A study on the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction sites in kampala uganda

Luwalaga John Groover, 2009-MPH-FT-010, Research Dissertation, IHSU
1
A STUDY ON THE PATTERN OF OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENTS AT
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SITES IN KAMPALA DISTRICT
A POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE
INSTITUTE OF HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT IN PARTIAL
FULFILMENT OF THE AWARD OF THE MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN
PUBLIC HEALTH (MPH)
INTERNATIONAL HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY
BY
LUWALAGA JOHN GROOVER,
2009 – MPH – FT – 010
B.Eng. Civil (KYU), H. Dip. Civil (KYU), Dip. Arch. (UPK)
SUPERVISOR
DR. MBABAZI REGINA
SENIOR LECTURER, IHPM, IHSU
DECEMBER, 2010

2
TABLE OF CONTENT
TABLE OF CONTENT .....................................................................................................2
LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................................................................................6
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..............................................................................................7
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................8
DEFINITIONS ..............................................................................................................10
CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................14
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................14
Introduction ...............................................................................................................14
Background of the Study...............................................................................................14
Summary of Uganda‟s Industrial fatal accidents investigated by OSH Department between 2002 and
2009 ........................................................................................................................18
Problem Statement.......................................................................................................21
General Objective of the Study .......................................................................................22
Specific Objectives......................................................................................................22
Research Questions......................................................................................................22
Significance of the Study...............................................................................................22
Justification of the Study...............................................................................................23
CHAPTER TWO ...........................................................................................................24
LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................24
Introduction ...............................................................................................................24
Overview ..................................................................................................................24
Conceptual framework..................................................................................................25
Occupational accidents that occur on building construction sites..............................................26
Causes of building construction site accidents.....................................................................29
Prevention of accidents on the building construction site .......................................................36
Summary of the literature review.....................................................................................38
CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................40
METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................40
Introduction ...............................................................................................................40
Scope of the Study.......................................................................................................40
Research Design .........................................................................................................42

3
Sample Size and Sample Size determination.......................................................................42
Data Collection methods ...............................................................................................44
Observation: By visiting the various sites and moving around, a number of working environmental
conditions of exposure of the workers were able to be seen. ................................................44
Oral interviews: This was actually used were some people or participants were unable to understand
the language used on questionnaires. .............................................................................44
Photography: Some photographs were taken, portraying the conditions prevailing on sites. These
show the physical state of the problems and give a very vivid elaboration in a pictorial form........44
Study Population: The population comprised workers on the government or public building
construction sites, private building construction sites and individual developers who were by the
time of research were operating and under contracts. .........................................................44
Research Instrument .................................................................................................44
Materials/Apparatus: Internet services, training manuals, hand outs, and computer programs were
used......................................................................................................................45
Research Procedure .....................................................................................................45
Ethical consideration and approval...................................................................................47
Data processing ..........................................................................................................47
Data Analysis.............................................................................................................47
Limitations of the study/problems faced during the study.......................................................48
CHAPTER FOUR ..........................................................................................................50
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS.........................................................................50
Introduction ...............................................................................................................50
Part 1: Worker‟s Personal Data .......................................................................................50
Part 2: Accident and Site Conditions ................................................................................60
Part 3: Factors attributed to building construction accidents....................................................68
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS...........................................................................................78
Introduction ...............................................................................................................78
Part 1: Respondents‟ personal data...................................................................................78
Part 2: Accidents and Site conditions................................................................................83
Part 3: Factors attributed to construction accidents............................................................88
Top 11 out of 30 factors likely to cause occupational accidents on building construction site in
Kampala ...................................................................................................................90

4
Detailed discussion of the results on the three different groups of occupational building construction
accidents...................................................................................................................91
Factors attributed to the management ............................................................................91
Worker related factors ...............................................................................................93
Project related factors................................................................................................94
Possible policies or other suggestions ...............................................................................95
The Town and Country Planning Act – 1951 ...................................................................95
The occupational Safety and Health Act – 2006 ...............................................................95
The Public Health Act – 1935......................................................................................95
The Health and Safety at work Act 1974 ........................................................................95
Work – Place (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 ..............................................96
Safety Equipments....................................................................................................96
Accident monitoring .................................................................................................97
Attending to an accident.............................................................................................97
CHAPTER SIX..............................................................................................................98
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION.....................................................................98
Conclusion ................................................................................................................98
Recommendations .....................................................................................................113

