Design Measures for Health and Safety in Pre-Construction Stage of Public Building Projects in Nigeria

Abstract

Construction project design is a key contributor to accidents and injuries on construction sites. Although design for health and safety (H&S) concept is a potent means of ensuring the safety of workers on construction site, architects and design engineers are reluctant to adopt this approach as their standard practice. To date, no study has comprehensively examined how well the H&S of workers are considered during the design stage of public building projects in Nigeria. To fill this gap, this research has provided an evidence-based assessment of H&S considerations in the pre-construction stage of public building projects in Nigeria. Data were collected from architects, builders and civil and structural engineers in Abuja through well-structured questionnaires. The data was subjected to statistical analysis using Relative Importance Index (RII) to assess the level at which design measures for H&S are considered in pre-construction stage of public building projects. The findings of this study revealed that out of the forty-one design measures for safe construction identified from literature, only four had high consideration, while 19 had moderate consideration, 17 had little consideration, and one had very little consideration. It was therefore concluded that there is no prime consideration for key design issues related to H&S in pre-construction stage of public building projects. Major recommendation from the study was that building designers working for public clients and contracting firms should make conscious effort to eliminate hazards through the design process to ensure safe construction.