EVALUATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING BY CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN ABUJA, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Health and Safety (H&S) training is one of the most widely adopted practices for improving workplace safety. Existing H&S literature focuses more on the training of workers in construction firms of developed nations. This leaves out issues of H&S training of workers in the construction firms of developing nations such as Nigeria. The result of this is the problem of poor safety performance in the form of higher rate of accident, fatalities and injuries to workers on construction sites. This study therefore evaluated the compliance with H&S training by construction firms in Abuja, with a view to proposing strategies for reducing accidents on construction sites. In order to achieve the aim, the study examined the components of the H&S training capable of enhancing safety awareness among construction workers in construction firms; examined the level of compliance of firms with the provision of the identified components of H&S training; determined the impact of H&S Training practices on the safety performance of construction firms; and proposed strategies for reducing the rate of accidents, injuries and fatalities on construction sites. The population for the study constitutes the safety officers of 25 construction firms registered with the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) operating within Abuja metropolis. The study adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and interview. Analysis of data was carried out using frequency counts, percentage, Relative Importance Index (RII), Mean Item Score (MIS) and Spearman Rank correlation analysis. The study identified 12 important components of H&S Training (average RII = 0.813) which are averagely complied with (average MIS = 4.067).  Seven  (7) important  Regulations identified have significant impact on H&S performance of construction firms (average MIS = 4.08). The study also found that there exists a significant relationship between H&S Training and H&S Budget Amount (r = 25.5; p = 0.074); and between H&S Training and number of accidents (r = -42.7; p = 0.002). Fifteen (15) effective strategies were identified for reducing the rate of accidents, injuries and fatalities on construction sites (average MIS = 3.89). It was concluded that the components of H&S training are effective but not completely complied with by construction firms in Abuja. Therefore, the level of compliance with the components of H&S training among construction firms in Abuja is fairly good. It was thus recommended that construction firms should implement the suggested strategies to the latter in order to create a conducive atmosphere for both management and workers to implement the H&S Regulations and H&S Training practices for enhanced H&S performance.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Health and Safety (H&S) training is one of the most widely adopted practices to improve workplace safety.  Every  year, construction  firms  invest  millions  of dollars  toward training the workforce on issues such as hazard recognition, risk management, and injury prevention (Al-Emran, Elsherif and Shaalan, 2016). H&S is an inevitable aspect of construction due to its nature of being made up of the conglomerations of people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines with each individual`s output determining the level of success to be recorded at each construction stage (Dodo, 2014). Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is an interdisciplinary area that involves protecting the health, safety and welfare of people in the work place, and others that may be affected directly or indirectly by the activities at the workplace. Construction site is a place where a building is being built or repaired (MacMillan Dictionary, 2017).

The importance of providing safe workplace has been reiterated by various related studies because of the intrinsic hazard and risk factors that undoubtedly underlie every work situation and their negative impact on a company’s overall performance (Olutuase, 2014). H&S is relevant to all branches of industry, it is particularly important for the construction industry. The construction industry has been identified with the highest occurrence rate of accidents compared to any other industry (Williams et. al., 2018). In the recent past, death tolls, permanent disability, partial disability and some other severe environmental threat had increasingly been on the rise through collapse of buildings and other major operational accidents (Williams et. al., 2018). Due to the nature of work, construction sector is considered very complex and dynamic. There are several phases in construction like viability, design, plan, execution, decommissioning, demolition and clearance. Similarly, plumbing, electrical wiring and carpentry are also linked with construction. Various contractors have different nature of work and different working protocols, and they work in same working area. Contractors often replace their workers and since it’s an open environment, workers are prone to diseases (David and Saviley, 2015).

One in six fatal accidents at work occurs in a construction site (ILO, 2011). Although, an analysis of the patterns and causation of accidents provides the basic information for safety planning. It is not sufficient for predicting when and where they will occur. Such prediction needs coordination with  other branches of project  management (Yi  and Langford, 2006). The fact that a construction job or work environment is considered as highly risky and hazardous does not mean that its susceptibility to accident is not controllable – this largely depends on “work situation” which is humanly controllable. Several research articles have focused on evaluating and developing effective safety training interventions (Burke et al., 2011; Weidman et al., 2015, David and Saviley, 2015; Mostafa et al., 2016). However, ironically, research in construction safety continues to show alarming deficits in safety knowledge among construction workers (Baldwin and Ford 1994; Cromwell and Kolb 2004; Haslam et al., 2005) while few studies have focused on understanding why training efforts fail in construction (Goldenhar et al., 2001; Wang et al., 2008; Demirkesen and Arditi, 2015).

