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Health and Safety Management Practices in the Building Construction

Industry in Akure, Nigeria

Article  in  American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management · January 2018

DOI: 10.11648/j.ajetm.20180301.12

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American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management
2018; 3(1): 23-28
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajetm
doi: 10.11648/j.ajetm.20180301.12
ISSN: 2575-1948 (Print); ISSN: 2575-1441 (Online)

Health and Safety Management Practices in the Building

Construction Industry in Akure, Nigeria
Olusoga Olawale Oreoluwa*, Fagbemi Olasunkanmi
Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

Email address:
*
Corresponding author

To cite this article:

Olusoga Olawale Oreoluwa, Fagbemi Olasunkanmi. Health and Safety Management Practices in the Building Construction Industry in
Akure, Nigeria. American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. Vol. 3, No. 1, 2018, pp. 23-28.
doi: 10.11648/j.ajetm.20180301.12

Received: January 27, 2018; Accepted: February 11, 2018; Published: March 14, 2018

Abstract: Health and safety of construction workers on building construction sites in Nigeria have become necessary as a
result of the hazardous nature of the practice. It is noteworthy to mention that accidents of any kind are bound to happen on
these sites resulting into injuries that are sometimes fatal to site workers. Nevertheless, an evaluation of the health and safety
management practices put in place by building contractors in the construction industry in Nigeria is the main thrust of this
study. This paper discusses the different sources of accidents on construction sites. It also investigates the current state and
adherence to health and safety practice in Nigeria. 110 questionnaires were used to extract information from respondents
within the Akure metropolis. The safety precautions put in place by contractors for their site workers was also probed. Issues
such as the post-accident treatment of site workers were also investigated. Data collected were analysed using descriptive
statistics. The study found that construction workers are left to protect themselves in the line of duty and are largely
responsible for any occurrence of accidents. As a result, a lot needs to be done to ensure the health and safety of site workers.
Recommendations were made on possible solutions yearning for strict actions to be taken against defaulters by the respective
site inspectors.

Keywords: Construction, Health, Management Practice, Safety, Site Workers

the construction sites around the world. The International

1. Introduction Training Centre of the International Labour Organization
The construction industry in Nigeria has since being on a claims that one in six fatal accidents at work occur on a
steady rise in recent years owing to the large expanse of construction site .
undeveloped Land required to provide shelter for the Health and safety is of extreme importance within the
booming population. As a result, the population of construction industry as different construction operations
construction workers has also soared. The building take place at about the same time. This can be attributed to
construction industry is made up of different personnel building project delivery dates agreed upon during bidding
having different trades to handle different construction for construction jobs by building contractors. Health and
process. Bala et al. [4] cited large number of seasonal safety is relevant to all branches of industry, a practice that is
migrant as one of the several reason for this growth in particularly imperative for the construction industry [1]. In
population because many of them are ignorant of advanced countries of the world, visibly improvements have
construction processes. With this increase both in terms of since been made to mitigate site accident. This in turn cannot
development as well as personnel comes an increase in site be completed said of Nigeria as the industry is blighted by
accidents. According to Smallwood et al 2008, the reports of accidents on construction site with even the
construction industry has earned a reputation of being a multinational companies falling prey of such distasteful
dangerous or highly hazardous industry because of the occurrence. Construction managers over time have devised a
disproportionately high accidents and fatalities that occur on cheaper means of employing laborers on casual or temporary
24 Olusoga Olawale Oreoluwa and Fagbemi Olasunkanmi: Health and Safety Management Practices in the
Building Construction Industry in Akure, Nigeria