5
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: Distribution of fatalities in the investigated accidents per industry. ...........................17
Table 4. 18: representations of rankings/scores....................................................................68
Table 4. 19: Numerical values of degree of acceptance, undecided-ness and rejection by respondents69
Table 4. 20: Demonstrations of computations involved in analysis of raw data.............................69
Table 4. 21: Common likely causes of accidents/hazards on building construction sites .................70
Table 4. 22: Likely causes of accidents on building construction site.........................................73
Table 5. 1: The ranking of factors contributing to occupational building construction accidents ........88

6
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1: Summary of research procedure (source: secondary data).......................46
Figure 4. 1: Gender of respondents working on building construction site (source: primary data).....51
Figure 4. 2: Age group of the respondents (Source: Primary data) ...........................................52
Figure 4. 3: Job titles of the respondents (Source: primary data)..............................................53
Figure 4. 4: Educational background of the respondents on the building construction site (Source:
primary data) ................................................................................................................54
Figure 4. 5: Years of experience of the respondents (Source: Primary data)................................55
Figure 4. 6: Income per day of the respondents on the building construction site. (Source: primary
data) ...........................................................................................................................56
Figure 4. 7: Health history of the respondents (Source: primary data) .......................................57
Figure 4. 8: Exact health problem of the respondents (source: primary data)...............................58
Figure 4. 9: Where the respondents stay after work (source: primary data).................................59
Figure 4. 10: Division of Kampala where the site is located (source: primary data)......................60
Figure 4. 11: category of ownership of the building construction site (source: primary data) ..........61
Figure 4. 12: Type of accident that has ever occurred on the building construction site. (Source:
primary data) ................................................................................................................62
Figure 4. 13: Periods when accidents have ever occurred. (Source: primary data) ........................63
Figure 4. 14: Weather conditions during which accidents have ever occurred (Source: primary data)64
Figure 4. 15: Months in which accidents have ever occurred (source: primary data).....................65
Figure 4. 16: whether the contractor has any insurance policy for the workers (source: primary data)
..................................................................................................................................66
Figure 4. 17: Safety gears on the building construction site (source: primary data) .......................67
Figure 4. 18: Accident factors attributed to management (Source: primary data) ..........................75
Figure 4. 19: Accident factors attributed to the workers (source: primary data)............................75
Figure 4. 20: Accident factors attributed to the project (source: primary data) .............................76

7
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
UBOS Uganda Bureau of Statistics
NGOs Non Governmental Organizations
KCC Kampala City Council
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GNP Gross National Product
ILO International Labour Organization
US United States of America
UGX Uganda Shillings
OSHD Occupational Safety and Health Department
NSSF National Social Security Fund
IHSU International Health Sciences University
UK United Kingdom
UIPE Uganda Institute of Professional Engineers
URA Uganda Revenue Authority

8
ABSTRACT
Uganda has experienced a high economic growth of over 8% p.a as a result of
liberalisation of the economy. This has positively impacted the construction industry which has
grown at an average rate of over 10% between 1995 and 2009. This high growth rate of the
construction industry has influenced the Growth National Product and directly provides
employment to many Ugandans and foreigners.
However, the construction industry has become the most hazardous industry in this
country and the world over by presenting more accidents, injuries, ill health and occupational
diseases than any other industry. Examples of the widely published common accidents include
collapsing of structures, cave-ins of excavations, falls from heights, dropping objects striking
workers, machine hazards, and many others.
This research revealed that these occupational accidents on construction sites emanate
from poor safety culture due to lack of awareness of safety requirements, inadequate site
management, supervision land inspection, insufficient soil investigation, use of incompetent
personnel, use of faulty designs, use of poor construction materials, non-compliance to safety
rules due to weakness in legislation and enforcement organs.
The occupation accidents, disease and ill health in the building construction industry can
be more effectively mitigated by matching the technological advancement in the industry with
re-engineering of occupational health and safety strategies and ideas; and by using proactive
approaches that focus on occupational health and safety comprehensive programmes other than
merely on giving employer directives that involve the provision of personal protective gears to
employees. Emphasis need to be put on dissemination of information on safety to the workers

9
and public through awareness campaigns, safety education and training in addition to provision
of adequate site management, supervision and inspections.

