ZAGREB, CROATIA, 04 – 06 SEPTEMBER 2019 14TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE – ORGANISATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION (OTMC) ZAGREB, CROATIA, 04 – 06 SEPTEMBER 2019 MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY ON CONSTRUCTION SITES PHILISA TWABU AND JOHN SMALLWOOD DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT john.smallwood@mandela.ac.za COPYRIGHT 2019

Introduction (1) The report ‘Construction Health & Safety Status & Recommendations’ highlighted the considerable number of accidents, fatalities, and other injuries that occur in the South African construction industry (Construction Industry Development Board (cidb), 2009): High-level of non-compliance with H&S legislative requirements, which is indicative of a deficiency of effective management and supervision of H&S on construction sites as well as planning from the inception / conception of projects within the context of project management Lack of sufficiently skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable persons to manage H&S on construction sites The disabling injury incidence rate (DIIR) is a rate, per 200 000 hours worked, of disabling injuries due to all causes i.e. per 100 workers x 2 000 hours / year: 0.98 Fatality rate per 100 000 workers: 25.5

Introduction (2) International fatality rates: Australia: 3.3 in 2016 (Safe Work Australia, 2017) UK: 1.94 in 2015 / 2016 (HSE, 2016) The severity rate (SR) in turn indicates the number of days lost due to accidents for every 1 000 hours worked: Construction (1.14) is the fourth highest, the all industry average being 0.59 Given that the average worker works 2 000 hours per year, if the SR is multiplied by 2, the average number of days lost per worker per year can be computed = 2.28 working days per worker, which is equivalent to 1.0% of working time The total cost of accidents (COA) could have been between 4.3% and 5.4%, based upon the value of construction work completed in South Africa (Smallwood, 2004 in cidb, 2009):

Introduction (3) Ultimately, clients incur the COA as the COA is included in contractors’ cost structures in the form of indirect costs, as contractors do not disaggregate costs when preparing tenders The causes of accidents can be divided into two categories, namely primary and secondary (Holt, 2001): The primary causes refer to the unsafe acts and conditions The secondary causes refer to the failure of the management system to anticipate, which includes lack of training, maintenance, adequate job planning and instruction, and not having H&S systems of work in place Given the abovementioned a study was conducted, the aim being to determine current and ideal H&S practices relative to managing hazards and risks on construction sites, the objectives being to determine the: Importance of six project parameters Extent of influence of various parties on H&S

Introduction (4) Importance of management functions in terms of managing H&S hazards and risk Frequency of H&S-related actions Frequency of H&S training Importance / Impact of H&S practices on H&S performance Extent factors contribute to the existence of H&S hazards and risks on construction sites

Research method and sample stratum Quantitative research method A self-administered questionnaire survey was distributed via e-mail and per hand The sample consisted of 70 GC members of the ECMBA, and the 35 members and employees of members of the ECIA in Port Elizabeth The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions, most of which were five-point Likert scale type questions 29 questionnaires were returned, which included 18 GC and 11 ECIA responses, which equates to response rates of 26% and 31% respectively, and an overall response rate of 28% Limitations of the study include that only two stakeholder groups were included, and then the study was localised in terms of the City of Port Elizabeth

Research findings (1) Parameter Architects GCs Mean MS Rank Quality 5.00 1 4.89 2 4.93 Schedule (Time) 4.73 3 4.83 4.79 Productivity 4.78 4 4.76 H&S 4.45 4.72 Cost 4.61 5 4.55 Environment 4.27 4.35 6 4.32 Table 1: Importance of six project parameters according to architects and GCs (MS = 1.00 – 5.00).

Research findings (2) Party / Occupation Architects GCs Mean MS Rank H&S Agent 4.91 1 4.83 5 4.86 H&S Manager 4.82 2 6 H&S Officer 4.73 3 4.89 Site manager 4.64 4.79 4 Structural foreman H&S Representative 4.78 8 4.76 Supervisor 4.55 7 4.72 Team leader 4.09 9 4.52 Contracts manager 3.90 10 4.50 Construction project managers 4.36 4.17 11 4.24 Workers 3.73 4.33 4.10 Client 2.82 17 4.00 12 3.55 Structural engineers 3.36 3.33 13 3.34 Civil engineers 3.27 3.06 14 3.14 Architectural designers 3.18 2.83 16 2.97 15 Materials manager 18 2.94 2.90 Contractor’s QS 3.00 2.67 2.79 Consultant / Client QS 2.91 2.33 2.55 Table 2: The extent of influence of various parties according to architects and GCs (MS = 1.00 – 5.00).