basis. This is partly because they are not tied to any 2.1. Accident Causation
permanent employment contract which strips them of any
benefit from the company or employer in term of insurance. Several reasons can be seen as the cause of construction
As a result, the contractors do not feel responsible for any accidents which can be related to human behavior,
unfortunate occurrence in term of accidents that eventually environmental factors, mechanical factors as well as poor
befall the laborers. This in turn affect the productivity of such safety management. The dynamic nature of construction
laborers as issues of life is taken first before work hence the work happens to be one of the major causes for several types
evident defect seen in workmanship output especially in the of accidents resulting to injuries and fatalities in the
Nigeria building industry. construction industry [6].
Information about accidents in the Nigerian construction Accident is a phenomenon having several related
industry is also not properly documented. This makes it an definitions. According to Mwombeki [13], accident is viewed
arduous task getting relevant data. This was stressed by as an unplanned and unexpected occurrence that upsets a
Okeola [16] that because most contractors fail to report cases planned sequence of work thereby resulting to loss of
of accidents to the ministerial departments in charge of such production, injury to personnel, damage to plant and
occurrence, there are no reliable data. It has therefore become equipment as well as eventually interrupting production flow.
imperative to look into these accidents as it has over time Most authors see accident as an unplanned events leading to
rendered site laborers useless to themselves and the society injury either fatal or minimal which in turn disrupt work and
due to the extent of this injuries sustained in the line of duty. often times bring about loss of business opportunities.
This was discussed further by Awodele and Ayoola [3], Accidents which results in both direct and indirect cost does
Smallwood and Haupt [17] that not less than hundreds or not necessarily have to be injurious or damaging but can
construction workers are being killed each year and a much interrupt the completion of an activity [16]. It goes to show
more maimed on construction sites in Nigeria. It has also in that regardless of how careful one can be, accidents are
some extreme cases led to death as a result of the neglect of bound to happen. In the process of cutting cost and making
some construction managers’ adherence to health and safety decent gain on a building construction site, use of standard
laws but in place. Construction site workers are often equipment are often compromised and this has led to the
exposed to very risky job descriptions ranging from working death of many.
at heights, welding, working underground, handling Accident causation refers to factors which are responsible
dangerous plants and equipment, drilling and handling fire for accidents and therefore, understanding what causes
cables. unsafe situations to occur is important in implementing
Accidents on construction sites which are inevitable can be measures to help prevent reoccurrence. Elimination of
reduced to a bearable minimum if parameters are put in place accident causation can drastically eliminate hazards and this
and are strictly adhered to by all the parties involved. The was stressed by Walah [18] that this accidents can be
training of site workers on the extreme importance of health rectified by the workers abiding by the rules and regulations
and safety procedures is also essential to curb further sad in respect to the happening.
tales of site accidents. 2.2. Safety Culture
Building construction projects in Nigeria is characterized
with swift project execution. Even with the use of modern Safety culture is held in high regard within the
day technology which involve the use of construction construction industry. It is described as the product of
machines and mechanism, there is still a need to include individual or group values, attitudes, perception and patterns
manual labour in the building construction process. This of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and
paper aims at investigating the compliance of construction proficiency of an organizations health and safety
managers to health and safety management of their site management [19]. Zou et al. [22] defined safety culture also
construction workers in preventing accidents. as an agglomeration of individuals as well as group that are
concerned with abating the risks and exposure of workers
2. Review of Literature and the public to unsafe acts and conditions in a construction
environment. This goes to show that for an effective safety
Alhajeri [1] defined health as the protection of the body culture, all organization members must share a set of belief
and mind from illness which results from the materials, about risk as well as accidents. Culture is seen to have a hand
processes or procedures used in the workplace. Health was in accident causation which is predicated on the obvious
also described as the protection of people from physical migration of construction workers across developed countries
injury. The World Health Organization also defined health as of the world. This was stressed by Balch and Geddes [21]
a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being that a structurally embedded reliance on cheap and flexible
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It can be sources of regularly and irregularly employed migrant
seen from this definition that the issue of OHS in achieving a workers has always been a key feature of the UK
viable construction project is imperative. construction sector. The way of life of people differ from
place to place which in turn take its toll on construction
work. Alhajeri [1] opined that the importance of culture to
 American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management 2018; 3(1): 23-28 25

