Accident prevention model for the building construction industry

Abstract

The construction industry is often associated with accidents, resulting in partial or permanent disability, damage of property, loss of lives and income as well as poor company‘s image. The previous models of accident prevention developed in other countries could not be utilized on construction sites in Nigeria due to the lack of effective health and safety regulations. Hence, another model that incorporates the duties of construction stakeholders is needed for the construction industry in Nigeria. Therefore, this study was carried out under four objectives; to identify the types and frequencies of accidents occurring at the building construction sites, to determine the appropriate preventive measures at the pre-construction stage against the occurrence of accidents, to determine the appropriate preventive measures at the construction stage against the occurrence of accidents, and to develop a valid and practicable model for the prevention of accidents at the building construction sites in the South-western zone of Nigeria. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, three stages of survey methodology were conducted through administration of questionnaires and interview sessions with selected respondents. Stage one involved the distribution of questionnaire on 310 respondents to survey the types and frequencies of accidents, stage two involved the use of questionnaire on 384 respondents and interview protocol on 14 experts to find out accident preventive measures and health and safety-related regulations, while stage three utilized questionnaire on 24 experts for validation of the model. In addition, mean scores, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and structural equation modelling tools were used for analysis of the collected quantitative data, while the qualitative data were analysed with the aid of NVivo software using thematic analysis. The findings of the study showed that four categories of major accidents occurred on the building construction sites; contact with objects, vehicle/machine-related accidents, slip and trip, and fall-related accidents. Besides, there was no significant difference between the accidents occurring in low-rise buildings and those occurring in high-rise buildings. Moreover, 40 accident preventive measures were found to be significant, having 17 and 23 preventive measures at the pre-construction stage and during the construction stage respectively. Furthermore, the 40 significant preventive measures were pooled together to develop a model for the prevention of accident. In order to establish the validity of the model, the contacted construction and safety experts supported the validity, appropriateness and easy comprehension of the model. The ability of the model to provide a guide to the construction professionals was also attested to by the experts. In addition, the dual-stage accident prevention model is vital in enabling the stakeholders to possess the cognizance of individuals‘ safety roles during the pre-construction and the construction stages. The proposed model is also deemed applicable for use not only in Nigeria, but also other parts of the world to decrease on-site accidents.