Research findings (3) Function Architects GCs Mean MS Rank Leading 4.27 2 4.94 1 4.68 Controlling 3 4.71 4.54 Coordinating 4.36 4.59 4 4.50 Planning 3.91 5 4.65 Organising 4.53 4.29 Table 3: The importance of management functions in terms of managing H&S hazards and risk according to architects and GCs (MS = 1.00 – 5.00).

Research findings (4) Action Architects GCs Mean MS Rank Supply PPE 3.18 1 4.78 3 4.17 Ensure guardrails to elevated platforms 2.78 7 4.72 4 4.07 2 Inspect the area of operation before commencing 3.00 4.61 4.00 Confirm certification of any temporary structure before operating 2.80 5 4.67 Identify and use designated waste containers 2.91 4.56 9 3.93 Identify emergency exits 2.82 8 3.90 6 Identify safe access routes 2.60 3.89 H&S induction 2.45 11 4.82 Clean work areas after completion of a task 4.44 12 3.86 Conduct HIRAs 2.22 13 4.50 10 3.74 Toolbox talks 1.80 17 4.88 Make use of task checklists 3.72 Refer to safe work procedures (SWPs) 2.55 4.41 14 3.68 Check whether hazardous substances will be used for a task 2.10 3.61 Refer to method statements 2.40 4.24 16 3.56 15 Inspect tools and equipment before use 1.90 4.33 3.46 Check the maximum operation capacity of tools and equipment used 1.67 18 3.82 3.08 Read equipment manuals 2.00 3.47 2.96 Table 4: The frequency of H&S-related actions by GCs and architectural practices on site (MS = 1.00 – 5.00).

Research findings (5) Training Architects GCs Mean MS Rank The use and wearing of PPE 2.45 1 5.00 4.03 Healthy and safe use of tools and equipment 1.55 3 4.67 2 3.48 HIRA 1.64 4.56 3.45 DSTI 1.18 5 4 3.28 Emergency procedures 1.45 4.28 3.21 Table 5: The frequency of H&S training according to architects and GCs (MS = 1.00 – 5.00).

Research findings (6) Statement Architects GCs Mean MS Rank Communication is a pre-requisite for managing hazards and risks 4.45 2 4.78 1 4.66 Effective H&S hazards and risks management is attributable to a positive H&S culture 4 4.61 4.55 Inadequate H&S training contributes to a poor H&S culture 4.50 3 4.52 Inadequate commitment to H&S contributes to a poor H&S culture 5 4.41 4.43 Ineffective communication is attributable to communication barriers 4.39 Effective HIRA can mitigate hazards and risks 4.27 6 4.34 Communicating in workers’ home language is essential for H&S 4.00 8 4.29 7 4.19 Lack of H&S awareness is attributable to inadequate H&S training 3.89 9 3.93 Workers do not wear PPE as it is perceived as a hindrance 3.00 4.06 3.70 Table 6: The extent to which architects and GCs agree / disagree with statements relating to the importance / impact of H&S practices (MS = 1.00 – 5.00).

Conclusions (1) The respondents perpetuate the industry paradigm of ‘cost, quality, and time’ Most of the project team influence H&S hazards and risk to a major, as opposed to a minor extent. Therefore, managing construction H&S is a multi-stakeholder issue The role of the functions of management work in managing H&S is amplified by the respective responses Architects’ practices take H&S actions, and provide H&S training less frequently than the GCs, however, this is attributable to them not being directly involved with the physical construction process The focus is on the lower end of the ‘hierarchy of prevention’ in terms of mitigating hazards and risk

Conclusions (2) To manage H&S effectively requires competent management, management commitment to H&S, optimum H&S training, worker participation in H&S, an optimum H&S culture, optimum supervision, effective communication, constant HIRAs, and following of safe work procedures

References Construction Industry Development Board (cidb). 2009. Construction Health & Safety in South Africa Status & Recommendations. Pretoria: cidb. Health and Safety Executive (HSE). 2016. Statistics on fatal injuries in the workplace Great Britain 2016. HSE. Holt, A. 2001. Principles of construction safety. Oxford: Blackwell Science. Safe Work Australia. 2017. Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2017. Canberra: Safe Work Australia. Smallwood, J.J., 2004. The influence of engineering designers on health and safety during construction, Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 46(1), pp. 2–8.