The causes and effects of contractors non-compliance with the health and safety regulations in the Malaysia Construction Industry

Abstract

The statistic of accidents at construction sites give us a picture that Malaysian construction industry is one of the critical sectors that need a huge and fast overhaul. In order to improve the overall safety performance, a policy of occupational safety and health (OSH) was enforced by the government as a guideline and rules that should be followed in dealing with OSH activities at the construction site. The increase in prosecution cases under OSH legislation indicates the lack of compliance to the regulations. A prosecution can be translated as one of the frequently employed instruments for the enforcement of health and safety legislation. The objective of this study is to analyze the most common non-compliance cases of OSH legislative provision from 2019 until March 2020 compiled by the Department Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and also from the questionnaire. The data of the cases were analyzed using frequency distribution analysis and content analysis. The result of the study shows that the most non-compliance with OSH legislation in Malaysia relates to the general duties of employers and self-employed persons to their employees (Section 15(1)). The second most common non-compliance of OSHA is section 29 regarding the employer?s failure to report the accidents and the employer?s failure to provide competent safety and health officer. The third most common noncompliance of OSHA is section 17 regarding employer?s failure to provide safe work system. To increase compliance to legislation, full top management commitment, active worker engagement and effective safety and health committee are amongst top preferred solutions.