Construction Management: A Review of Occupational Safety and Health

This report provides a comprehensive review of occupational safety and health (OHS) in the construction industry, focusing on applications and trends. It begins by establishing the background of the construction industry in the UK, highlighting the risks faced by employees and the importance of health and safety management. The research objectives address the prevalent threats in the construction sector and explore methods to mitigate these issues. The literature review covers various elements related to health and safety, including the scope of the construction industry, common problems, OHS risk factors, and relevant regulations. The methodology section outlines the data collection process and analysis plan. The analysis reveals that health and safety issues significantly impact employee performance. The report concludes with recommendations for improving operational activities, enhancing employee motivation, and identifies areas for future research. The importance of training, safety equipment, and adherence to standards are emphasized throughout the report.

Running head: CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Occupational safety and health in construction: a review of applications and trends
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Abstract
Construction industry is a developing sector all over the globe. The demand for real estate has
been developing with the advent of time. It is seen that there exists several kinds of risks that are
available in the construction industry and these have an impact on the performance of the
employees as well. The background of the paper has provided an idea about the construction
industry in UK and the extent of risk that is faced by the employee. The objectives of the
research has addressed the threats that are existent in the construction industry and ways with the
help of which these issues can be reduced. The literature review has highlighted several kinds of
elements and aspects that are associated to health and safety factors in the construction industry
and accordingly various aspects have been explained with the help of which understanding of the
topic is attained. The methodology in relation to the topic has stated the sort of data that has been
used and the process that has been undertaken in order to gather the data. The analysis section of
the paper has explained the fact that health safety issues are very high in the construction
companies and this has an impact on the performance of the employees. The processes with the
help of which these issues can be reduced is even highlighted and recommendation of the same is
suggested in order to have better operational activities in the construction industries and
development of motivation among the employees.
Key Words:
Construction, health, safety, risks, hazards, performance, safety equipment, employees,
regulations and standards, training.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................5
1.1 Background of the Study.......................................................................................................6
1.1.1 Health and safety at the workplace.................................................................................6
1.2 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................9
1.3 Research Aims and Objectives............................................................................................10
1.3.1 Aim...............................................................................................................................10
1.3.2 Objectives.....................................................................................................................10
1.4 Research Question...............................................................................................................10
1.5 Scope of the research...........................................................................................................11
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................12
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................12
2.2 Importance of health and safety...........................................................................................12
2.3 Scope of construction industry and the general problem description..................................15
2.4 Problems faced in the construction industry........................................................................17
2.5 Occupational safety and health............................................................................................20
2.6 OHS risk factors..................................................................................................................21
2.7 OHS risk factors in construction..........................................................................................22
2.8 Summary of the literature....................................................................................................22
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................23

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3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................23
3.2 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................23
3.3 Research Approach..............................................................................................................24
3.4 Research Design..................................................................................................................24
3.5 Kind of data used.................................................................................................................25
3.6 Process of data collection....................................................................................................25
3.7 Sample and Sample Size......................................................................................................26
3.8 Data Analysis Plan...............................................................................................................26
Chapter 4: Data Analysis...............................................................................................................27
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................27
4.2 Demographic Characteristics of the Sample........................................................................27
4.2.1 Distribution by Age-Group...........................................................................................27
4.2.2 Distribution by Gender.................................................................................................29
4.2.3 Distribution by Designation..........................................................................................29
4.3 Quantitative Analysis...........................................................................................................30
4.3.1 Factors affecting health and safety trends....................................................................32
4.3.2 Implications of health and safety conditions................................................................38
4.4 Correlation Analysis............................................................................................................41
4.5 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................45
Chapter 5: Conclusion, Recommendation and Future Work.........................................................47

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5.1 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................47
5.2 Addressing the objectives....................................................................................................49
5.3 Recommendation.................................................................................................................49
5.4 Future Research...................................................................................................................50
Reference List................................................................................................................................51
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................59
Appendix........................................................................................................................................65
Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................65

