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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (OHS) ASSESSMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.

O. G. OKEOLA Physical Planning Unit, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Email: ogolayinka@unilorin.edu.ng

ABSTRACT Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in construction is all about protecting people from injury at work or from becoming ill through appropriate precautions. A safe, healthy and productive workforce is needed to achieve the objective of national development and economic growth since construction industry is a stimulator for national economy. However, each sector of the industry has its distinct hazards and risks determined by the peculiarities of its labour process. This paper begins by presenting a brief background to the construction industry and then further into the concept of hazard and risk as cornerstone of effective OHS management. It highlights the laws regulating OHS matters. The paper finally examines the state of OHS practices on University of Ilorin construction sites as a case study. The aim is to investigate current safety practices on site; identify the nature and occurrence of hazards; and the extent to which safety measure are employed. The findings show that workers are vulnerable due to lack of appropriate strategies and the ease with which contractor violate OHS requirement due to weak or nonexistent enforcement. Various improvement strategies are discussed. The paper of this nature is equally aimed at provoking thoughtful discussions with view hopefully of finding long term solutions.

1.0 1 INTRODUCTION The importance of the construction industry in the national development cannot be overemphasized considering the fact that at least 50% of the investments in various development plans is primarily in construction. It is the next employer of labour after agriculture in underdeveloped countries, about 10% of labour force (Oyatoye, 1994). In developed countries, activities in the industry especially the building/civil works are used as indices of economic growth and buoyancy or recession (Adetifa, 1994). The output of the industry in Nigeria accounts for over 70% of GDP (Mbachu, 1998) and therefore is a stimulator of national economy. It is against this background that the construction industry has been recognized concurrently as a major economic force and one of the more hazardous industries. Present-day construction is marked by rapid execution of projects and the extensive use of machinery and mechanized production processes. However, despite a relatively large pool of construction machines and mechanism as well as high level of prefabrication in building construction and installations, the proportion of manual labour remains approximately 50% (Ataevet al., 1985). Construction has many sub-sectors ranging from simple housing to major high-rise buildings as well as bridge, road, tunnel, and even under water construction. Each sector has its distinct hazard and risks determined by the peculiarities of its labour process as indeed every production process does irrespective of whether a good or service is produced.

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In all over the world, construction workers are three times more likely to be killed and twice as likely to be injured as workers in other occupations. Hong Kong recorded a total of 3,001 convictions for health and safety offences with a total fine of $17million in 1993. Out of this figure, 1,382 convictions with a total fine of $1million were related to construction site alone (Nigeria Tribune, 1997). In Italy the mortal accidents in the field of the constructions represent 25% of the total of the accidents occurring in industry and services (Baldacconi and Santis, 2000). In New South Wales, Australia, the inherent hazards and associated risks of the construction industry are reflected in its high incidence and frequency injury rates demonstrated by the fact that in 1998/1999, construction had the third highest incidence based on compensated injuries (Dingsdad and Biggs, 2003). The U.S.A. National safety Council (NSC), found that construction injuries accounted for nearly 11% of all work related injuries, and more that 30% of all fatalities in 1991 (Eppenberger and Haupt, 2003). In Nigeria though there is no reliable data on accident cases in construction, because contractors dont report accidents at appropriate ministry nor keep proper records on accidents. In 2005, a four-storey building under construction in Port Harcourt collapsed and not less than twenty workers died in incident barely 24 hours after similar incident in Lagos (The Punch, July 2005). Akintunde (1990); The Punch, May 2005, The Punch, June 2003 and Daily Independent, July 2005 reported similar incidences. The menace of collapse building during construction is an indicator of unsafe place and system of work in which workers are subjected to and therefore already at risk of accident even where there is no collapse. Many people have met their ultimate death on construction sites in Nigeria while others have become permanently crippled from injury. This emphasized the need for adequate occupational health and safety strategies for workers in their site working environment, because the costs of accidents are immense to the individual, the employer and the society. Occupational health and safety in construction is all about preventing people from been injured at work or becoming ill through appropriate precaution and providing a satisfactory working environment 2.0 HAZARD, RISK AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Hazard is something with potential to cause accident with varying severity from cut and bruises to serious illness, disability or death. Risk is the combination of severity of accident with the likelihood of it happening. Accidents are by their nature unplanned and uncontrolled events. Laufer and Ledbetter (1986) described accident as chance-caused events that are normally not given to direct observation but rather most methods are based on post-factum measurement. Accidents do not necessarily have to be injurious or damaging events but it can interrupt or disrupt the completion of an activity. Accident can result in direct and indirect cost. Direct costs of construction accident are medical bills, premiums for compensation benefits, liability and property loss. Indirect costs associated with accidents are: (1) Loss time of injured employee (2) Cost of work stoppage of other employees from curiosity, sympathy, and providing assistance; and (3) Lost of supervisory time from assisting injured employee, rearranging work crews because of lost employee. It has been established that the reduction of hazardous events is fundamental to good construction safety management because it is these events that have the potential to cause

