Investigating the effect of occupational safety and health measures on the cost of construction works in Uganda : a case Nakawa division, Uganda

Abstract

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2006 was enacted by the Government of Uganda as one of the strategies taken to enhance the welfare and health of workers on construction sites. It was important to investigate if the occupational safety and health (OSH) measures had a good effect. Design, progressive and incident reports were reviewed before considering over 500 respondents from 24 bungalow construction sites across Nakawa Division. Questionnaires and interview guides were distributed to site workers. Among those considered, only 216 valid questionnaires and interview guides from 10 construction sites were returned from respondents that were randomly considered from class category A-3, A-4 and A-5 of indigenous construction companies. Frequency and percentage tables were used to analyse the data. The findings show that the cost associated with OSH measures recorded the Safety Investment Ratio (SIR) of 0.71%. The cost incurred due to construction accidents recorded the Accident Loss Ratio (ALR) of 0.47%. The overall effect of OSH measures was 1.18%, which was considerably low. This result indicates that, despite the fact that 77% of construction workers experience accidents, indigenous construction companies do not make significant investments in occupational safety and health. Adherence to OSH was difficult with negligence, manual lifting and shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) as the major causes. There is need to invest more on OSH measures in order to minimize the costs implications of sickness and death associated with accidents. It was recommended that the effect of OSH measures needs to be investigated on sites with fatal injuries. Fire protection and chemical storage too need to be investigated in Uganda. The study was limited to only Nakawa Division. Research on the effect of occupational safety and health measures on cost needs to also be conducted in other Divisions in Kampala and cities within Uganda. More studies should be conducted on innovative technology on safety and health measures at construction sites in Uganda. These findings are significant in the formulation of safety and health regulations and in the application of occupational safety and health measures.