HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Abstract

The study examined health and safety in the construction industry in Nigeria. It identified the health and safety practices, the challenges in implementation and how they affect workers’ outcome in the construction industry. The study adopted a comprehensive review of the literature. It identified health and safety practices within the industry as risk assessment and management, proper use of personal protective equipment etc. It identified the challenges in implementing health and safety procedures in the construction industry to include lack of adequate regulatory enforcement and compliance mechanisms, prevalence of informal and precarious employment arrangements and many others. Furthermore, it reveals scarcity of empirical studies that examine health and safety outcomes of workers in the Nigerian construction industry.  The conclusion was that the scarcity of evidence on the effect of health and safety on worker’s outcomes in construction industry in Nigeria underscores the urgency for increased research and data collection initiatives to inform evidence-based policies and interventions within the construction sector. It was recommended among others that government agencies responsible for occupational health and safety regulation should strengthen enforcement mechanisms within the construction industry