Mitigating ergonomic risk factors in labour-intensive construction
Date
2020
Authors
Meintjes, Marius
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
South Africa has introduced a programme to help aid job creation and skills transfer. This programme is called the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP), which requires a projected utilisation of labour-intensive construction for certain aspects of the projects. This programme can typically be seen implemented on road construction projects, particularly in rural areas. Although the programme has many positive attributes, labour-intensive construction increases the risk of workers developing muscoskeletal disorders (MSD) if ergonomic risk factors (ERFs) are not mitigated at the design stage. Current legislation broadly addresses Ergonomics and states that the Designer has a responsibility of designing a project that does not place the health and safety (H&S) of workers at risk. However, a new Ergonomic regulation (awaiting promulgation) will place the onus on Designers to ensure that their projects are ergonomically sound. The issue being that most Designers have a lack of knowledge in terms of what Ergonomics entails, as this was not covered in detail during tertiary education and with no continuous professional development (CPD) courses available on this topic. The research conducted aimed to explore to what extent Designers are currently implementing Ergonomic principles in their designs ,and where they acquired the knowledge, if not at tertiary institutions, perhaps through continuous professional development courses, minimally addressing Ergonomics as part of H&S due diligence. The research had a single method approach that collected qualitative data by means of semi-structured interviews. The sample group consisted of Civil Engineers with road construction experience around the Gauteng Province. Whilst only 9 participants were interviewed, a clear trend emerged that Ergonomics was not applied to designs of labour-intensive projects for the construction phase of the projects undertaken. Where Ergonomics was applied, it was consequence of direct experience. For Designers to comply with current and future Ergonomic legislation, as well as protect the workforce’s H&S, they should undergo rigorous training in Ergonomic principles and how to incorporate it into their designs
Description
Research report submitted in fulfilment of the BUQS7027 course and part fulfilment of the degree Master of Science in Building at the School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of Witwatersrand, 2020