Evaluation of Health, Safety & Environment Culture Perception by Construction Workers in Owerri Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

The relevance of the construction industry to Nigeria's economy is premised on its potential to bridge the wide gap in infrastructural deficit in Nigeria and also provide numerous jobs for the teeming young population. However, Health, Safety and Environmental anomalies can significantly militate against human and environmental wellbeing if they are not adequately managed. On that note, the study aims at evaluating Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) culture perception by construction workers in Owerri metropolis, in order to understand how the individual facets (health, safety and environment), as well as HSE policy, is perceived by the construction workers. Relevant literature was reviewed on organizational culture, international perspective on HSE, European as well as Nigerian viewpoints on HSE. In order to achieve the study aim, a survey design was adopted for data collection through which 122 questionnaires were retrieved from construction workers randomly selected in the study area. Analysis of the study results shows that while most respondents understand what HSE means, they are unaware of government regulations on HSE policy. Furthermore, Pearson Chi-Square test statistic shows that awareness about government regulations on HSE does not have a significant association with an understanding of what HSE culture means (X2 > = 0.747, P = .387). In addition, the study posits that there is a weak correlation between missed work days and length of time working in the construction sector (Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho) = .019 and P = .83). The study recommends instituting a comprehensive HSE regulatory framework in Nigeria which will go a long way in enshrining a positive HSE culture in the study area.

Assessing the health, safety, and environment culture in the United Arab Emirates oil and gas industry

“…Discussion 6.1 Conceptualization of health, safety and environment culture and existing theories The four usages of the HSE culture concept by the interviewees were interpreted as varying concepts. The varying use of the concepts of culture and HSE culture further reinforced the narrative of an elusive definition of culture, resulting in further confusion in meaning and interpretation (Schein, 1985(Schein, , 2010Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 1998;Cooper, 2000;Guldenmund, 2000;Alvesson, 2002;Emetumah, 2016Emetumah, , 2018. There was prevalent descriptive use of HSE culture at ADNOC, which corroborated the aspect of Schein's (1985) artifacts.…”

“…Other authors such as Emetumah (2016), Guldenmund (2000) and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1998) supported Schein's (1985) view regarding the culture concept and further elaborated it within the context of organizational culture. The existence of organizations depends heavily on interactions between people to accomplish the objectives and goals of the organization (Emetumah, 2018). Despite Schein (1985Schein ( , 2010 highlighting organizational culture's integrated and monolithic nature, there has been an argument that culture is considerably multifaceted with the traits of being uneven, distinguishing, and unitary (Martin, 1992).…”

“…With respect to the understanding of the influence of national cultures on organizational culture, the concepts of HSE culture and safety culture stem from the organizational culture concept (Høivik et al, 2009;Emetumah, 2018). Since 1988, the term "safety culture" has dominated the literature following the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.…”

“…The trigger for this expansion was the appreciation that matters concerning the environment, safety and health can be dealt with in a better way within the workplace upon their holistic integration. This expansion and inclusion of other multiple factors gave rise to the HSE culture concept (Emetumah, 2018).…”