health and safety management cannot be overemphasized 250m above the sea level. Akure lies about 70°15’ north of
because it does help in understanding the different the equator and 50°15’ east of the Meridian. The town is
approaches to accident prevention. The different situated in the tropic rainforest zone in Nigeria. The last
characteristics that help to identify culture which ranges census conducted in 2006 put the city’s population at 484,798
from; Culture being a system of values, Culture influencing i.e. Four hundred and eighty four thousand, seven hundred
beliefs, attitudes, perception, and behavior, and Culture and ninety eight (NPC, 2006). Akure, the study area which is
distinguishing one group from another. a city in south-western Nigeria is the capital of Ondo State.
Accident causes are ironically known to all building The total area is approximately 41.2km2 and it lies on a
construction employers and also almost preventable but as relative plain of about 250m above the sea level. Akure lies
other business issues, occupational safety and health can be about 70°15’ north of the equator and 50°15’ east of the
managed in the enterprise; [8]. Human factors, Mechanical Meridian. The town is situated in the tropic rainforest zone in
factors, and Environmental factors are also seen to be Nigeria. The last census conducted in 2006 put the city’s
important factors that causes accident. It can be seen as population at 484,798 i.e. Four hundred and eighty four
discussed by several authors that the issue of OHS thousand, seven hundred and ninety eight (NPC, 2006).
encompasses a whole lot which is not limited to wearing The easiest way of solving a problem is by identifying its
Personal Protective Equipment alone. It is a philosophy that source. It has become necessary to identify the type of
discourages work practices that place individuals at risk of construction work obtainable in the study area. Kadiri et al.
injury and the integration of Health and safety into the daily [11] categorized construction activities in F.C.T. Abuja into;
work process [1]. Construction accidents according to the Multinational Construction Companies, Large scale
Workmen’s compensation decree of 1987 include but not indigenous construction companies and Small scale
limited to; Permanent partial incapacity, Permanent total indigenous construction companies. It is important to stress
incapacity, Temporary incapacity and Fatal accidents, where that the small scale indigenous construction enterprises are
death results. the most predominant in the city of Akure which according to
Kadiri et al. [11] engage mainly in construction of residential
2.3. Health and Safety Procedures Available in Nigeria and commercial buildings with site offices or buildings and
Compensation of workers discusses basically the insurance no headquarters but offices. The major essence of these
policy covering injuries sustained by workers on site. It companies is to maximize profit in whatever form possible.
includes a collection of laws that states clearly benefits
injured employees are entitled to in the case of occurrence of 4. Methodology
any accidents during working hours [20]. Compensation
programs were designed to reduce litigation for work-related Relevant data was extracted for this study through the use
injuries, illness and death. The legislations on Health and of structured questionnaires within the study area on
safety in Nigeria building construction industry include but frequency of construction work, insurance scheme available
not limited to; Labour Act of 1974 modified to Labour Acts and compensation packages accessible to construction
1990, and updated to Labour Act, Cap L1, Laws of the workers. The population of the study was construction
Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004; the Factories Act of 1987 workers operating small scale indigenous construction
which became effective in 1990 and later updated to companies within Akure. The target respondents consisted of
Factories Act, Cap. F1, LFN, 2004; the Workman’s Architects, Engineers, Building contractors, Project managers
Compensation Act of 1987 which became effective in 1990, and Quantity surveyors. 150 questionnaires were distributed
modified to Workman’s Compensation Act, Cap W6, LFN, to these target respondents and a total of 110 questionnaires
2004 and repeal to Employee’s Compensation Act, No. 13, were completed and returned which constitutes 73.3% while
2010 of the laws of the Federation of Nigeria, the Insurance the information retrieved were analyzed with the aid of
Act, 2003 and the Labour, Safety, Health and Welfare Bill of descriptive analyses tools.
2012. The National Building Code which is about the worst
case scenario that after being approved by the National 5. Result and Discussion
executive council in 2006 is yet to be enforced. In advanced
countries of the world, legislation issues of occupational Summarized in Table 1 are the characteristics of
health and safety (OHS) are taken seriously. That does not respondents in Akure. These include their sex, Level of
neglect the fact that such laws are also in existence in Nigeria education, specialization in the building industry and period
but laws or regulations made without proper enforcement is of practice experience.
no law at all [2]; [7]. The gender of the respondents was predominantly
dominated by the male with 79.1% while the female gender
completed the remaining 20.9%. However, the highest level
3. The Study Population and Study Area of education of the respondents in the table below shows that
Akure, the study area which is a city in south-western construction within the study area is dominated by the Higher
Nigeria is the capital of Ondo State. The total area is National Diploma holders with 50.0%. Investigation into the
approximately 41.2km2 and it lies on a relative plain of about specialization of respondents in the building industry
26 Olusoga Olawale Oreoluwa and Fagbemi Olasunkanmi: Health and Safety Management Practices in the
Building Construction Industry in Akure, Nigeria

