Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sites in Nairobi County

Abstract

Construction industry in Kenya is regarded as the 2nd most risky sector in terms of Occupational Safety and Health after transport Sector. This research was undertaken to understand Occupational Health and Safety in construction in Nairobi County. The study included collection of field data using questionnaires and analysis of secondary data from Kenya’s Directorate of occupational safety and Health (DOSH) covering the period between 2010 and 2014. To make assessment of various parameters in the research, the study used Likert Scale between 1 and 5, where 1 is “the least contributing factor in construction accidents” and 5 “the most contributing factor in construction accidents”. Perhaps due to inadequate training in safety and lack of experience, 74 % of the workers who were injured or killed when accidents occurred in construction sites were below 40 years old. Some 26% of the accidents occurred during the busiest months of the year, June and July, a period which coincides with the closure of financial year. Also, about a third of construction site accidents occur during the busiest hours of the day (10-11 am, and 3-4 pm). Falling from height and being hit by falling objects contributes towards about 64% of all construction site accidents. The majority of construction companies in Nairobi allocate less than 1% of project budget to health and safety. This could be because most companies do not have a clear accident prevention policy. Five administrative factors rated on a scaled of 1-5, were thought to contribute to accidents: (1) reluctance to provide resources for safety (4.10±0.2); (2) lack of staff training (4.07±0.2); (3) safety regulations not enforced (3.98±0.2); (4) workers not safety conscious (3.83±0.2); and (5) top leaders not being safety aware (3.71±0.2). It is recommended that investment in Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) and also in health and safety training should be prioritized in construction industry. Directorate of occupational safety and Health (DOSH) should be empowered to provide customized safety training, workshops and seminars to enable construction workers minimize accident occurrence.