Assessing Safety Management Practices In The Bhutanese Construction Industry

The construction field is one of the most hazardous industrial fields. Construction accidents caused many human tragedies, de-motivate workers, disrupt site activities, delay project progress and adversely affect the overall cost, productivity and reputation of the construction industry (Mohamed, 1999). Constructions in developing countries have following important characteristics (Datta, undated):

- Engineering integrity and design flares in response to constrained availability of materials.
- Flexible industry in response to funding constraints.
- Labour force is willing and adaptable to difficult working conditions.

Construction industry in a developing country is also a major stakeholder of the economy. It is a source of employment at various levels of skills from manual labour to semiskilled, skilled and specialist workforce. As such, accidents which result in loss of lives and injuries can have devastating economic effect apart from the human cost of suffering an accident (Sawacha et al., 1999). The accident and fatality rate due to occupation is still high especially in developing countries, despite some progress made in tackling the traditional occupational safety and health problems (Basri, undated). It is estimated that the risk of accident in developing countries is 10-20 times higher than the industrialized countries.

Safety is considered a critical problem both in developed and developing countries (Enshassi, 1997) because safety on the job site is an important aspect of the overall safety in construction (Assaf and Jannadi, 1998). However, in most developing countries, including Bhutan, safety consideration in construction project delivery is not given a priority and employment of safety measures during construction is considered a burden (Mbuya and Lema, undated).

The construction industry in Bhutan is one of the fastest growing and largest employing industries. It is also one of the highest contributing sectors to the national GDP (about 12% at the end of 8FYP) next only to agriculture. However, the occupational safety and health in the construction industry in Bhutan is at the very basic level. It lacks in all the three fronts of Engineering, Education and Enforcement (“Three E’s of Safety”) of occupational safety and health. Safety concerns have been raised, of late, and earnest efforts are being made to promote safety and health in the Bhutanese construction industry. The industry, as such, needs information to assess the safety situation and accordingly plan and implement safe construction in Bhutan. Currently there is a genuine lack of data on safety on construction sites in Bhutan. Apparently, there are no systematic and organized studies conducted specifically on the safety aspects of the construction industry in Bhutan. Therefore, there is an urgent need to carry out studies/researches in order to assess the prevalent site safety management practices and procedures, and thereby help propose viable measures for reducing accidents and consequential damage in the Bhutanese construction industry.

Mr. Kin Dorji made a research study which assessed the existing safety management practices and perceptions in the Bhutanese construction industry. The outcome of the study established a baseline data of the safety aspects of the construction industry in Bhutan. The overall scenario of safety situations reflected in the study could also serve to facilitate the policy makers in formulating rules and regulations and safety programs appropriate to the construction industry in Bhutan.

His research are to: (1) evaluate the prevalent safety management practices and procedures in the construction industry in Bhutan; (2) identify safety problem factors in the Bhutanese construction industry and determine how the contractors and government perceive their importance; (3) develop a database on the safety management practices of the Bhutanese Contractors; and (4) propose a recommendation for the Bhutanese construction industry for improving the site safety management.

Conclusions

1. Prevalent site safety management practices and procedures in the construction industry in Bhutan.

The five key elements of a construction safety and health management system have been found to be practiced in varying degrees by the construction companies in Bhutan. Some of the major shortcomings and problems confronting the current site safety management practices in the Bhutanese construction industry have been highlighted below:
a. Policy
- Lack of safety regulations and standards
- Low priority of safety

b. Organizing
- Lack of competent manpower

c. Planning and Implementing
- Lack of safety and health training
- Lack of safety promotion

d. Measuring performances
- Lack of data on safety on construction sites

e. Reviewing performances
- Lack of documented and organized safety management system

2. Perceptions of site safety management problems in the construction industry in Bhutan.

The study has revealed that the contractors and the relevant government organizations in Bhutan generally agree on the ranking order of the factors attributable to site safety management problems in the Bhutanese construction industry based on their importance. It means that the perceptions of the site safety management problems in the Bhutanese construction industry between the contractors and the relevant government organizations are the same. They have a common understanding of the safety problems which is very crucial for successful implementation of any safety measures in the Bhutanese construction industry. With this common understanding of the safety problems, the government would be in a position to understand the gaps and priority needs in the safety management practices of the contractors and accordingly adopt measures that would be appropriate and effective to contractors.

