnaire, top management, construction project, commitment, literature review, health and safety, government agency, legislation, integrated approach |
| Subjects: | psychology, contractual arrangements, legal systems, production management, health safety and environment, Geography, mathematical modelling, research design and methodology, data collection methods, profession, dispute resolution, data analysis and analytics, management, health risk and incident analysis, statistical analysis, political science, administrative law, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Project Management, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Procurement, Legal Issues, Research Practice, Governance, Roles and Professions, Organizational Design |
| 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