AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
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Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Department of Architecture, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria-Nigera
Abstract
Accidents and injuries are growing problems on construction sites in Nigeria as well as in many other countries. The occurrence of accidents on construction sites usually leads to site closure for accident investigation, loss of man/machine hours, loss of output, loss of corporate reputation, payment of burial expenses/compensation/insurance claims for the dead. Previous studies suggested poor communication of Health and Safety (H&S) information among site personnel as one of the major causes of accidents on construction sites. These previous studies have made little headway in identifying the best strategy for effective communication of health and safety information between contractors and on-site personnel. Therefore this study will identify and assess the communication strategy used on construction sites in Lagos State. Lagos State was chosen as the study area because 60 - 65 of head offices of contracting organizations were located in this area. In addition, the study area is very active in terms of project/construction activities. A total of one hundred and forty-five (145) questionnaires were administered on contractors and site workers through convenience and snowballing sampling. A total of sixty¬eight (68) properly completed questionnaires were analyzed resulting in an effective response rate of 47. The mean score of each item was adopted to rank them in order of importance. The results of the study revealed that only nine (9) out of sixteen (16) communication strategies identified are actually important. The most significant five (5) strategies in order of importance are: training workshop,' project briefing,' safety induction,' operating procedures and posters. It is recommended that the significant strategies identified from this study can be used to communicate H&S information on construction sites thereby reducing accidents on sites.
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Keywords
Accidents, Communication strategies, Construction sites, Health and safety, Work environment.