BUIL10 - INVESTIGATING THE COST EFFECT OF SAFETY PRECAUTION ON CONSTRUCTION SITE IN OYO STATE

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                                INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

A large proportion of the Nigerian working population is employed in the construction industry and a great majority of them exposed to varying levels of risks to their health and lives. Construction takes place in the open, exposed to the weather and for limited periods of time, in comparison to the production industry. The present day construction is also marked by rapid execution of projects and extensive use of machinery and complicated production process. All these imply a greater exposure of workers to risks of hazards and accidents and thus require a strict compliance of all participants to the various labor protection, industrial sanitary and safety regulations. Regrettably, the construction industry is held to be one of the most dangerous industries ranking after mining and fishing industries in terms of fatal accidents (Coble, 1994).

The factors causing construction site accidents have been addressed by several researchers. Hinze (1994) listed the main causes of construction accidents. They include lack of proper training, deficient enforcement of safety, lack of safety equipment, unsafe methods or sequencing, unsafe site conditions, not using provided safety equipment, poor attitude towards safety, and isolated, sudden deviation from prescribed behavior. Employee attitudes also play a significant part in health and safety; most employees are not committed to the idea of safety and fail to cooperate with safety initiatives, hence making safety measures become ineffective. Many studies demonstrate that the majority of accidents and resulting injuries in the construction industry are attributed to unsafe work practices of the construction workers rather than unsafe working conditions. 

The cost of accidents can be categorized as being either direct or indirect costs. The direct costs of injuries are those that are most visible and are typically referred to as insurable costs. Direct costs may include: medical cost, premiums for compensation benefits, liability, and property losses. The direct costs can generally be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Indirect costs of accidents are more difficult to measure. Indirect costs are essentially all non-insurable costs incurred as a result of an injury. The indirect costs are those which are hidden and for which no historical record is kept. Indirect costs include: reduced productivity for both the returned workers and the crew or workforce, clean-up costs, replacement costs, stand-by costs, cost of overtime, administrative costs, replacement worker orientation, costs resulting from delays, supervision costs, costs related to rescheduling, transportation, and wages paid while the injured is idle (Hinze, 1994; Smallwood, 1998). Heinrich (1959) identified indirect costs associated with accidents as: cost of lost time of injured employee, cost of work stoppage of other employees, Lost supervisory time, cost of time spent on the case by first-aid attendant, Cost of damage to the machinery tools, or other property.

Although Heinrich study was related to manufacturing, it describes many of the indirect costs of a construction project accident. Indirect costs are generally several times larger than the direct costs associated with an accident. Studies have shown that the ratio of indirect costs to the direct costs can range from 4 to 1 up to 7 to 1 (Robinson, 1979). It is possible that these ratios are based on incomplete data and therefore the economic impact is underestimated. Heinrich conducted a study of a large number of injuries and concluded that the indirect costs of injuries were approximately four times the direct costs (Heinrich, 1959). The safety profession appears to have embraced the ratio of four to one, which Heinrich postulated. However, this ratio of indirect to direct costs is not universally accepted in the construction industry. Another study indicated that the ratio of indirect to direct costs for medical-case injuries is 4 to 2 and for restricted activity or lost workday injuries is 20 to 3 (Hinze and Appelgate, 1992). These ratios are extremely variable with injury severity being a primary influence on their magnitude. Mechanization goes with hazards as the use of plant and equipment is prone to accidents and injuries (Hinze, 1978; Robinson, 1979). In most countries, the rate of accident and injury prevailing in the industry is higher than what prevails in other industries. For developed countries, Idoro (2011a) discovered that the United States construction industry account for over 22% of all occupational fatalities, even though it employs less than 7% of the country’s workforce.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

There is a growing interest on Health and Safety in Nigeria following enactment of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, (OSHA, 2007). Most of the business enterprises in Nigeria which were previously operating without institutional and individual capacity for occupational health and safety management now need to develop that capacity in order to improve the quality of the working environment and avoid expensive liabilities. The occupational Safety and Healthy Act (2007) came into being after several revisions to the Factories Act (1951), amending and extending its scope of application to places of work other than factories. It applies to all work places where any person is at work, whether temporary or permanently. The cost being spent on the health and safety of workers and the personnel in the construction industry need to be put into consideration first before any other things within the construction industry. This implementation is not fully followed due to some situation which must be address in the construction sector in the Nigeria construction industry. The Act seeks to secure the safety, health and welfare of persons at work and protect persons other than persons at work against risks to safety and health arising out of, or in connection with, the activities of the persons at work.