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accidents which may result in injuries and fatalities (Carter and Smith, 2001). It is therefore pertinent to undertake risk assessment. A risk assessment is a careful examination of those things in the process of work or in the workplace that could cause harm to people. It also covers finding out whether enough precautions have been taken or more should be done to prevent harm. The essence is to ensure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill. What is most important is deciding whether a hazard is significant and if it is covered by satisfactory precautions so that the risk is small. The project supervisory team and their styles can also influence the hazard vulnerability and safety performance during construction process. For instance in a study by Hinze and Raboud (1988) on building construction projects in Canada to assess the extent of how company policies and practices influence worker safety in term of frequencies of injury, the result showed that company-level practices influence safety performance. Safety performances were found to be better on projects by companies that employed a full time safety officer; that exhibited stronger top-management support for safety; that conducted safety meetings for supervisors; and those which monitored the safety performances of their supervisors. The result also showed hat job pressures, in particular, those imposed by budgetary constraints were found to adversely affect safety performance. Levitt and Parker 1976; Samelton, 1982; and Hinze and Harrizon, 1981 have shown that project foremen, superintendents, top managers, and supervisory styles have a significant influence on the construction safety performance. On injury analysis, there are various theories, but an interesting theory concerning importance of minor injuries state that for every one injury causing loss of time at work, there are 29 minor injuries and 300 accidents which do not cause personal injury (Betts, 1983; Oribuyaku, 2005). The theory was based on study of many cases (in thousands) and it follows that by reducing occurrence of minor injuries a proportionate number of serious and major injuries will be prevented. It is against this background that safety assessment and pursuit should be geared towards identification of hazards, assessment of risks, determination of their significance, evaluation of the available corrective measures, and the selection of the optimal remedies. Actions to ensure safe access and safe working areas must also be regularly reconsidered as construction proceeds otherwise safety may be compromised. 3.0 LAWS, LEGISLATION AND CONVENTION 3.1 Legislation There are various legislations in most countries to safeguard health and safety at work. In UK, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999 are the two most important health and safety laws for employers and contractors. The former provides a comprehensive legislative framework for promoting, stimulating, and encouraging high standards of health and safety in the workplace. In the New South Wales, Australia, there is Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Regulation and OHS Act 2000. The later hold the principal contractors responsible for the oversight of all OHS matters. In Italy, regulation D.Lgs. 494/1996 on minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites took effect in 1996. According to this regulation, clients, project supervisors, employers, individual contactors and self-employed persons, all have responsibilities to ensure safety under the Italian law.