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Chapter 1: Introduction
Safety and health is a key aspect to all the areas in the construction and building industry.
It has always been regarded to be a sector that is greatly exposed when it comes to the
occupational based accidents. It is seen that developments have been made in the health
andsafety performance in the certain aspects of the construction companies and very less
attention has been given towards how the process of attaining impacts within the sector with the
underlying themes of the legal and the financial liabilities and the responsibility of the accidents
(Sousa, Almeidaand Dias 2014). This has been observed in most of the nations and the realism is
that the construction industry has been sustainably has injury and the casualty statistics that make
it the most dangerous industries where people have to perform and how these plans and
strategies get ready in accordance to the organizational culture. The development of the measures
in order to deliver a project on a timely manner and to undergo the precise safety and health
legislation in the process to win an agreement within the area has become a serious issue (Sousa,
Almeidaand Dias 2015). It is due to this fact and a rise in the number of accidents, there has been
development and disclosure of the standards and effective engineering practices that is reliant on
the experience and the codes that have been initiated.
In UK, there have been observations that the demanded documentation is disclosed in the
outlets that are accessible and in the forms like the official governmental disclosures, directives
and laws and even in the standards like in the Health and Safety at Works Act (Simukondaet al.
2018). By depending on the past accidents, the technical and the common weaknesses of the
designs have reduced significantly by bringing in new and innovative requirements and
thereafter it became clear that most of the accidents still took place and it has been the fact that
the actual causes of these accidents have been hardly an outcome of the technical faults but

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actually has been the result of the bad and the practices that are illegal within the companies,
non-observation of the precise safety and health legislation with respect to the distinct accidents
and events. However, these instances should even be due to the absence of the adherence to the
health and safety rules or the absence of the ineffective level of communication within the
organization (Pirzadehet al. 2015). There have been other studies as well that have indicated that
the safety and the health developments can be attained only if the contractors and the labours and
even the customer alter their attitude and remuneration policies are incorporated in order to
motivate the entire workforce.
Seoet al. (2015) explained that these kind of efforts are not adequately true to curb the
development of the unsafe acts on the construction sites. In the same manner, safeguarding the
occupational injuries and sickness and the maintenance of the financial, health and the scrutiny
of the tender bidders at the initial stages of the construction project and this should be a key
concern for the employers, stakeholders and the contractors in every section of the industry in all
over the globe. In the worldwide market, there has been proof of similar safety issues that seems
to take place everywhere. In the same way, safety and health can be enhanced by highlighting the
construction related issues in various manners as it replicates the general threat that associates to
the global assessment efforts for the maintenance of safety in the construction industry.
1.1 Background of the Study
1.1.1 Health and safety at the workplace
The management of health and safety has been a serious issue that associates to and is
essential for all the firms that are coming from various kinds of industries and this ranges from
the conventional to the commercial and the information technology based companies etc. Safety
and health is distinctly vital and is essential for the construction industry (Bas 2014). The

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company and their roles are affected by the safety and the health issues and practices at the
workplace environment. In case of the companies that are regarded to the low risk based
companies, the health and the safety problems can be handled by a manager who is proficient.
But in the companies that are regarded to be high risk based companies that are inclusive of the
manufacturing companies and the construction industries, various kinds of experts like doctors,
trainers, supervisors etc can be appointed with the accountability of assisting the manager who is
accountable for the safety and health in the companies in order to ascertain that the safety and
health rules and regulations on the company are updated (Scanlonet al. 2015).
In UK, the construction industry is one of the largest industries out of all the industries
that are operational in the country. This industry is accountable for about 8% of the gross
domestic product and thereafter employs about 10% of the country wise workforce and thereby
creates an annual turnover of £250 billion. It is seen that construction industry in UK is
renowned all over the globe for the quality of activities but it is seen that this industry sustains to
be one of the dangerous and riskiest industries in the nation (Van Eerdet al. 2017). The extent of
fatal wounds in the country in the construction industry has been very high and therefore several
kinds of steps and measures have been taken in order to reduce the degree of injuries in the
industry. The development of the strategies and plans in relation to the safeguarding of the
industry and their employers is even not sufficient for the minimisation of the injuries for the
workers. The government of UK has even undertaken various campaigns in association with the
Health and Safety Commission with the help of which they have been looking to create a target
in order to reduce the extent of the injuries and accidents to the construction industry workers
(Cunninghamand Sinclair 2015). It is therefore seen that construction industry has been