Under the Act the employer has a duty to comply with any safety and health rules, regulations instructions and procedures in the act by taking all necessary precautions to ensure his own safety and health and that of any persons in his work place and at all times use appropriate safe systems of work, preventive and control measures. The employee at work place has a duty to ensure his own safety and health and that of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work place and to comply with the safety and health procedures, requirements and instructions given. The contravention of the provisions thus constitutes an offence. The Act provides for the appointment of a director and occupational safety and health officers to oversee the implementation of the provisions, but this notwithstanding, accident continue to happen in construction sites some with fatal implications. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2007).

The suffering caused by such accidents and illnesses to workers and their families is incalculable. In economic terms, the ILO has estimated that 4% of the world’s annual GDP is lost as a consequence of occupational diseases and accidents. Employers face costly early retirements, loss of skilled staff, absenteeism, and high insurance premiums due to work–related accidents and diseases. Yet many of these tragedies are preventable through the implementation of sound prevention, reporting and inspection practices. (Engineers against poverty report, 2008).

1.3       Research Questions

a.                   What are the effect of health and safety on construction site?

b.                  What are the level of cost being planned for or to be used for safety of workers and personnel?

c.                   What is the level of health and safety policy control on construction site?

1.4       Aim of the study

The aim of this study is to investigate the cost effect of safety precaution on construction site with a view to reducing the effect of unplanned nature that is common in the construction industry. 

1.5       Objectives of the study

a.       To determine the effect of health and safety on construction sites in Oyo State.

b.      To assess the level of cost being planned for or to be used for safety of workers and personnel in Oyo State.

c.       To investigate the level of health and safety policy control on construction sites in Oyo State.

1.6       Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will help bring to the attention of the stakeholders in the building construction industry and more so to the building construction firms the importance of occupational health and safety culture in work places, and to provide a cost program for the staff in relation to health and safety policy management in this case of the construction sites. The study will also brings to light the fact that clients in a project do contribute significantly towards the implementation of the cost of occupational health and safety measures in their building projects when such requirements are included the tender documents. The study will also generally contribute to the body of knowledge in the subject of health and safety in the building industry sector.

Health and Safety is an inevitable aspect of construction because a worker will perform his/her duties to the fullest only when he/she is sure that even when an accident occurs he/she will be good taken care of. Hinze, et. al. 1992) asserts that Health and Safety in construction is all about preventing people from been killed or injured at work or becoming ill through appropriate precaution and providing a satisfactory working environment. According to Heinrich (1959), on any construction site, appropriate Health and Safety methods should be considered and used that will reduce or eliminate risk to death or injury. In Nigeria, the first effort in regulating and controlling Health and Safety at work was the Factories Act of 1958, but unfortunately there is lack of provisions for the enforcement of Health and Safety standards in construction project. This Act was repealed in 1987 and replaced with the Factories Decree No. 16 and Workman’s Compensation Decree No. 17. Both were signed into law on June12, 1987, but became effective in 1990. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity is responsible for the enforcement of the safety and welfare regulations in Nigeria. However, the Ministry charged with the enforcement of these laws has not been effective in identifying violators probably due to inadequate funding as well as lack of basic resources and training. Also, a safety oversight of other enterprises, particularly construction sites and non-factory works, was neglected. The labour decree does not provide workers with the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without loss of employment (Nigerian Factories Act, 2002).

1.7       Scope and Limitation of the Study

The scope of this study is to investigate the cost effect of safety precaution on construction site, while is limited to the cost effect of safety precaution on construction sites in Oyo State.

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