10
DEFINITIONS
Site: Site in relation to any buildings includes offices, outbuildings, yards, courts or gardens
occupied or intended to be occupied with the buildings. (Town and Country Planning act – 1951)
Erect: Erect in reference to a dwelling or room includes alter, add to, or convert into. (Public
Health Act – 1935)
Public building: Public building means a building used or constructed or adapted to be used
either ordinarily or occasionally as a place of public worship or as a theatre, public hall, or as a
public place of assembly for persons admitted by ticket or otherwise, or used or adapted to be
used for any other public purpose. (Public Health Act – 1935)
Bodily Injury: Bodily Injury includes injury to health. (Occupational Safety and Health Act –
2006)
Building operation: Building operation means the construction, structural alteration, repair or
maintenance of a building (including re-painting, re-decoration and external cleaning of the
structure), the demolition of a building but does not include any operation which is a work of
engineering construction. (Occupational safety and Health Act – 2006)
Competent person: Competent person means a person with suitable training and sufficient
knowledge, experience and skill for the performance of specific work. (Occupational Safety and
Health Act – 2006)
Fatal occupational injury: Fatal occupational injury means occupational injury leading to death.
(Occupational Safety and Health Act – 2006)
Health: Health in relation to work means not merely the absence of diseases or infirmity, it
includes the physical and mental elements affecting health which are indirectly or directly related
to safety and hygiene at work. (Occupational Safety and Health Act – 2006)

11
Non-Fatal Occupational injury: on-Fatal Occupational injury means occupational injury which
does not lead to death. (Occupational Safety and Health Act – 2006)
Occupational accident: Occupational accident means an occurrence arising out of or in the
course of work which results in fatal occupational injury or non-fatal occupational injury.
(Occupational Safety and Health Act – 2006)
Occupational disease: Occupational disease means a disease contracted as a result of an exposure
to risk factors arising from a work activity. (Occupational Safety and Health Act – 2006)
Worker: Worker means a person who performs work regularly or temporarily for an employer
and includes a public officer. (Occupational Safety and Health Act – 2006)
Working Environment or Work place: Working Environment or Work place means all places of
work, sites and areas where work is carried out including not only the permanent, indoor,
stationary places of work, such as factories, offices, and shops but also temporary places of work
such as Civil Engineering sites, open-air places such as fields, forests, roads, oil refineries and
mobile places of work such as cabs of trucks, seats of tractors and excavators, ships, galleys
freights decks of aircraft, and without exception; places where workers are found as a
consequence of their work (including canteens and living quarters on board ships). (Occupational
Safety and Health Act – 2006)
Hazard Mitigation: Hazard Mitigation according to the Stafford Act: (44 CFR 206:401), means
any action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from
natural hazard.
Mitigation: Mitigation is the ongoing effort to lessen the impact of natural disasters on people
and property.

12
Personal protection gears: Personal protection gear is designed to be the last resort in action if an
accident occurs. Supposing that all other safety measures have been carried out if there is still an
unpredictable failure the personal protection gear will save the lives of the workers if it is
properly used and maintained. The protection gear should be checked for usability each time
before use; and used correctly as instructed by the company‟s safety management, training and
education courses or governmental department guidelines. (Labour Department Occupational
safety and Health council, 2004b)
Site safety plan: Site safety plan is defined as a building and construction site specific document
that demonstrates an organization‟s means of compliance with the occupational safety and
Health Act, 2006; and includes but not limited to the following:
 Assignment of responsibilities for onsite implementation;
 Hazard identification methods;
 Accident investigation and report methods;
 Site emergency procedures;
 Site communication strategy;
 Strategy for the coordination of on site trade activities;
 Site audit procedures
(http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do viewed on 20/08/2010)
Building: Building means any building, erection or any other structure erected on or made on, in
or under any lands and includes the land on or under which the building is situated. (Town and
Country planning Act – 1951)

13
Stake holders: Stake holders are persons or companies that are involved in a particular
organisation, project or system especially because they have rested interest in it. In construction,
the main stake holders include the client, contractor, contractor‟s employees,
Designers/Architect, suppliers and manufacturers of materials and goods used on site, local
authority operatives among others. Nevertheless, safety is a concern for all in the industry from
the top management to the operative on site.
Construction: Construction means any work done in connection with the construction, alteration,
conversion, fitting out, commissioning or demolition of any building or structure, or any similar
activity. The main sectors of construction are:
 Housing makes up nearly 60% of the industry and includes the construction of domestic
houses, flats and associated out buildings.
 Commercial deals with the construction of office buildings, shops and shopping centre,
public buildings, factories and medium to high raise apartment buildings.
 Civil includes the construction of roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, wharfs, reservoirs,
dams and similar infrastructure works
 Engineering includes the construction of power stations, chemical processing and storage
facilities, major industrial processing plants and ship buildings.
Safety: Safety means the state of being safe and protected from danger or harm or even the state
of not being dangerous.
Accident: Accident means unplanned and unexpected occurrence which upsets the planned
sequence of events and actions, resulting in the loss of production, injury to persons and damage
to plants and equipments.

