Health and Safety Management within Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Developing Countries: Study of Contextual Influences
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136, Issue 10
Abstract
Considerable attention has been focused on addressing construction health and safety risks in developed economies. Sadly, the same cannot be said of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where accident figures are extremely high. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of the contextual environment within which Ghanaian construction small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) manage occupational health and safety (OH&S). A questionnaire survey was administered to construction SMEs to better understand the health and safety management practices and associated problems followed up by field interviews to explore key issues identified by the survey. The results of the study highlight the institutional structure for implementing OH&S standards, prevailing economic climate, and extended family culture as challenges to the management of OH&S. The study identifies low literacy levels, low socioeconomic status of workers, owner/managers’ ignorance of their OH&S responsibilities, commitment to extended family obligations, and ineffective OH&S administration as key factors limiting the capacity of construction SMEs to manage OH&S effectively. The study concludes that effective institutional structure and an enabling socioeconomic environment are needed to enhance the OH&S performance of SMEs and advocates for more proactive OH&S management that take into consideration the work cultures of SMEs.
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Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136 • Issue 10 • October 2010
Pages: 1104 - 1115
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: May 8, 2009
Accepted: Mar 15, 2010
Published online: Mar 17, 2010
Published in print: Oct 2010
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