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In Nigeria, the first effort in regulating and controlling health and safety at work was the Factories Act of 1958 but unfortunately lack provisions for the enforcement of health and safety standards in construction industry. This act was repealed in 1987 and replaced with the Factories decree No 16 and Workmans compensation decree No 17. Both were signed into law on June 12, 1987 but became effective in 1990. It requires that the Safety Division of the ministry of Labour and Employment inspects factories for compliance with health and safety standards. However, the Ministry charged with enforcement of these laws has not been effective in identifying violators probably due to inadequate funding, lack of basic resources and training therefore consequently neglect safety oversight of other enterprises, particularly construction sites and non factory works. The labour decree does not provide workers with right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without loss of employment. 3.2 Convention Nigeria ratified the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No 155) on may 3rd, 1994. The Underground Work (Women) Convention, 1935 (No 45) was ratified on Oct 7th 1960. However, the government has failed to act on various International Labour Organization (ILO) recommendations since 1991 to update its programme on inspection and accident reporting. 3.3 Laws The two main sources of law which protect workers on construction sites are the common law and the statute law. The later are the acts passed by the national and state assemblies and these override common law in the event of conflict. In 2004, the Senate passed a bill stipulating that all public building must have fire policy and building more than one storey under construction must have a policy. Some gray areas still require clarification before the policies can be successfully implemented. 3.3.1 Common law Under the common law, there is liability for safety of employees. An employer may be sued for damages if he does not provide reasonably safe systems of work. If an employer fails in his obligation to take reasonable care and avoid unnecessary risks, a civil wrong or tort of negligence is committed. The injured person may sue for damages and in serous cases, the state may consider the offence a crime and therefore prosecute. 3.3.2 Indemnity In order to avoid legal liability for injuries to person or property, many standard contract do includes indemnity clause that basically hold harmless one or more parties to the contracting agreement. For examples, the contractor may indemnify and hold harmless the client (as in all University of Ilorin building/civil contract projects), architect, site engineer and Project manager from and against all claims, losses, and expenses arising from performance of the work caused by any negligent act or omission of the contractor, subcontractor, or anyone directly or indirectly employed by any of them. In general, the court will try to honor the indemnification term set out in the agreement. In addition to express agreement, parties may impliedly agree to indemnify each other because of their obligation to perform their duties in professional manner. 3.3.3 Duty of Care

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The standard of a masters duty toward his servant is to see that reasonable care is taken. The scope of that duty extends to the provision of save fellow-servant, safe equipment, safe place of work and access to it, and save system of work. It is not enough for the master to show that the danger on the premises of work is known and fully understood by the servant. They must ensure that worker comply with safety procedures. It would appear that in deciding the liability and responsibility of parties for safety, it is less a matter of the fact, circumstance, and relationship. Action of individual will be scrutinized in term of how reasonable and appropriate they are for a given situation (Smith and Roth, 1991). This point was considered in Western Nig. Trading Co Ltd V. Busari Ajao(1965) NMLR 178. The companys defense that plastic goggles were provided for the wounded worker (the plaintiff) was not enough. The court held as per this defendant (company): It was the employer duty at common law to ensure that not only that goggle were provided but also that they were used by strict order followed by reasonable supervision

Similar examples are found in strabag construction (Nig.) Ltd Vs. Okpan Ogarekpe (1991) 1NWLR 733, English case of Clay Vs. Crump (1964) and Nigeria Railway Cooperation V. J.C. Emeahara & Son Co. Ltd (1994) 2NWLR 206. 3.3.4. Negligence On liability in cases of negligence, the court decision will not be simply on causation but also on responsibility. In Sign v. Detroit Edison Company [287 NW 2d 292 (1979)] the court gave the following instruction to the jury concerning negligence and ordinary care (Smith and Roth, 1991):
When I used the word negligence with respect to defendant conduct. I mean the failure to do something which a reasonable person would do under the circumstance which you find existed in this case. It is for you to decide what a reasonable careful person would do or not do under such circumstance. When I use the word ordinary care, I mean the care that a reasonable careful person would use under the circumstances which you find existed in this case. The law does not say what a reasonably careful person would or would not do under such circumstances. That is for you to decide.

