Abstract:
The Construction industry plays a major role in any economy and its activities are also vital
to the achievement of the socio-economic development goals of providing shelter,
infrastructure and employment. However, the construction industry is also recognized as
an accident prone industry in Ghana. The ever-increasing cost of medical treatment, tends
have a negative impact on a company's profit. The aim of the study was to examine
strategies for mitigating the causes of work-related accidents on construction sites in
Tamale Metropolis. The specific objectives of the study included; to identify the causes of
work-related accidents on construction sites in Tamale Metropolis, to identify effective
strategies for preventing or minimizing occurrence of accidents on construction sites in the
Tamale Metropolis and to make recommendations for minimizing the occurrence of
accidents on construction sites in the Tamale Metropolis. Using purposive sampling
technique, survey questionnaires were administered to a sample of one hundred and
twenty-eight (128) site managers and a response rate of 48% was achieved. The findings
indicated that more than half of the respondents are of the view that workers negligence,
equipment without safety devices, negative attitude of workers, improper supervision and
management attitude are the major causes of accidents on construction sites. The findings
also indicated that the effective strategies for mitigating the causes of construction site
accidents included; knowledge on the rights on health issues as a workers, training on
health and safety issues, first aid promptly administered, proper understanding of warning
signs at the workplace and conducting periodic safety seminars and safety campaigns.
Based on the findings, the study recommends that management of construction firms
should be more committed towards ensuring safety on construction sites and safety
campaigns, incentives and education need to be vigorously pursued by management.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of CONSTRUCTION AND WOOD
TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION, Faculty of TECHNICAL EDUCATION, submitted
to the School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Technology (Construction
Technology) degree.
AUGUST, 2016