Level of Adherence to Safety Measures on Construction Sites in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

The constructionindustryisknowntobeoneofthemosthazardousindustriesinterms of theactivitiesontheconstructionsiteandithaspoorsafetyrecords.Inorderto haveacomprehensiveunderstandingandgainfullybenefitfromsafetymeasuresonsite, the causesofaccidentsandlevelofadherencetosafetyrulesneededtobeexamined. Therefore, thisresearchassessedthelevelofadherencetosafetymeasuresonconstruc- tion sitesinAbuja,Nigeria.Awell-structuredself-administeredquestionnairesurvey of 140selectedfirmswasconductedinAbuja.FindingsshowedthatthePersonalPro- tectiveEquipment(PPE)isthemostusedsafetymeasureonconstructionsite.Using factor analysis,thecausesofaccidentswereclassifiedintothreedimensionsnamely poorsafetyplanning;pooradherenceandworkerattitude,whilesafetymeasureswere groupedintofiveunderlyingfactors:personalprotectiveequipment;effectiveenforce- ment;safetypreventionmechanism;safetyarrangementandsafetyculture.Thestudy concluded that there is high adherence level to safety measures by the medium and large constructionfirmsinthestudyarea.Itisrecommendedthatconstructionfirms should ensurethatoperativescomplywiththeprescribedsafetyandhealthmeasures so as to reduce accident occurrence on construction sites.