An Investigation into Occupational Safety and Health Compliance on Construction Sites in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

Construction industry plays a significant role in the economic development of a nation. It creates employment to both skilled and unskilled labour which is a source of income to many people. Workforce is a key component in the construction industry and in the implementation of the production process, therefore construction firms should pay attention to maintaining Occupational Safety and Health. This is done to provide comfort whilst working and the resulting sense of safety for the workforce at the time of the production process and when dealing directly with their work environment. The purpose of this study therefore was to explore the possible ways of ensuring that there is occupational safety and health compliance in the construction sites in Kenya. It was guided by the four objectives: To establish the influence of employees’ education on safety and health management in construction sites; To determine the influence of contractors competency on safety and health compliance in construction sites; To assess the influence of government policy on safety and health compliance in construction sites; and to trace the extent to which use of technology influence safety and health compliance in construction projects; Secondary information was obtained from related literature of the study which was presented as per the study objectives. Primary data for the study was collected through the use of questionnaires and face to face interviews. This study targeted engineers/ construction managers, contractors, site supervisors/foremen, safety officers and construction workers who are working on construction sites in Embakasi subcounty of Nairobi City County. Contractors and site supervisors involved with construction projects have a responsibility for health and safety none more than the site management. It's the duty of managers and supervisors to ensure that working conditions on site are safe and healthy so that operatives, other stakeholders near to or visiting the site are not placed at risk. Descriptive survey research design was adopted in this study because it enabled the researcher to obtain information that described the existing phenomena through questionnaires. Random sampling was used to select sample size of 261 respondents out of the entire population of 2610. The study revealed that most employees on construction sites do not wear protective clothing when at work whereas it's their obligation to wear them to prevent risks to their safety and health and if they are not provided by the contractor, they have a right of requesting for their provision. Most workers once employed are never trained whereas it's required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007 that no person shall work on a machine or a process liable to cause ill-health or bodily injury unless they have received sufficient training. The researcher recommended a study to be carried out to further find out the influence of working environment on occupational safety and health compliance in construction projects in order to advance the body of knowledge.