HEALTH AND SAFETY ON CONSTRUCTION SITE

HEALTH AND SAFETY ON CONSTRUCTION SITE

ABSTRACT

Building construction sites are most times very hazardous due to the bulk and types of materials and equipment employed towards the realization of building project. To this effect, various forms of accidents abound at various stages of construction and in various operations. This project work aims at investigation and evaluation, the response of construction firms/managers to health safety and welfare requirements on building construction sites in Imo State. Different methods such as survey approaches using questionnaire, site visitation and interview were adopted to realize the aims of this work. The method of data collection and analysis adopted are the statistical table (percentage) and bar-chart respectively. The results of their finding indicates that most of the construction firms and contractors in Imo State do not abide to the statutory regulations governing safety at work, while most of them do not consider the need to educate and train workers on safety practices. This work reveals the causes of site accidents and has suggested the remedial measures to be adopted. These methods include among others abiding to; the health and employing professional on building sites. With this building industry Imo State will be free from accidents and hazards.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Health and safety is an important issue in construction works. A building construction site is a construction site where major construction activities take place, requiring the issue of health and safety to be taken into serious considerations. Hazards on building construction sites need to be defined and eliminated through effective health and safety measures.

Hazards as one of the characteristics nature of work on a construction site raises the issue of health and safety on building construction site as one of the numerous problems facing the building industry in Imo State. This problem may have directly or indirectly or negatively affected both human and material resources and may have also brought about perpetual agony and hardship to various families that are victimized by fatal industrial hazards.

Health, as defined by oxford dictionary of current English is the state of being free from illness or injury; a person’s mental or physical condition. Webster’s dictionary of English language puts it that health is the state of fitness of the body or mind, it is the general condition of the body or mind with reference soundness and vigor.

Safety as defined by the Oxford dictionary of current English is the condition of being safe While Webster’s encyclopedia dictionary of English language defined “Safety” as the condition of being safe from risk or danger. It is the quality of averting or not causing injury, danger or loss.