Where any party to an action alleges negligence, Oribuyaku (2005) give four requirements which must be satisfied for defendant to be liable in negligence. These are: 1. A duty of care on the defendant to the plaintiff 2. Foreseability that the defendants conduct would have inflicted on the plaintiff the kind of damages in the suit 3. Proof that the defendants conduct was careless 4. Existence of causal connection between the defendant careless and the damages. 4.0 CASE STUDY

The OHS study was carried out on 13 projects constructed between 2000 and 2004 in the University of Ilorin, a second generation university still undergoing massive physical development. The project cost individually between N11 million and over N100 million. Individual project engages between 5 and 100 daily paid workers (artisan and labourers) depending on the volume of construction work to be undertaken. This group is focused upon for

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the safety assessment and the environment of work. According to Laufer and Ledbetter (1986), site safety assessment can be output or of process measurement. The former are post accident measurement which is taken from the frequency or degree of severity. The later measurement is not obtained from secondary data but through collection from the direct source of observation or from indirect sources of questionnaires and\ or interview. Both methods were used in the study. The data\information was basically obtained from structured interview of contractors workmen, direct observation of site operation, and on-thespot assessment of site health and safety facilitator. Secondary sources of information included contract document, projects files and clerk of works records. The first part of the study focused on identification of hazards, causes and frequency of injuries. The second part look into the provisions and adequacies of health and safety measures on site. The third part assessed welfare of workers on the project sites. 5.0 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 5.1 Hazards and Injuries The hazardous operations listed in Table 5.1 were identified in all the 13 project sites. Concrete operation (mixing and transportation) was the most hazardous not because it attracts large number of workmen, but because the activity involved repetitive movements that are done in a chaotic manner. This make the workmen susceptible to injury. The sources of injuries and the number of occurrence are shown in Table 5.2. Stepping on sharp objects such as nail is the most common, followed by fall on the same level. Sustained injuries are superficial wounds such as bruising and laceration with few penetrating wounds and muscle injuries such as strains. Workers are also susceptible to occupational illness from the sources listed in Table5.3. 5.2.1 Assessment of safety measures provisions on sites Safety measures are facilities and strategies that are put in place to prevent or minimize accident during various stages of construction. Of particularly significance to OHS of workers are first aid, protective wears, safety signals, monitoring and enforcement. These are assessed on the basis of the percentage of adequacy and non-adequacy on the 13 project sites combined as shown in Table 5.4. Contractors are expected by contractual agreement to provide first aid box on project site. The content of such box is to comply in all respect with the factories ordinance and shall include a snake bite serum kit. None of the sites has this provision. There are incidences of straying snakes into working sites as shown in Table 5.5. Protective wears such as boots, gloves, helmet, and mask which are necessary in concreting, scaffolding, form working, iron cutting/shaping, steel fabrication and installation are not provided for workmen. In a randomly selected workmen in each of these activity, 98% respondent combined are willing to use protective wear if provided by the contractor while only 2% described it as nuisance. Safety provisions such as guard rails, barriers, or other form of special protection at higher level of operation are not provided. It is ironical that approach to safety monitoring was reactive in all the sites which was carried out only after things went wrong, that have either resulted in injuries, disruption, or near misses. However, active monitoring involves regular inspection and checking of operations before things go wrong to ensure that safety standards are being implemented and management control are working.

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5.3 Welfare Provision Certain welfare facilities that promote good health condition are required on site. All the project site do not make provision for the welfare of workmen in particular the provision of hygienic latrine accommodation which is recommended in contract documents. Table 5.6 shows that contractors are not doing enough in safeguarding workers healthy condition on site. The accessibility of workers to contractors claimed clinic facility could not be confirmed. However, when attention are needed beyond the first aid treatment, workers are normally referred to the University Health Center. 5.4 Policy There are two main policies that can be obtained on a building project depending on scope, intended use, cost and client. These are advanced payment bond (APB) and all-risk insurance (ARI). The condition of contract essentially holds the contractor responsible for the management of their internal safety programs and those of the subcontractors. Subsequently, contractors are liable and shall indemnify the employer against any liability in respect of personal injury or death of any workmen in the cause of carrying out the work. This is covered under ARI policy not exceeding 10% of the contract sum. Only six of the thirteen projects took the ARI policy. The ARI policies were taken long after the project has commenced unlike the APB that was promptly obtained at the inception of the project execution. 6,0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMMENDATION

