Author(s)

E. IKPE, F. HAMMOND, D. PROVERBS & D. OLOKE

Abstract

Health and safety issues are major concerns in the United Kingdom (UK) construction industry. Evidence suggests that research studies on construction health and safety management issues have yet to lead to a significant reduction in the number of accidents. To tackle the causes of days lost through accidents and to improve health and safety performance in the construction industry, the industry needs to understand the cost benefit analysis (CBA) of accident prevention. The paper reviewed the rate of accidents in the UK construction industry and presents a model predicting CBA of accident prevention on construction projects. A quantitative method approach was used to collect data from health and safety managers in the UK construction industry for the survey. A total of 79 contractors (small, medium and large) participated in the questionnaire survey. A simple linear regression model was adopted to identify the effect of total costs of accident prevention on benefits of accident prevention. The result revealed that costs of accident prevention are significantly associated with benefits of accident prevention. The model predicted that the more the contractors spend on accident prevention the more the benefit of accident prevention they derived. This is part of a wider study to improve the management of health and safety and to propose a way forward for safer and healthier construction sites.

Keywords

accident prevention, construction projects, cost benefit analysis, health and safety