3. Database development on the site safety management practices of the construction companies in Bhutan.

A sample database has been developed using Microsoft Access software based on the data collected for the study. As a part of this study, it is a modest contribution to the Royal government of Bhutan. The database is targeted for use by the relevant government regulatory agencies concerned with occupational health and safety administration in the Bhutanese construction industry. It is a useful utility for storing and retrieving information on the safety management practices of the construction companies in Bhutan. However, the sample database is seriously handicapped due to lack of information on safety on construction sites in Bhutan. The database system consists of the following information: i) General information of the construction companies in Bhutan; ii) Safety organizing like safety policy, provision of safety budget, safety representatives and committees, etc. iii) Safety planning and implementing like safety meetings, inspections, and trainings, etc. and iv) accident information like number and type of accidents, and their costs.

Recommendations for safe construction in Bhutan

1. Safety legislations and corresponding regulations: Health and safety legislation supported by a regulating body is non existent in Bhutan. As such, there is ever growing need for realistic safety legislative standards to enforce safety in construction. Therefore, the establishment of a safety body or institution supporting the safety legislations would go a long way in improving the safety situation in the Bhutanese construction industry.

2. Safety awareness: The level of safety awareness among the construction industry personnel is very poor in Bhutan. Improved safety awareness can be created by promoting and communicating safety to the people in the construction industry through safety and health trainings, workshops and seminars, incentive programs, and safety campaigns through public media. Such education and training needs could be addressed by introducing safety chapters in the academic engineering institutions as well as the construction training institutes and centres in the country. Special safety literatures and training materials could also be published by the concerned agencies in the government.

3. Safety incentives: Safety will not improve unless there is a demand or incentive provided to the contractors (Larchar and Sohail, 1999). So, where the main concern of a contractor is how to save money and reduce costs (Kartam et al., 2000), the initiative for improved safety must come from the client. The clients should insist on having safety measures at the construction sites by incorporating the specific terms and conditions for safety provisions in the project contract documents.

Apart from this client oriented safety improvement measures the national Insurance companies in Bhutan could also play a vital role in improving safety in construction by varying the current fixed system of insurance premium payment for the contractors as per their record of safety performances. Such a step would encourage contractors to implement safety practices at their work sites.

4· Safety records: Currently there are no official sources for any information on safety on construction sites in Bhutan. There are no accident statistics and profiles, and safety reports available on the Bhutanese construction industry. As such, there is an immediate need to have an effective accident data collection system in place. The proposed safety department under the Ministry of Labor and Human Resources in Bhutan as discussed above could collect and compile data on safety on construction sites by distributing standardized data collection forms and formats to the construction companies.

5· Safety management practices: The current safety management practices of the contractors in Bhutan need to be drastically improved in terms of documentation and its effective implementations. It has to be manifested clearly in safety manuals and procedures. Standard forms and formats have to be used for safety inspections, accident investigations, accident reporting, and safety meetings, etc. for proper recordkeeping and follow-up actions. Above all top management’s awareness and support is vital for the successful implementation of the safety management system at the work sites.

His thesis abstract is copied and posted.

ABSTRACT

The construction field is considered one of the most hazardous industrial fields wherein the construction workers are more prone to accidents resulting in loss of lives and injuries. Studies have shown that these accidents in turn can have devastating effect on the construction industry both financially and in terms of humanitarian aspects. To this effect especially in the developed regions like UK and USA there are stricter legal enforcements to regulate safety and health in construction, and also implementation of safety management systems designed to minimize or eliminate accidents at work places. On the contrary, the occupational safety and health in construction is very poor in the developing regions like Bhutan where construction industry has a major share in the national economy.

This study evaluates the prevalent safety management practices and safety regulations, identifies factors affecting them, and also develops a sample database on the safety management practices in the construction industry in Bhutan. The study has been conducted on 40 sample construction companies and 14 officials in the government regulatory organizations relevant to construction industry in Bhutan by way of questionnaire surveys, interviews and discussions. There are many problems confronting the occupational safety and health in the construction industry in Bhutan. It was observed that some of the major gaps were: i) lack of safety regulations and standards, ii) low priority of safety, iii) lack of data on safety on construction sites, iv) lack of competent manpower, v) lack of safety and health training, vi) lack of safety promotion, and vii) lack of documented and organized safety management systems. Furthermore, the study also proposes some recommendations for safe construction in Bhutan.