The construction sector contributes significantly to a country’s socioeconomic growth. It is significant because of the direct and indirect influence it has on all economic activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and health performance of site workers on various road construction projects in Pokhara metropolitan city and to examine whether the performance indexes were close to the International Labor Organization’s code of practices. The information gathered from the respondents was examined using measure central tendency and prioritized by importance. The results of the questionnaire survey showed that Pokhara metropolitan city’s construction projects were not found to meet the ILO’s health and safety standards whereas few of the rules were effectively followed. Most employees have access to safe drinking and sanitary facilities, with some receiving extra perks. The survey found just seven distinct types of personal protective equipment (PPE), indicating that most workers overlook the use of PPE on the job. Consequently, in addition to quality and quantity, the monitoring office should put greater emphasis on construction site health and safety.
Both in developed and developing countries, the construction industry has a significant impact on worker health and safety. Construction industry is very substantial economically and socially [
The goal of construction safety is to avoid accidents and illnesses in the workplace. However, in poor countries such as Nepal, construction safety concerns are not given the importance they deserve, and as a result, safety practices and culture are not as well developed as they should be in construction projects.
The Nepalese construction industry is still learning about safety. Every year, thousands of people die and many more are injured in the Nepalese construction industry, proving that measures to minimize accidents on construction sites are insufficient [
The road construction project in Nepal is carried out by different levels of government like Department of Road, Infrastructure Development, Metropolitan Offices and so on. These government offices are working on regular basis from tendering to the inspecting. In spite of inspection and regular control, there lacks the basis concept of safety during the construction phase. Basically, in local level projects like Metropolitan office, because of lack of experience and practice, safety concern is lagging behind quiet distinctly.
The main objective of the study is to compare the safety and health as per an International Labor Organization (ILO) code of Practice in road construction project in Pokhara Metropolitan city.
This research will help to document the better safety practices approach, and then, it can be implemented or practiced in other road construction projects to improve the safety performance.
The purpose of this study is to explain, or compare with minimum compliance of safety and health in construction site at Pokhara metropolitan city or its outcome, which specifies the kind of study that will be carried out.
Only the ILO’s code of conduct pertaining to road construction is alluded to in this study, which focuses on safety measures in limited road construction projects in the Pokhara Metropolitan City.
Construction in developing countries like Pakistan and India is more labor intensive than in industrialized countries, requiring about 2.5 to a stunning 10 times the number of workers per activity [
Considering recent efforts to improve construction site safety, the number of occupational injuries and fatalities in the construction industry continues to fluctuate. However, the implementation of H&S in construction has not resulted in a commensurate improvement in the construction industry [
Despite all of the measures taken during project planning and work design, most construction sites have working conditions that need the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) [
When it comes to the Nepali construction business, Khumraj (2015) discovered that workers outnumber machines, and that safety rules are lax. Laborers are at risk in workplaces with machines and equipment; electrical work; construction work; transportation work; chemical use; a dusty environment; a congested, dark, and poorly ventilated environment [
In the United Nations, the International Labor Organization (ILO) is the institution that deals with employment and workplace issues, along with the related rights. A member of the ILO since August 30, 1966, Nepal joined the ILO by applying just Article 3 Para 1 of the ILO’s Constitution. The ILO Country Office for Nepal was created in 1994. There are 11 ILO conventions that Nepal has ratified, including seven core conventions. As a result of the ILO’s efforts, the Government, Workers’ Organizations, and Employers’ Organizations in Nepal have developed a productive result and these three parties have been able to unionize informal workers, implement various social protection measures, revise labor laws and build social dialogue mechanisms as well as ratify ILO conventions because to this relationship [
| S.N. | Road Construction Projects by PMC | Contractor Name | Contract Amount | Major Works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upgrading of Baglung Buspark Kaskikot Road, PMC-18&24 | Mahadev/Khimti J.V | 102310657.20 | Earthworks, Structures, Premix |
| 2 | Upgrading of RTO Road, PMC-17 | Ashish/Fewa J.V | 82563897.48 | Drain, Asphalt Concrete |
| 3 | Upgrading of Ward office Thuldhunga Surtane Chainpur Suraudi Sadak, PMC-21 | Gajindra/Shree Geeta/Simran J.V | 111135173.44 | Earthworks, Structures, Premix |
Source: (Survey 2022).
Primary data was obtained in the field utilizing a variety of approaches such as field observation and a check list survey. Secondary data was gathered from books, journals, articles, papers, and theses on safety.
We will use the data acquired from primary data and secondary data, observation and expert views.
Relative view of respondents (Workers and Supervisors) in terms of their satisfaction level with safety practices and principles adopted in their construction site as per International Labor Organization (ILO) code of practices.