The study has established that safety is mentioned in the contract document as a priority but in reality safety takes a low priority in overall project management. The findings concluded that construction workers on University of Ilorin project sites are susceptible to construction hazards due to poor OHS management which is due largely to ineffective enforcement strategies. But since safety is an economic as well as humanitarian concern, it becomes imperative for the client (through the University Project Coordinator/Manager, which is the Physical Planning Unit) to assume an expanded, proactive and pragmatic responsibility on OHS matters. Where protecting life is a concern, it becomes moral burden that negate legalistic approach. Nevertheless, this can still be done without compromising indemnify clause by adopting the following recommendation which will surely lead to effective and sustainable OHS practices on project sites since the contractors have failed to address the issue with the desired attention and expectation: 6.1 Contract Document Adequate and decisive provision should be made for OHS matters in the contract document which should take cognizant of scope and complexity of proposed project. The document should request for contractors OHS mission statement and designated safety officer on a firm note. Thereafter make compulsory the submission of ARI policy together with APB before the payment of material advance. This requirement in the contract document will send a strong signal to contractor on the position of University on OHS matter. 6.2 Health and Safety Policy Statement Any contractor bidding for job should include company OHS policy or mission statement which should be specific to the particular work bided for. The policy statement is basically site rules for safe system of working to be prepared after identifying the likely hazards and assess risks. This

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will be binding on contractor. This is then incorporated in the contractor overall OHS plan, which should cover all hazardous operations; including but not limited to following: frame erection, roofing, demolition, scaffolding, working at height and confined spaces. The plans should outline details of the implementation on preventive strategies against identify likely accident and ill health. 6.3 Safety Officer It is necessary to take leave form the practice on safety in the Oil & Gas industry in Nigeria. A safety officer must be mandatory. In other words, the contractor should either employ safety officer who would handle all OHS matters and accident prevention or add the responsibility to that of site supervisor or foreman. In order to stimulate and encourage contractor on OHS matters, evidence of any of the contractor personnels participation in safety training should be considered in awarding contract. Such training should substantially cover the followings:
Safety in Scaffolding Safety in Demolition and Excavation Safety in Material Handling Safe use of Mechanical and Electrical Construction Machinery and Equipment. General Worksite Safety Role and Duties of Safety Supervisors Safety laws and Legislation.

6.4 Minimum construction standards on University projects. There exist minimum construction standards for University projects. This standard is issued by the office of the Director, PPU and it contains information and guidelines on minimum acceptable construction workmanship, quality control, line of communication and sanction. It is normally given to contractors and consultants during the inaugural site meeting at commencement of project execution. It is essentially aimed at ensuring good quality workmanship and compliance with specifications. This advantage can be exploited by revising this document to now include part B on Minimum OHS standards for contractors compliance. 6.5 Humanitarian Principle OHS is essentially a humanitarian concern. It is only when it is regarded as such that it becomes ease to accept as moral obligation to protect the vulnerable workers on site. It is interesting to note that the position of the law in protecting workers is literarily and essentially enjoining the spirit of being ones brothers keeper. It is unfortunate that in this regard the PPU technical team and the consultants who can influence positive attitude on OHS matters on site fall short of expectation and often taken to complacency with the contractors OHS practice on site. The main focus is always on project scheduled completion. That contractors oftenly taken ARI policy halfway or beyond into the project execution and non compliance with basic safety measures are closely correlated to this. It is on this note that our common humanity must always be reaffirmed in the face of pressures of work and budgetary constraint so that consideration for humanitarian concern shall always attract the desired attention. Otherwise it becomes very easy falling in mute indifference in the situations that scorn human dignity. Table 5.1 Hazardous construction operations identified on project sites. Excavation Civil Engineering Impact on National Development

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Scaffolding/Form working Cutting/Shaping/Placement of reinforcement Arc Welding Block laying, Plastering and Painting at height Concrete Mixing, Transportation and Placement Steel fabrication and installation Working in Confined spaces

