3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Workers perceptions of the safety climate in the construction industry(2017) Bhimjee, Raksha VryjlallBackground The high rate of fatalities and injuries in the construction industry globally, requires that we focus away from the lagging indicators towards the leading indicators of safety and health. By giving attention to human factors, organisations can identify and isolate potential hazards or causes of risky behaviour before they lead to accidents or illness. One method of doing this would be to measure ‘leading’ indicators of safety such as the safety climate. Purpose This study describes the site workers’ perceptions of the safety climate at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital construction site in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. Research method A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional survey design using the Nordic Occupational Safety Climate Questionnaire was used to elicit the workers’ perceptions of the safety climate. The questionnaire is organised into 7 safety climate dimensions. The number of respondents totalled 108 (51.7% response rate). Data obtained from each of the 7 dimensions, was analysed using the statistical package STATA version 14. Results The results revealed that 72.2% of the workers rated managements’ safety priority and ability as low. 57.4% of the workers rated peer safety communication, learning and trust in co-workers as low. 39.8% of the respondents had a positive perception regarding the site’s safety systems. Overall, the workers perception of the safety climate at the Nelson Mandela Children’s hospital construction site was fairly low with need for improvement. Conclusion The results and outcome of the study can be used to guide management to establish a positive safety climate and afford the opportunity to the workers to have a platform to reflect on their workplace safety motivations and choices. Key concepts: Safety climate, Perceptions, Construction industry, Site workersItem Evaluation of disaster risk management in flood prone areas: a case study of Bramfischerville(2017) Mkhulisa, Nhlanhla Nsizwa PatrickThroughout the 21st century, floods have caused major disasters in urban areas worldwide and especially in Africa. Several factors influence the ability of government to manage flood disasters through the phases of, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery at a local level. The vulnerability of poor communities to flood disasters exacerbates the impact of the flooding on their livelihoods. The inability of governments to communicate effectively with communities about preparedness strategies for flood mitigation has resulted in much damage in urban areas. The study used semi-structured interviews with Disaster Management officials and community members involved in flooding to evaluate the Disaster Risk Management in Bramfischerville. The fieldwork took place in Bramfischerville that was affected by the 2009 floods. The research revealed that the 2009 Bramfischerville floods were caused by heavy rains, the building of RDP housing on a floodplain and ineffective implementation of Disaster Management strategies by the CoJ. This research argues that in order to understand flood disasters, cooperation between all stakeholders involved in Disaster Management is vital in knowledge accumulation. The 2009 floods had negatively impacted the livelihoods of people in Bramfischerville. Their houses were damaged and they had difficulty traveling to work and school. In this view, the costs associated with floods are continuously being a debt for the people living in Bramfischerville. This research found that the disjuncture between the community and the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) officials exacerbates the negative impacts floods have on people’s livelihoods in Bramfischerville.Item Case study of health and safety in construction projects of the Electricity Supply Commission of South Africa(2016) Grootboom, Funeka ArthurEskom is a state owned enterprise that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to various sectors. Hence, it supports South Africa’s growth and development aspirations by constructing new electricity infrastructure. This can be achieved by adopting safety, health, environmental and quality (SHEQ) management as a business imperative. Presently, there have been a number of incidents and accidents at some construction sites of the Eskom distribution sector in the Mpumalanga province, which are mainly due to non-compliance with construction health and safety. This research project aims to determine the compliance of contractors servicing Eskom. This is achieved by checking the compliance of the health and safety file of contractors with the Safety, Health and Environmental specification checklist of Eskom. The study aims to investigate if the use of the checklist has improved contractors’ compliance by 2014. In order to achieve these aims, factors are addressed relating to the current state of construction health and safety legislation; the impact of construction health and safety on the economy; project parameters; roles and responsibilities of parties involved on construction sites; performance of small and emerging contractors. The study shows that established contractors always achieved higher compliance when compared to the emerging contractors. In 2014, 90% of contractors complied with the checklist, hence in 2015/16 the contractors can be expected to meet the 100% requirement, therefore complying with the Eskom value of “Zero Harm”.