revealed that the Architects have the highest frequency Table 3. Employment status of respondents.
56(50.9%). The practice experience of respondents also Employment Status frequency Percentage
indicates 55(50%) of them have between 6 – 10 years Full-time 12 10.9
practice experience. Casual worker 56 50.9
Daily 42 38.2
Table 1. General information of respondents. Total 110 100

Sex frequency Percentage The result obtained (Table 4) on compensation of site

Male 87 79.1
Female 23 20.9
workers reveals that 75(68.2%) of respondents provide a
Total 110 100 form of compensation for their workers which include
Level of education frequency Percentage footing a large chunk of their medical bills when there is an
OND - 0 occurrence of accidents on construction site, as against
HND 55 50.0 35(31.8%) who provide no form of compensation
B.Sc. 38 34.6
M.Sc. 15 13.6
whatsoever. In situations where there is loss of limbs, fingers,
Ph.D. 2 1.8 broken legs and so on, a certain amount of money is given to
Total 110 100 injured workers as a form of compensation knowing fully
Specialization in the building industry frequency Percentage well that they may not be able to carry out such jobs any
Architect 56 50.9 longer. Workers who also pay the supreme price are also
Engineer 33 30.0
Builder 13 11.8
compensated with a sizeable amount of money presented to
Project Manager 8 7.3 family of the deceased.
Quantity Surveyor - 0
Total 110 100 Table 4. Compensation for workers.
Period of practice experience frequency Percentage Compensation of workers frequency Percentage
0-5 years 32 29.1
Yes 75 68.2
6-10 years 55 50.0
No 35 31.8
11-20 years 23 20.9
Total 110 100
Over 20 years - 0
Total 110 100
Data results in Table 5 reveals that 95 (86.4%) respondents
Data on respondents’ participation in construction work have no provision for clinical services with recognized
shows that a total of 45 (40.9%) respondents participates medical institutions when there is an occurrence of site
frequently in construction while 28 (25.5%) are accidents while 15(13.6%) have a provisions for clinical
predominately involved in building construction, 25 (22.7%) services for their site workers. Respondents with provision
rarely do and a total of 12 (10.9%) do not participate in for clinical services have hospital where they foot medical
construction at all. bills of injured site workers as they are to only report in such
places for treatment. Others leave their injured workers to get
Table 2. Participation of respondents in construction. themselves treated.
Participation in construction Table 5. Other management practices for workers.
frequency Percentage
work
Not at all 12 10.9 Components Elements Frequency Percentage
Rarely 25 22.7 i. Availability of
15 13.6
Frequently 45 40.9 Clinical clinical services
Always 28 25.5 services ii. No provision of
95 86.4
Total 110 100 clinical services
Total 110 100
The result of findings (Table 3) on employment status iii. Detailed records of
indicates that respondents prefer to employ construction reported accident 25 22.7
Accident
victims
workers on casual basis 56 (50.9%). This implies that their records
iv. No records for
employment is on temporary basis. A very low percentage 85 77.3
accident victims
(10.9%) of workers are employed on the basis of full-time Total 110 100
employment while 42 (38.2%) are engaged on a daily pay
basis. Respondents find it cheaper to employ either casual Respondents with records of reported accidents discussed
workers or recruit workers on daily pay basis because it that it makes it easy to analyze root causes of accidents
makes them spend less and also they become less responsible thereby advising and also provide necessary equipment to
for any form of accident that might occur. There is a mitigate from source, such causes. These according to them
difference to this assumption for the respondents who recruit has drastically reduced site accidents rate and also ensured
workers on full employment basis, citing their reasons as; smooth running of construction projects.
being able to monitor their state of mind when construction
work is going on, cheaper and also being able to instill
relevance of health and safety principle in them.
 American Journal of Engineering and Technology Management 2018; 3(1): 23-28 27

