Health and safety management in developing countries: a study of construction SMEs in Ghana

The construction industry plays a significant role in the economy of developing countries. The sector is, however, also one of the most hazardous with frequent accidents and health related problems. The purpose of this study is to examine the health and safety practices of construction small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Ghana with a view to improving the health and safety performance of the sector. A survey questionnaire was administered to owner/managers of SMEs, with a response rate of 32% of the sampling frame obtained. The findings reveal that few of the SMEs adopted proactive health and safety practices. However, health and safety practices identified as being particularly associated with firm characteristics were: accident investigation procedures; accident reporting procedures; use of health and safety posters; documentation of method statements; and, health and safety inductions. The paper brings to light the diversity of health and safety practices associated with different size categories of SMEs and constraints to improving health and safety. Based on the analysis, recommendations aimed at a positive change in the attitudes of owner/managers which takes into account size-related constraints are suggested for improving the health and safety performance of Ghanaian SMEs

Health and safety management within SMEs in developing countries: a study of contextual influences

Considerable attention has been focused on addressing construction health and safety risks in developed economies. Sadly, the same cannot be said of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where accident figures are extremely high. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of the contextual environment within which Ghanaian construction Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) manage Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S). A questionnaire survey was administered to construction SMEs to better understand the health and safety management practices and associated problems followed up by field interviews to explore key issues identified by the survey. The results of the study highlight the institutional structure for implementing OH&S standards, prevailing economic climate, and extended family culture as challenges to the management of OH&S. The study identifies low literacy levels, low socioeconomic status of workers, owner/managers’ ignorance of their OH&S responsibilities, commitment to extended family obligations, and ineffective OH&S administration as key factors limiting the capacity of construction SMEs to manage OH&S effectively. The study concludes that effective institutional structure and an enabling socioeconomic environment are needed to enhance the OH&S performance of SMEs and advocates for more proactive OH&S management that take into consideration the work cultures of SMEs

Adaptable futures : setting the agenda

Currently the majority of buildings are designed and constructed as bespoke creations to suit a particular use at a certain time, with little thought for the future. The Adaptable Futures project, introduced in this paper, aims to facilitate the development of adaptable buildings in the UK that take account of an often uncertain future. This paper gives a brief overview of the project and then goes on to describe the two industrial case studies being used as the main sources of data collection for the project. These are a pre-configured concept, Newways, developed by Pharmaceutical organization GSK and a re-configurable concept, Multispace, created by architect 3DReid. Findings from a recent workshop looking at adaptable buildings are then presented

The cultivation of adaptability in Japan

This paper explores the adaptability of buildings in Japan from the perspective of three distinct practice typologies: large general contractors, large architectural design firms, and small design ateliers. The paper illustrates the cultivation of adaptability in Japan revealing a maturing of concepts into current innovations, trends, priorities, and obstacles in relation to adaptability in design. The paper contextualizes the situation by reviewing the evolution of residential development in support of building adaptability, and the ways in which these policies and concepts have shaped practice and transcended residential design. This evolution is then explored through non-residential case studies undertaken by the three practice types, and supported through a review of critical themes emerging from the interviews. The importance of particular physical characteristics are examined including storey height, location of services, planning modules and structural spacing/spans. The interviews expose the critical relationship between adaptability and different social variables - the state of the market, the role of planning regulations and other legal frameworks; as well as, the misconceptions and variations in the perceptions on the role and meaning adaptability has in practice. The paper is concluded by revealing the lessons learnt, including the unfolding of dependencies outside the ‘black box’ of adaptability (e.g. practice culture, material and, stakeholder mindsets) and the requirement of effective communication of concepts to allow an informed conversation between professionals and with clients and users. Like many other philosophical design concepts in complex processes, adaptability benefits from a mutual understanding, good relationships, communication, integration, and shared goals amongst team members

Implementing environmental improvements in a manufacturing context: a structured approach for the precast concrete industry

In common with other industries, most of the measures and solutions employed by companies in the £2 billion UK precast concrete manufacturing sector are linked to profitability. The concept of sustainability adds new dimensions as social progress and environmental protection become end goals in themselves, rather than objectives to achieve economic growth. This paper explores the nature of the precast industry and discusses opportunities and challenges relating to environmental improvement. A holistic view of the manufacture and procurement of precast concrete products is used to offer environmental improvement criteria an enhanced status in relation to the profitability imperative

The Cancer Genome Atlas Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma(RCC) is not a single disease, but several histologically defined cancers with different genetic drivers, clinical courses, and therapeutic responses. The current study evaluated 843 RCC from the three major histologic subtypes, including 488 clear cell RCC, 274 papillary RCC, and 81 chromophobe RCC. Comprehensive genomic and phenotypic analysis of the RCC subtypes reveals distinctive features of each subtype that provide the foundation for the development of subtype-specific therapeutic and management strategies for patients affected with these cancers. Somatic alteration of BAP1, PBRM1, and PTEN and altered metabolic pathways correlated with subtype-specific decreased survival, while CDKN2A alteration, increased DNA hypermethylation, and increases in the immune-related Th2 gene expression signature correlated with decreased survival within all major histologic subtypes. CIMP-RCC demonstrated an increased immune signature, and a uniform and distinct metabolic expression pattern identified a subset of metabolically divergent (MD) ChRCC that associated with extremely poor survival

The quality of accident and health data in the construction industry: interviews with senior managers

Despite recent changes in legislation and advances towards an integrated project-wide approach, health and safety management in the construction industry is still a major problem, involving a substantial cost to business, society and individuals. A prerequisite to improving the situation and developing an effective management strategy is monitoring, providing a detailed understanding of the effectiveness of different approaches to intervention. This paper describes a feasibility study using in-depth interviews with senior managers to explore the quality of accident and health data of nine large, high profile companies from the engineering construction sector. The interview dialogue comprised a series of questions and issues to be explored on the organization's accident reporting systems (e.g. what is reported, analysis performed, computerization), unsafe act and near miss auditing (e.g. definition, validity), failure type indicators (e.g. auditing, quantification) and safety culture indicators (e.g. commitment, health). Although safety was a priority for companies, health (i.e. medicals and monitoring systems) had not been given the same consideration, especially with regard to subcontracted labour. This study shows that the validity of accident statistics as a measure of safety remains a limitation, and that there is a requirement for a consistent and integrated approach to the measurement of health and safety performance.Health, Safety, Interviews, Accident Data,