Most safety training programs within construction use conventional classroom techniques that do not sufficiently engage workers (Wilkins, 2011). Such passive and ineffective  instructional  methods  have  limited  value,  and  can  sometimes  instigate negative attitudes among workers to safety issues (Haslam, 2004; Haslam et al., 2005). To improve safety training effectiveness, Wilkins (2011) recommended replacing traditional classroom-type training with anagogical approaches that are more effective in engaging adult learners with modern and more pro-active ones. More recently, Mostafa et al. (2016) argued that engaging safety training methods that facilitate dialogue, feedback, and action can result in higher learning gains. In similar thought, Shittu et al. (2016) and Shittu (2016) found that H&S Education and Training is the practice with the highest likelihood of improving the safety performance of construction firms out of the five core and modern H&S practices (Education and Training, Communication, H&S Planning, Workers’ Consultation and Participation and Company’s Commitment) identified. Hence, this research attempts to evaluate the compliance with H&S training by construction firms in Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of Research Problem

Existing H&S literature focuses more on the training of workers in construction firms of developed nations. This leaves out issues of H&S training of workers in the construction firms of developing nations such as Nigeria as reported by Shittu et al. (2016). The result of this is the problem of poor safety performance in the form of higher rate of accident, fatalities and injuries to workers on construction sites.

Given the high proportion of fatal and non-fatal accidents occurring in the construction industry, construction firms constantly seek different and novel strategies to reduce the number of work-related accidents. One such strategy that is mentioned often in the literature is formal, well organised and effective H&S training (BLR, 2007; Han et al., 2008; Burke et al., 2011; Evia, 2011; Wilkins, 2011; Lin et al., 2012; OSHA, 2012; Hallowell, 2012; Ruttenberg, 2013; Hinze et al., 2013;  Weidman et al., 2015;  David and Saviley, 2015). Extensive review of literature, however, revealed that a variety of studies in the construction safety management literature have investigated construction H&S training within developed countries mostly (Wilkins, 2011; Li et al., 2012; Hinze et al., 2013; Ruttenberg, 2013; Demirkesen and Arditi, 2015; Mostafa et al., 2016; Namian et al., 2016). However, efforts made by the studies of Kheni (2008) and Shittu (2016) focused more on the impact of organisational characteristics on the H&S practices of the construction firms. It did not specifically study how training could be employed to effectively improve the safety practices of the construction firms. Kheni (2008) studied Ghanaian construction firms while Shittu (2016) studied Nigerian construction firms.

Therefore, there is a dearth of research in construction literature on how effectively H&S training can improve the safety performance of construction firms in developing nations and Nigeria in particular. These construction firms carryout large portion of the construction volume and are required to train a large number of workers on safety issues like their foreign counterparts. It is thus imperative to fill this gap by evaluating the compliance with H&S training by construction firms in Nigeria using Abuja as the study area.

1.3   Research Questions

In order to address the research problem identified, the following questions were answered by this research:

i.      What are the components of the H&S training capable of enhancing safety effectiveness among construction workers in construction firms?

ii.      What are the regulations capable of enhancing the effectiveness of H&S training practices of construction firms in Abuja?

iii.      What is the level of compliance of firms with the provision of the identified components of H&S training capable of enhancing safety awareness among construction workers?

iv.      What is the impact of the identified H&S regulations and training on the safety performance of construction firms?

v.      What are the strategies for reducing the rate of accidents, injuries and fatalities on construction sites?

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

1.4.1 Aim

The aim of this research is to evaluate the compliance with H&S training by construction firms in Abuja, with a view to proposing strategies for reducing accidents on construction sites.

1.4.2    Objectives

The objectives through which the above stated aim were achieved are as follows:

i.      To  identify  and  examine  the  components  of  the  H&S  training  capable  of enhancing safety awareness among construction workers in construction firms.

ii.      To identify and examine the regulations capable of enhancing the effectiveness of H&S training practices of construction firms in Abuja.

iii.      To examine the level of compliance of firms with the provision of the identified components of H&S training capable of enhancing safety effectiveness among construction workers.

iv.      To determine the impact of the identified H&S regulations and training practices on the safety performance of construction firms.

v.      To propose strategies for reducing the rate of accidents, injuries and fatalities on construction sites.

1.5       Justification for the Study

To improve safety performance, construction firms invest millions of dollars in designing, developing, and delivering effective health & safety training practices. The goal of these training programs is to equip workers with the skills necessary to recognise and manage hazards in complex environments (Hinze and Gambatese, 2003).

This research represents an empirical attempt to evaluate the mechanisms through which construction firms adopt H&S training to achieve, sustain and improve construction safety performance. The findings of this study can significantly advance theory and practice in the area of construction safety and H&S training design and delivery. The results of the study will be beneficial to construction firms and practicing professionals interested in designing H&S training programs that translate to improved safety performance in construction.

1.6       Scope of the Study

The study evaluated the compliance with H&S training by construction firms in Abuja, Nigeria. For the purpose of this study, construction firms that engage in building and civil engineering works registered with the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) in Abuja were considered.

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