Occupational Accident Patterns and Prevention Measures in Construction Sites in Nairobi County Kenya

Abstract

Abstract:Construction accidents don't just happen, they are initiated by unsafe acts, unsafe conditions or both. The construction industry in Kenya plays a vital role in achieving social and economic development goals, providing shelter, infrastructure, and employment. A study was carried out to identify the common accidents in construction sites and to examine the characteristics of the injured and deceased workers and evaluate factors that cause these accidents in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study cross examined data from Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) from Nairobi County ranging from 2010-2014. The study also utilized on-site questionnaires that were administered to 60 contractors in 9 administrative regions in Nairobi County. They constituted all class NCA2 contractors in the county as well as a few NCA3 and NCA4 contractors. Some 41 questionnaires were returned. Accidents were classified by the age of workers, time and month of the accident, location of an accident, causes of accident and management factors affecting the accident. The study established that 65% of all reported accidents occurred to workers below 37 years old. The accidents peaked between tea break (10am), lunch break (1pm) and after lunch (3pm) and during the months of June and July. The study determined that most construction site injuries were as a result of workers falling from heights (37%), being hit by falling objects (28%) and accidents occurring as a result of workers operating equipment (20%). Relative Importance (R. I) index of construction hazards were calculated for 24 factors contributing to construction site accidents. The top five hazards identified were: (1) reluctance to provide resources for safety (0.820); (2) lack of staff training (0.814); (3) lack of a safety policy and enforcement of safety regulations (0.795); (4) poor safety consciousness among workers (0.766); and (5) lack of strict operational procedures (0.756) in construction sites. The study concluded that in order to improve safety in the construction industry, each company should have a health and safety policy which is to be implemented in each contract. Furthermore, construction companies need to provide workers with the necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as safety belts, retaining belts, safety ropes, and safety harness, and catch nets to prevent workers from being hit by falling materials and to secure them against falling from heights.

Prevalence of occupational injury and associated factors among building construction workers in Dessie town, Northeast Ethiopia; 2018

“…In this study, the odds of occupational injury were two times higher among workers who did not use PPE as compared to workers who use PPE. These results were consistent with the study done in Addis Ababa [7, 8], Nairobi, Kenya [20]. This consistency might be didn’t use PPE was no provision of PPE from the employers, negligence of workers and PPE were discomfort for the working condition of workers.…”

“…In this study, the result showed that the odds of occupational injury who didn’t receive occupational health and safety training were 2 times more than workers who receive health and safety training. This result is in line with the study conducted in Gondar [9], Kenya [20], Ilam (Western Iran) [21]. This similarity might be workers participate in health and safety training increases their awareness and protect themselves from injuries.…”

Factors Associated with Occupational Injury among Hydropower Dam Construction Workers, South East Ethiopia, 2018

“…This result is higher than the prevalence reports of studies done on construction workers in Gondar [13], 5 BioMed Research International Addis Ababa [12], South West Ethiopia [22], and Egypt [9]. It is lower than the results of the other two studies done in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [14,15], and the other two studies conducted in Kenya [11,22]. However, it is closer to the prevalence reported from a study done in Malaysia [23].…”

“…Only 5 % to 10% of the workforce in developing countries has access to some kind of occupational health and safety services [6]. Literature showed that the prevalence of occupational injuries among construction workers at different countries was 30.1% in Iran [7], 30% in Turkey [8], 46.2% in Egypt [9], 71% in Illam (West Iran) [10], 74% in Kenya [11], and the prevalence varied between 38.3% [12], 38.7% [13], and 84.7% [14] in earlier studies done in Ethiopia. In a study conducted in Addis Ababa [14] sex, job satisfaction, workload, training, and personal protective equipment use were predictors of occupational injury.…”

Prevalence of self-reported work-related illness and injuries among building construction workers, Shiraz, Iran

“…Various studies have shown contradictory results regarding the repetition and diversity of work-related injuries among construction workers. For example, in some studies, slips and falls from height were the most prevalent work-related injuries (Hatami et al, 2017[ 15 ]; Jo et al, 2017[ 17 ]; Kemei and Nyerere, 2016[ 18 ]) while other studies including the present study, as well as the studies by Welch et al (2005[ 35 ]) and Cheng et al (2012[ 12 ]) have reported cuts and lacerations to be the most prevalent injuries. There are several reasons for the contradictory results of these studies.…”