scholarly journals Challenges for Occupational Health and Safety Enforcement in the Construction Industry in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elijah Frimpong Boadu ◽  
Cynthia Changxin Wang ◽  
Riza Yosia Sunindijo

Many previous studies have reported that the occupational health and safety (OHS) enforcement is poor in developing countries, however these studies have mainly focused on the broader enforcement problems and not fully considered the challenges confronting the institutions responsible for enforcing OHS standards at workplaces.  In this study, twelve potential challenges were identified from an extensive literature review, then an empirical investigation was carried out via a questionnaire survey from OHS inspectors and professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry. The twelve challenges were confirmed and ranked. Also, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation were used to determine the statistical significance of the responses and the relationships between the challenges. Based on these findings, this study provides practical strategies for government, OHS inspectors and other professionals within the construction industry to improve the OHS enforcement. The research findings can also be adopted as a basis to assess challenges confronting OHS institutions in other developing countries.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 6690
Author(s):  
Marek Sawicki ◽  
Mariusz Szóstak

The value, care, and customs of workers are essential in terms of occupational health and safety. The abuse of alcohol is widely regarded as a serious threat to the lives, health, and safety of employees. The aim of the research was to identify the main problems that are associated with alcohol abuse and consumption at work among employees in the construction industry, with particular emphasis on workstations where work is carried out on construction scaffoldings. Data for the analysis were obtained from two different sources. The first one was post-accident documentation on occupational accidents. The second one was surveys collected during the research project. This study confirmed that excessive and disproportionate alcohol consumption can be the cause of an accident, and consequently death at workplaces with scaffolding. Of 219 accident reports, 17.4% indicated alcohol as a contributing factor. Analysis of accident documentations shows that in cases where alcohol was indicated as a contributing factor in an accident, the alcohol was consumed during the workday. The results obtained on the basis of the conducted research were able to constitute a justification for the directions of preventive actions carried out in order to reduce the number of occupational accidents in the construction industry caused by alcohol.


2014 ◽  
Vol 501-504 ◽  
pp. 2695-2699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Dong Zhao

The work of occupational health and safety about construction industry has increasingly aroused peoples' attention ,so this article puts forward the problems existing in the occupational health and safety management of construction industry as well as the countermeasures and suggestions through the analysis of the construction labours' common occupational injury accident of the present stage in our country and the status quo in the aspects of professional physical,mental health and safety ,which is to develop the workers' way of life on safety,civilization and health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 1211-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ahmed ◽  
Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem ◽  
Ahsen Maqsoom

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate critical barriers hindering the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) and the opportunities that can be exploited with such an implementation in the construction industry of developing countries. It also devises strategies to avoid critical barriers in implementation and exploit opportunities for a better overall environmental performance of the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach This research relies upon an extensive literature review; data are collected from 163 professionals and 15 interviews of field professionals from 11 developing countries are conducted. The barriers and opportunities are synthesized through literature review and then data are collected over their significance from the construction professionals through an online survey. To highlight the interconnectedness of the critical barriers and opportunities, a causal loop framework is developed. Furthermore, expert opinion is sought to develop the strategies. Findings This research integrates information from different sources and provides a holistic view of the current situation of GSCM in developing countries. In total, 34 barriers and 23 opportunities are extracted from literature. The top 4 barriers fall under the “involvement and support” category, whereas the top four opportunities fall under the “environmental” category. Furthermore, the strategies to implement GSCM include suitable policies by top management to incorporate practices such as innovative green design, green procurement, green packaging, green distribution and even end-of-life management, which play a vital role in emission reduction. Originality/value This research is a first attempt at evaluating the barriers and opportunities facing GSCM in the construction sector of the developing countries. The findings encourage the stakeholders in adopting GSCM practices by presenting a clear picture of the potential benefits that can be exploited by implementing the proposed strategies to eliminate critical barriers in the construction industry.


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