14
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
This study focused on the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction sites
in Kampala District. The information in this dissertation is arranged in chapters.
Chapter one introduces the research topic, brings out the objectives of the research; and
the statement of the problem. Chapter two reviews the contributions of different scholars to the
research subject. Chapter three is concerned with methodology where by research strategy, data
analysis techniques; and criteria for the interpretation of results are elaborated in this chapter.
Chapter four is concerned with data presentation and analysis of empirical data,
interpretation of empirical data; and presentation of results and findings. Chapter five brings out
the implications and significance of the study. It elaborates implications for methodology and
data availability, implications of findings for the theory/policy/practices; and possible policy or
other suggestions and recommendations. Chapter six, outline the recommendations and
conclusions of the study.
Background of the Study
Since 1990, when Ugandan economy was liberalised, there has been greater development
in all sectors. The construction industry for the last thirteen years (1990 – 2003) had a growth
rate of an average of 5.7 percent per annum. From 1995/96, it has continued to grow at an
average rate of 8.8 percent per annum well almost at par with 2007/08 GDP annual growth rate
for Uganda of 8.9 percent, coming next to agriculture in the economy.

15
Investigations carried out by Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)
under Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development indicated that the construction
Industry is made up of small contractors, a number of medium sized contractors and a few big
contractors often foreign who also get into joint ventures or sub-contract a number of medium
and small sized contractors on the big projects they undertake. Seventy percent (70%) of all
construction is informal with many individual developers directly undertaking complex
construction projects employing mostly unskilled labour to including children who in many cases
are often ignorant, negligent, and careless. This results into numerous hazards hence causing
fatal and non-fatal accidents.
In Uganda, construction project management has in recent shown greater emphasis on
time and cost at the expense of safety of the people involved in the industry. Lack of adherence
to safety regulations and requirements has led to increased exposure of the workers and the
general public to risky situations including a high rate of accident occurrence on construction
sites.
Rampant accidents in the construction industry pose direct and indirect physical injury to
persons. Which include loss of wages, hardship due to reduced earning, human suffering and
sorrow that no amount of compensation or benefit can erase; and psychological/social traumas to
affected families. On the side of the project engineer/client, losses due to costs of medical
treatment, worker compensation, replacing damaged equipment, wasted working time, replacing
injured workers as well as negative publicity. The result of accidents is therefore, lost production
capacity of the injured persons, death and reduced work output for the organization. This retards
both house hold and national economic growth.

16
According to International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates (2008), 6,000 workers
die each day worldwide as a result of work related accidents or illness. Moreover, each year there
are an estimated 270,000,000 non-fatal work-related accidents as well as 160,000,000 new cases
of work-related diseases.
The total cost of such accidents and ill health have been estimated by ILO to be 4% of
global GDP (more than 1.25 trillion US dollars) or more than 20 times the global amount of
official development assistance. Construction, mining, manufacturing and agriculture rank
amongst the most hazardous occupations globally.
Construction industry has one of the largest potentials for increasing a country‟s Gross
National Product (GNP). Construction industry is increasingly becoming the most hazardous
industry in Uganda despite the fact that it has a vast potential for direct employment provision,
not only in the real building construction activities but also in the construction materials industry
that include bricks, blocks, aggregates, cement, steel, aluminium, timber, paint, pipes and
fittings, hardware, and several allied industries, construction equipment and transportation.
However, the construction industry in Uganda has presented the highest fatality rates in
the recent past years amongst all the industries as shown in table 1.1 below;