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associated with several kinds of risks and measures and actions are being taken by the
construction companies as well as the government in order to reduce and mitigate the same.
The problems of OHS (Operational Health and Safety) within the construction industry
have become an essential factor in the current time period. According to Sivakarthigeyanet al.
(2016) more than 2 million people have been working in the construction industry in UK in the
current time period and thereby making this industry to be one of the largest industry. The
number of construction projects in the past few years in the country has increased and thereby
has led to the transformation in the labour force in UK. This has even seen to the rise in the
migrant labours.
In accordance to this rise in the labour force in the country, the extent of accidents and
injuries to the workforce in the construction industry has been rising and thereby making the
deadly injuries in the construction industry to be more than four times of the aggregate of the
other industries and thereby contributes to the highest amount of work associated injuries for any
sort of industry (Saunderset al. 2016). It is due to this fact that the government of UK in
collaboration with the Health and Safety employers and the trade unions have come towards a
model of action for the construction industry. Furthermore, the industry as well as the regulator
has been facing critical challenges because of the lack of experienced workers and the segmented
and migrating feature of the industry.
The scope of the construction industry in UK is very big as it is inclusive of the
commercial, domestic and industrial construction projects. These projects can initiate with the
complete or partial demolition of a distinct structure and this may be specifically dangerous to
the workers who are associated to these kinds of activities (Zahooret al. 2016). There are larger
projects as well that are inclusive of building of reads, dams canals, bridges etc. Most of the

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construction sites generally used for the purpose of construction work are in nature temporary
and at the time of the ongoing construction activities, there are constant changes that are
observed in these sites. Furthermore, even the workforce associated to this kind of work on the
site is momentary in nature and in most of the cases there are insufficient experienced workers
who are receiving on-site trainings on several kinds of issues related to construction. It is seen
that there are issues related to construction industry in UK and it is seen that the issues are
different when looked into the construction companies in USA. It is seen that in USA, the health
and safety standards and processes in the construction is very firm and strict and therefore all the
companies incorporate the same. Hence, it is seen that the safety standards in USA are much
better than that of UK.These training activities need to be administered and structured.
According to Kvorning, Hasleand Christensen(2015), because of the extent of literacy among the
labours who are associated to the construction industry, the disclosure of the occupational health
and safety information may become difficult. In certain cases, the work that is ongoing on the
construction sites can be impacted due to the bad weather scenario that may lead to chances that
the contractors may undergo construction penalties (Lawani, Hareand Cameron 2017).
Furthermore, the customers may be interested in looking at the projects being completed as fast
as possible. Therefore, the contractors may undergo additional pressure. These problems may
influence the contractors to neglect the occupational health and safety like providing adequate
construction gears and gadgets or the re-routing of the traffic on the construction site or even
providing sufficient welfare amenities.
1.2 Problem Statement
This thesis is prepared mainly because construction industry has been going through
various kinds of risks and therefore actions and steps need to be taken by the construction

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companies as well as the government in order to mitigate these risks. Even though, there are
certain actions and steps that are being undertaken in this industry, it is seen that the extent of
risks have not lowered. Flynn, Eggerthand Jacobson(2015) explained that there are numerous
injuries and risks that the workers would face and they are inclusive poisonous chemicals, gases
and infectious diseases. There are other risks as well and they include falling, electrical shocks
and fire and therefore several actions and steps are taken in order to mitigate these risks. The
construction industries therefore create designs and strategies with the help of which the safety
and the health of their workers can be maintained and better working environment can be
maintained. The occupational health and safety development process is helpful in the
maintenance of a better working environment and therefore the companies have been taking
initiatives and actions in order to take care of the same (Annan, Addai and Tulashie 2015).
Therefore, the issue that is existent with this industry in relation to the risk and safety would be
determined and this thesis would be helpful in the development of the understanding of the
current trend in the construction industry.
1.3 Research Aims and Objectives
1.3.1 Aim
The goal of the research associates with understanding the threats that are associated to
the health and safety aspects in the construction industry and thereby understand the ways with
the help of which these threats can be mitigated.
1.3.2 Objectives
The objectives in accordance to this thesis have been stated as follows;
 Address the threats related to the safety and health aspect in the construction industry
 Understand the ways with the help of which these threats can be mitigated

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1.4 Research Question
The research question is given as follows:
Q1. What are the risks that are associated to the construction industry?
Q2. What are the occupational trends and patterns that are related to the safety and health of the
construction industry?
1.5 Scope of the research
The scope of the current research has been explained as follows:
 To enhance the health and safety standards in the UK construction industry
 To enhance effective relationships among the client, stakeholders and the contractors
 To understand and increase effective knowledge of construction procurement
 To understand and enhance better knowledge of the strategic decisions in the
construction industry
 Increase knowledge about the legal and the financial implications with the construction
accidents
 To understand and enhance effective knowledge of the cost efficiency