to the cruel nature of their establishment that refuse to honour

sick leave. They often receive deductions from their meagre
salaries for failing to show up on site due to reasons
pertaining to illness.

6. Conclusion
Accidents are unavoidable occurrences on construction site
all over the world with a lot of research done on mitigating it
from source. The regular practice of safety known to building
contractors within the study area is basically provision of
personal protective equipment. This is seen from literature as
not the only means of mitigating construction site accidents
with education and provision of safety signs seeming another
possible way out. This paper has carefully examined health
and safety management practices in Akure. Professionals in
the building industry also compete for and undertake building
construction work. It can be observed that the small scale
construction industries operate within the confines of their
budget because they lack the resources to perform at a high
level of health and safety performance. These constraints as
regards budgets also tend to prevent such industries from
doing a thorough accident reporting. Health and Safety issues
are almost never factored in their bidding at the tendering
stage thus, making it very difficult in earmarking funds to
cater for the events of accidents. Employment of site workers
which is predominately casual or daily pay basis provides the
building contractor a safe haven when accidents occur.
Without employment letters as well as decent contract
document which can serve as a legal means of demanding for
their rights, these workers are left to cater for themselves and
left defenseless. There is also risk of job loss to site workers
within the small scale companies when they try to complain
or report accident cases.
It can also be seen that few construction companies have a
decent level of safety practices captured in their company
policies. With the increasing number of small scale construction
companies, a lot still needs to be done in mitigating accident
causations as the life of construction site workers matter. An area
of further study will be to investigate the enforcement of such
safety policies whenever there is an unfortunate occurrence of
Source: Author’s Photograph. accidents and also seek to build up affordable health and safety
practices in small scale enterprises
Figure 1. Site worker without personal protective equipment while working
at height.
Recommendation
Interview conducted with building construction site
workers showed that a large portion of them are not aware of To ensure the smooth running as well as timely delivery of
the safety management practices obtainable within their building projects, all parties – clients, project managers,
respective companies which in turn make them believe they Architects, contractors, sub-contractors and artisans must see
have to take personal care of themselves when accidents health and safety as a fundamental issue. The issue of life and
occur. This they further added have made efficiency reduce its importance must be a key element within the policies of
in that they fear they will be useless to themselves in the end. the stakeholders within the industry. Building plans should
Some site workers said that they have since taken issues of not be approved without detailed health and safety
their safety in their own hands with provision of personal documents indicating protective equipment provided by
protective equipment (PPE). Another category of site workers companies. Also construction sites where work is carried out
revealed that they have often forced themselves to come to must be sealed when there are no provision of safety
site even when ill and also called in sick. This they attributed equipment. At the University level, health and safety issues
28 Olusoga Olawale Oreoluwa and Fagbemi Olasunkanmi: Health and Safety Management Practices in the
Building Construction Industry in Akure, Nigeria

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