17
Table 1.1: Distribution of fatalities in the investigated accidents per industry.
Industry
No. of cases Fatality
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total
Construction 04 06 07 02 11 07 02 39
Manufacturing 01 03 01 05 06 07 09 32
Agriculture 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Others 00 02 01 07 04 20 11 45
Total 05 11 09 14 21 34 22 116
(Source: OSH Dept. Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development)
Between 1997 and 2003, a total of 39 fatalities out of 116 which constitutes about 33.6%
were associated to construction. In the year 2003, a total of 236 accidents resulting in 22 deaths
were recorded in Kampala district and 34 and 21 deaths from 354 and 209 accidents were
reported in the previous years of 2002 and 2001 respectively as a result of occupational
accidents.
According to New Vision newspaper of Friday 28/08/2009, Works and Transport
Minister, was reported to have said that between 1997 and 2009. A total of 13 accidents occurred
at building construction sites, killing 97 and injuring 151 people. This information puts at fore
front construction industry as the most hazardous industry in Uganda.
Lives and large sums of invested money are lost in Uganda and the world over, as a result
of collapsing structures, falls from heights, fire outbreaks, caving in excavations, during
construction or maintenance activities or after occupation of the premises.
According to New Vision of Tuesday 22/09/2009, “the causes of construction related
accidents country wide have included inadequate design, use of unqualified personnel, sub-
standard materials, poor construction methods and workmanship. Failure of the builder to

18
interpret available engineering, architectural drawings and technical specifications has also
contributed to the problem.”
Summary of Uganda’s Industrial fatal accidents investigated by OSH Department between
2002 and 2009
2002
 Dr. Biryawhaho‟s construction site, plot 113 Buganda Road
 Amamu House, George Street,
 Cementer‟s site at URA headquarters,
 China Nanjing site on 5th
Street Industrial Area
 Site for Krishna Construction Co. Mukwano/U.T.C site, Namirembe Road
 Mr. Karim Hirji‟s renovation site at Palm Beach Resort, Entebbe
 Nakivubo Rehabilitation project
2003
 Pit latrine being excavated in Kasubi on 25th
– Febraury-2003. Victim was an excavator,
who got buried by collapsing soil.
 Hajji Katongole‟s complex, Kawempe on 31st
/August/2003, 4 victims were hit by a
collapsing slab
 Tembo steel (U) Ltd, on 1st
/February/2003
 Infectious Disease Institute on 9th
/June/2003
 Guardian Services, Entebbe on 11th
/November/2003
 Avis, Kawempe on 18th
/December/2003

19
2004
 Kaka industries (U) Ltd on 14th
/February/2004; no one was injured but a lot of property
was destroyed by fire.
 Kansanga, Kobil Petrol Station on 16th
/February/2004; four workers were buried in
excavated pit at petrol station construction site.
 Gateway bus service site, Nakivubo Road on 6th
/May/2004; one victim suffocated under
collapsed soil mass and four other workers sustained various body injuries.
 Kajansi stone quarry on 8th
/August/2004; man and his three children were buried by
sliding soil mass inside a quarry pit.
 Nabulagala School, on 24th
/August/2004; two people died on collapse of storied school
building under renovation
 Bwebajja Hotel construction on 1st
/September/2004; collapse of a three storey structure
still under construction, causing entrapment of 38 workers, 11 of whom died.
 Collapse of Seguku building on 21st
/October/2004; two workers killed and four workers
injured on collapse of two storied commercial building under construction.
2005
 Rwenzori Beverage Uganda Ltd on 21st
/June/2005; injuring work‟s hand by crusher
machine while cleaning
 Damji Plantation Ltd on 8th
/July/2005; worker trapped and injured in crusher machine
while feeding sugarcane into machine
 Ambitious, Lumumba Avenue on 17th
/August/2005; collapsing soil mass buried workers,
one died and two injured
 Cementers, Serena Hotel on 29th
/August/2005; one worker fell down to the ground,
where he met his death

20
2006
 Sogea Satom on 2nd
/August/2006; one worker was killed by water gush under a trench
 Tuff Foam Industry, on 3rd
/August/2006; accident involving fire occurrence at factory
premises
 Nabinoonya Beach, Entebbe on 2nd
/September/2006; fatal accident involving drowning
2007
 Tembo Steels Lugazi on 25th
/January/2007; fatal accident involving one worker
 Construction neighbouring old Kampala Police Station
 Accident on plot 48/50, Ben Kiwanuka Street on 31st
/December/2007
2008
 Accident at Nalya St. Peters Secondary School on 30th
/January/2008
 Follow-up of accident at Britannia Allied Industries Ltd; victim was Nakiyemba Carol
 Follow-up of accident at premises of Mr. Odida Francis; comprehensive college
Secondary school, Kitetika Gayaza
 Accident at ROKO NSSF construction site; plot 15A 15B and 17 Lumumba Avenue, on
14th
/October/2008
2009
 Partial collapse of an excavation at the junction between Market Street, Snay Bin Amir
Street and Duster Street, Nakasero on 25th
/February/2009
 One face of the excavation gave way taking with it part of the neighbouring structure,
Mirembe Shopping Arcade between plot 7 and plot 5a, Nasser Road on 13th
/March/2009;
one person died and six injured

