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Health and safety issues are major concerns in the United Kingdom (UK) construction industry. Evidence suggests that research studies on construction health and safety management issues have yet to lead to a signifi cant reduction in the number of accidents. To tackle the causes of days lost through accidents and to improve health and safety performance in the construction industry, the industry needs to understand the cost benefi t analysis (CBA) of accident prevention. The paper reviewed the rate of accidents in the UK construction industry and presents a model predicting CBA of accident prevention on construction projects. A quantitative method approach was used to collect data from health and safety managers in the UK construction industry for the survey. A total of 79 contractors (small, medium and large) participated in the questionnaire survey. A simple linear regression model was adopted to identify the effect of total costs of accident prevention on benefi ts of accident prevention. The result revealed that costs of accident prevention are signifi cantly associated with benefi ts of accident prevention. The model predicted that the more the contractors spend on accident prevention the more the benefi t of accident prevention they derived. This is part of a wider study to improve the management of health and safety and to propose a way forward for safer and healthier construction sites.

This work presents construction and leakage detection of dome-type biogas digester. The constructed biogas digester with local materials is rated at 10m3 capacity. The biogas digester foundation, cylindrical wall and dome vault were about 10 cm thick and made of high strength concrete in kilogram at ratio of cement, sharp sand and aggregate of 12 mm size as 111:1:1.2. The constructed biogas digester was pressure tested by using liquid manometer. The pressure gauge level difference of 48 cm (4.7 KN/m2) was obtained, which later dropped to less than 20 cm (1.96 KN/m2)indicating presence of leakage in the biogas digester. Cracks in the biogas digester were located after a careful examination at the cylindrical wall and dome top, which were scaled and sealed with wet cement. The pressure test wasagain conducted and yielded pressure gauge level difference of 60 cm(5.88 KN/m2), without dropping for over 20 minutes, which implies no leakage in the biogas digester.

Project performance issues are major concerns in Alberta. This paper compares the projects executed in Alberta and US projects. The paper analyses the projects performance in Alberta and compares it with US projects with a view to improve project performance in Alberta. 17 participating companies in Alberta provided the previous projects data and COAA/CII database provided the US data for the analysis. A qualitative research methodology was also employed in investigating the Alberta project performance. Interviews were conducted with industry practitioners, which contained open-ended questions. The research found that in comparison, the Alberta projects showed higher average cost and schedule growth than the US projects and the US based projects were more productive in erecting structural steel than Alberta projects. This method has the potential to contribute to a reduction in cost and schedule overruns, and improves project performance. It is concluded that comparison of projects executed in Alberta and US projects can provide a guide to companies to improve performance in Alberta.