Windapo, A and Oladapo, A (2012) Determinants of construction firms' compliance with health and safety regulations in South Africa. In: Smith, S D (ed.) Proceedings of 28th Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2012, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
The management of health and safety issues is very significant in the construction industry in South Africa in terms of accident rates and cost to contractors. The costs arise from both the cost of compliance with regulations and the cost of accidents and injuries. In spite of the fact that available evidence shows that construction-related accidents and injuries are on the increase in South Africa, many designers and contractors regard the cost of complying with regulations as unnecessary additional financial burdens. It is against this background that this study investigated the statutory regulations relating to health and safety in construction in South Africa and the level of compliance with the regulations and motivation for compliance by contractors. Data obtained from contractors in a questionnaire survey the Western Cape Province of South Africa were analysed using percentage scores and mean score analysis with the aid of the SPSS software. Although the validity of the findings is limited by sample size used in the survey, it is hoped that the findings will provide empirical basis for a more inclusive survey of H&S in the construction industry in South Africa.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | health & safety; regulations; enforcement; compliance; construction industry; South Africa |
| Index terms: | determinant, construction industry, enforcement, South Africa, health and safety issues, regulation, questionnaire, evidence, sample size, validity, survey, designer, construction firm, motivation, compliance, health and safety, injury |
| Subjects: | psychology, data collection methods, evaluation and assessment methods, risk assessment, profession, organization, research design and methodology, occupational health and safety management, health conditions and diseases, industry analysis, political science, health safety and environment, Geography |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Risk Management, Roles and Professions, Governance, Human Resources |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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