Table 5.2 Injury Sources and Number of Occurrences Injury Source Number per Project Site 2 3 4 5 6 2 8 1 12 2 4 1 8 1 1 5 14 4 3 1 1 11 5 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 -

7 2 5 1 1 2 -

8 1 1 2 2 -

9 13 3 30 4 -

10 11 12 13 - 9 7 2 2 8 6 2 1 - 5 1 1 4 4 2 1 -

Total 17 76 12 8 126 26 3 2

Scorpion bite 5 Fall on to same level 12 Fall on to different level Struck by object 1 Step on sharp object 33 Tool injury 2 Dislodgement of Scaffold Collapse of building Part 1

Table 5.3

Susceptible Sources of Occupational Illness

Chemical exposition (cement and paint) Dust exposition Arc welding Heavy lifting

Table 5.4 Adequacy of Safety Measures on Construction Sites Type Provided Not Adequate First aid Protective wears Safety monitoring Standby vehicle Safety supervisor Safety signs 46 8 100 100 % of Sites Provided Adequate -

Not provided 54 92 100

Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

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Guard rail/ barrier Safety enforcement Fencing

23

100 100 77

100 100 100

Table 5.5 Incidents of Strayed Snakes and Scorpions on Project Sites Injury Source 1 Killed snake Killed scorpion 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 Number per Project Site 6 5 8 7 3 5 8 2 2 9 10 11 3 6 12 1 5 13 1 Total 43 104

4 6 1 20 17 5

6 5 20 5

Table 5.6 Welfare Provision on Project Sites Type Number of Sites Provided Not provided Drinking water 0 13 Toilet 1 13 Changing/Rest room 0 13 Cafeteria 0 13 Transport 0 13 Clinic 13 0

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Dingsdag, D. and Biggs, H. (2003) Legislative frameworks, compliance, and disability management in the New South Wales construction and coal mining industries. Proceeding on Safety and Health Exposition. Safe-Com 12. Hong Kong. March 18- 202003 Eppenberger, M. and Haupt, T.C (2003) The older construction worker -a study of injuries and their underlying causes. CIDB 1st Postgraduate conference. Port Elizabeth. South Africa. Hinze, J. and Raboud, P.(1988). Safety on large building construction projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. Vol. 114, No 2. Pgs 286-293 Hinze, A.M. and Harrison, C.(1981). Safety programs in large construction firms. Journal of Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 107, No C03. Levitt, R.E. and Parker, H.W. (1976). Reducing construction accidents- Top managements role. Journal of Construction Division,ASCE, Vol 102, No 3, Pgs 465-478. Laufer, A. and Ledbetter, W.B. (1986) Assessment of safety performance measures at construction sites. Journal of Construction Division, ASCE, Vol 112, No4, Pgs 530-542 Mbachu, J.I.C. (1998). Prediction of the construction duration of institutional building project in Nigeria. Nigeria Journal of Construction Technology and Management. Vol.1 No1 Pp 88-92 Oyatoye, P.K. (1994). The construction Industry: A case for the recognition of professionalism. Paper presented at a pubic symposium. Nigeria Society of Engineers, Ilorin, Nigeria. Oribuyaku, T. (2005) Accident prevention practices and procedures on construction sites and regulatory laws in Nigeria. Paper presented at 3-day Workshop on Duties and responsibility of supervising engineers on construction projects. Techgrade Consulting. Ikeja. Nigeria Smith, G.R and Roth, R.D (1991) Safety programs and the construction manager. Journal of the construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 108, No 4, Pp 617-623. Samelson, N.M. (1982) Owners guideline for selecting safe contractors. Journal of construction Engineering and Management. Vol. 108, No 4, Pgs 617-623. Nigerian Tribune. Tuesday August 5, 1997 pp 12 The Punch, Monday, June 30, 2003. Pg 52 The Punch, Monday, May 26, 2005. Pg 52 The Punch, Monday, July 25, 2005. Pg 1

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