The mean of safety at workplace in construction is 2.78 in
According to the mean score in
According to
| Statements | N | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Deviation | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housekeeping | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.11 | 1.102 | 1 |
| Precautions against the fall of materials and persons, & collapse of structures | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.91 | 1.086 | 3 |
| Prevention of unauthorized entry | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.37 | 1.048 | 5 |
| Fire prevention and fire fighting | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.59 | 1.061 | 4 |
| Lighting | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.93 | 1.060 | 2 |
| Safety at Workplace | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.78 | 0.818 |
Source: (Survey 2022).
| Statements | N | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Deviation | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials used | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.96 | 0.969 | 1 |
| Design and construction | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.82 | 0.968 | 2 |
| Inspection and maintenance of scaffolds | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.63 | 0.990 | 4 |
| Lifting appliances on scaffolds | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.41 | 0.964 | 5 |
| Use of scaffolds | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.82 | 0.968 | 3 |
| Scaffolds and ladders | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.73 | 0.753 |
Source: (Survey 2022).
| Statements | N | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Deviation | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power shovels, excavators | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.25 | 0.936 | 2 |
| Bulldozers | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.17 | 0.933 | 5 |
| Scarpers | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.12 | 0.921 | 6 |
| Asphalt Layers and Finishers | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.21 | 1.063 | 4 |
| Pavers | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.27 | 0.982 | 1 |
| Road Rollers | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.24 | 1.080 | 3 |
| Transport, earth-moving and materials-handling equipment | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.21 | 0.787 | 103 |
Source: (Survey 2022).
| Statements | N | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Dev | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access to Occupational health and safety | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.37 | 0.970 | 5 |
| Availability and use of First aid | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.70 | 1.046 | 1 |
| Information and protection against Hazardous substances | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.62 | 0.971 | 2 |
| Measures in working on Dangerous Atmosphere | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.45 | 1.007 | 3 |
| Prevention against Heat Stress, cold and wet conditions | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.40 | 0.974 | 4 |
| Noise and Vibration controls | 103 | 1 | 5 | 1.97 | 1.024 | 6 |
| Health hazards, first aid and occupational health services | 103 | 1 | 5 | 2.42 | 0.787 |
Source: (Survey 2022).
The total mean score is 3.70, which is higher than 3 and indicates planning is critical to enhancing construction site safety (
According to respondents, training and awareness play a critical role in improving safety on construction sites, as shown in
| Statements | N | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Dev | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Include safety part in Planning | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.83 | 0.94 | 2 |
| Allocation of budget for safety | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.94 | 0.978 | 1 |
| Access of safety in Conditions of Contract | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.68 | 1.021 | 3 |
| Provision of Safety Booklets | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.35 | 1.064 | 4 |
| Planning Part | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.7 | 0.812 |
Source: (Survey 2022).
| Statements | N | Mi n | Ma x | Mea n | Std. Deviation | Ran k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular training and awareness related to safety and health | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.82 | 1.064 | 1 |
| Regular tool Box talks | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.52 | 0.998 | 4 |
| Budget allocation for training | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.58 | 1.098 | 2 |
| Involvement of Workers in safety briefing and classes | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.54 | 1.092 | 3 |
| Training and Awareness Part | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.62 | 0.917 |
Source: (Survey 2022).
The influence of health and first aid on the effective execution of safety on the building site is summarized in
With an aggregate mean of 3.71, the influence of improvement on several areas of labor welfare and motivation was determined to be rather outstanding (
Safety at work place is worst, provided scaffolders and ladders are not satisfactory, the handling of earth moving, transportation and other heavy equipment also not good, General welfare of workers is not good even 87.4% workers are getting drinking water, Training, motivation, awareness program were not conducted. From the literature review too, we are lagging the ILO, Safety compliance. Nepal has already rectified ILO convention.
| Statements | N | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Dev | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Availability of first aid | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.73 | 1.002 | 1 |
| First aid training to workers | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.63 | 1.01 | 2 |
| Emergency vehicle on site | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.57 | 1.072 | 3 |
| Availability of Paramedical on site | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.53 | 1.055 | 4 |
| Health and First Aid | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.62 | 0.903 |
Source: (Survey 2022).
| Statements | N | Min | Max | Mean | Std. Dev | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provision of Safety awards and incentives | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.6 | 1.114 | 3 |
| Access of PPE to all workers at site | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.81 | 1.085 | 2 |
| No work in difficult weather condition | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.6 | 1.032 | 3 |
| Provision of better drinking water and sanitation facility | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.83 | 1.011 | 1 |
| Labor Welfare Motivation | 103 | 1 | 5 | 3.71 | 0.884 |
Source: (Survey 2022).
Based on the results of the questionnaire survey and observations, it is obvious that the practice of safety in Pokhara Metropolitan City Road construction projects does not correspond to the code of practice recommended by the International Labor Organization. On a road construction site, workers and supervisors are easily accessible human resources, but they are also more vulnerable to health concerns.
In order to improve the operation of occupational health and safety management systems in the construction sector it is suggested that:
· Pokhara Metropolitan City Office, in collaboration with the respective contractor, should prioritize safety and health in construction, accelerating efforts to bring actual practice related to road construction closer to the ILO code of conduct.
· The road construction projects should be well analyzed in terms of safety before commencement of project and details of safety should be included in planning part of project.
· Pokhara Metropolitan city office road section should order its entire branch to establish safety and health department to organize safety and health training and consultation for employees.
· The monitoring office should establish safety and health program at all of its branches.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Baral, P. and Koirala, M.P. (2022) Assessment of Safety and Health Practices in Road Construction. Open Journal of Safety Science and Technology, 12, 85-95. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojsst.2022.124008