Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders towards Ensuring Health and Safety at Construction Site

Abstract

Health and Safety issues in the construction industry are of much concern to stakeholders, particularly because of their impact on the industry. This paper explored the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in ensuring health and safety at the construction site. A well-structured interview guide was adopted for the qualitative study. Content analysis was adopted for the analysis of the results. The study revealed that the twelve roles identified by the stakeholders are only limited to the few laws and regulations they are aware of. Whereas the Contractors identified provision of welfare facilities, provision of health and safety policy, and health and safety plan as their key roles, the Consultants’ role was mainly limited to provision of competent site agent and provision of site layout. Abiding by the contractors’ instruction was identified by the Construction Workers as their key responsibilities. The local government officials also identified enforcement of CHS laws and regulations and reporting of incidents to the appropriate authorities, whereas the traditional authorities identified the enforcement of CHS laws and regulations including bye laws and enforcement of customs as their key roles. The findings further show that the stakeholders failed to appreciate some key roles and responsibilities enshrined in CHS laws and regulations in Ghana. The findings contribute to knowledge on stakeholders’ responsibilities in ensuring CHS, and provide valuable reference and insight to practitioners on the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders. It is recommended to train and educate stakeholders on all the relevant laws and regulations on CHS in order to improve health and safety at the construction site. The government should also set up a body such as Construction Authority to educate, coordinate, monitor and audit the activities of stakeholders to improve CHS at construction sites.