Health and Safety Performance in the Construction Industry in Rwanda
Tukesiga Pius1, Diang’a Stephen2, Gwaya Oswald Abednego3
1Mr. Pius Tukesiga: Construction Project Management, Msc. Bachelor of Science in Quantity Surveying, Makerere, Msc. (Ongoing), JKUAT
2Prof. Stephen Diang’a: (PhD, Durban University). Member of BORAQS, Housing & Urban Planning, Architecture.
3Dr. Abednego Gwaya: B.A (Bldg. Econ). U.O.N, MSc Civil Eng, Makerere, PhD (Const Eng. & Mngt), JKUAT.
Manuscript received on May 02, 2019. | Revised Manuscript received on May 05, 2019. | Manuscript published on May 30, 2019. | PP: 17-22 | VVolume-9 Issue-1, May 2019. | Retrieval Number: A3216059119/19©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The construction industry is an important part of the economy in many countries, and an important driver of economic growth especially in developing countries. Despite its importance, construction works are considered risky with frequent incidents of accidents and ill-health problems to workers, practitioners and end users. Health and safety issues have always been a major problem and concern in the construction industry.Workers are exposed to hazards of occupational diseases, injuries and adverse effects of excessively long working hours. This article is informed by Rwanda’s Profile on OSH study conducted by the Ministry of Public Service and Labour in 2012, which revealed numerical increase of occupational injuries over the years: 35 (2007), 82 (2008), 93 (2009), 112 (2010), 118 (2011) and 138 (2012). The paper sought to investigate the phenomena of health and safety performance in the construction industry in Rwanda. It reflects particularly tothe knowledge level among construction workers on health and safety practices and skills on construction projects in Rwanda; the sources and types of hazards and accidents encountered on construction projects in Rwanda; the level of implementation of health and safety management systems on construction projects in Rwanda; and the factors necessary to improve health and safety on construction projects in Rwanda. To achieve this, an overview of published materials was undertaken. Questionnaires were distributed to construction workers, Observations on safety practices were noted and interviews were conducted with officials at Ministry of Public Service and Labour. Out of a sample of 264, 186 were returned constituting a response rate of 70.45%.
Keywords: Health, Safety, Occupational ill-health, Risk and hazards, Risk management, Accidents.