Perspectives on health and safety in construction and design

Although construction contributes a disproportionate number of injuries and fatalities across geographical boundaries, developing countries such as South Africa, perform worse in this regard than developed countries. Therefore, a range of interventions through legislation and industry initiatives have been introduced in order to improve construction health and safety (H&S) in South Africa. The Construction Regulations realised client and designer responsibility for H&S, in addition to contractor responsibility. For example, clients are required to provide the principal contractor with an H&S specification, and ensure that principal contractors have made adequate allowance for H&S, while designers are required to provide the client with all the relevant information about the design, and inform the contractor of any known or anticipated dangers or hazards. Research findings indicate that the Construction Regulations are perceived to have had an impact, in particular among project managers and contractors. Construction H&S performance is influenced by the H&S specification, and anecdotal evidence suggests that the medium-to-large principal contractors and subcontractors tend to address H&S to a greater degree than small contractors.