21
It is because of the increasing numbers of collapsing construction sites and fatality rates
(death rates) in Uganda that has prompted the researcher to carry out a study into Occupational
accidents at building construction sites taking Kampala district as a case study.
Problem Statement
Uganda has one of the fastest growing economies in the world with GDP of 8.9%
(2007/08) and construction industry is among the leading contributors in Uganda. Because of the
boom, many non professionals register companies and carryout construction works; and most of
these companies, employ non qualified and non registered employees. This has greatly
contributed to the increasing accidents in the construction industry.
Between 2002 and 2009 above, many building construction accidents took place killing
many people and injuring thousands of workers. Much as they look very high as they are, these
are still too low compared to reality, because, data is got from only reported accidents within or
around Kampala district. Very many construction site accidents occur daily and many are not
reported to the authorities due to illegal construction taking place in this country leading to
fatalities, disabilities, injuries, psychological torture, and loss of lots of invested funds and time.
Therefore, the purpose of this research was to carry out a study into occupational
accidents on building construction sites and to recommend mitigation measures. To find out if
the provisions in the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2006, are being complied with or
implemented on construction sites in Kampala Uganda. This study was to find out whether the
contractors/employers are concerned with workers‟ health and safety; and whether the workers
on the construction site are aware of their rights to a healthy and safe work place.

22
General Objective of the Study
To study the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction sites in Kampala
district.
Specific Objectives
 Establish the common occupational accidents that occur on the building construction sites
during the period of research and past years.
 Find out the causes of accidents on building construction sites in Kampala District.
 Suggest what should be done to minimise accidents on the building construction sites in
Kampala district.
Research Questions
 What are the common occupational accidents that occur on the building construction
sites?
 What are the causes of accidents on building construction sites in Kampala district?
 What can be done to minimise accidents on building construction sites in Kampala
district?
Significance of the Study
 The researcher is expected to establish the causes of accidents in the construction
industry in Uganda.

23
 The findings will contribute to the development of appropriate guidelines for safe
construction practices for people engaged in the construction industry in order to
minimise accidents.
 The research will recommend improvements to the Safety and Health regulations
currently in place.
 The findings are expected to contribute knowledge to the future leadership, and as a
source of reference for further research.
Justification of the Study
The increasing numbers of accidents at the building construction sites which leads to
direct and indirect physical injuries to persons. These include loss of wages, hardship due to
reduced earnings, human suffering and sorrow that no amount of compensation or benefit which
can erase away psychological/social traumas to affected families. Also losses due to costs of
medical treatment, worker compensation, replacing damaged equipment, wasted working time,
replacing injured workers as well as negative publicity. All these have led to retardation of both
household and Ugandan national economic growth that the researcher decided to undertake this
research.

24
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
In this context, analysis of existing literature from different writers/researchers who have
appreciated the topic of “Occupational health and safety” at work places were acknowledged. A
number of researches have been done by different people in various parts of the world in line of
safety and public health in work places in general. However, in this case only literature relating
to building construction sites was reviewed.
Overview
The complexity of the construction industry makes occupational ill health difficult to
assess not only in the developing countries but the world over. Construction comes high in the
comparative list of accident rates in many work places. The high number of accidents in
construction work is not caused entirely by the fact that the work often has to be done at great
heights or in deep pits or shafts. The vast majority of injuries are due to simple causes, similar to
those encountered in other industries like falling, stepping on objects, being struck or trapped by
objects, faulty handling of objects and incorrect use of hand tools. The difference between the
injuries occurring in construction work and those in other industries are mostly ones of degree
rather than type of injury.

25
Conceptual framework
Explanation of conceptual framework
Occupational accidents on building construction sites involve falls from heights, slips,
trips and fall from the same level, tool accidents, struck by material accidents, crane accidents,
scaffolding accidents and many others. Once not prevented from occurring can cause accidents
the building construction sites. Hence the building construction site cannot be free from the
accidents. But once they are prevented, no accidents will occur and the building construction site
will be safe.
The causes of accidents on the building construction sites are lack of supervision and
control on worker‟s adherence to wear safety wear, lack of appreciation after completion of task,
lack of safety equipments, lack of proper training; unsafe site conditions and many others. Once
prevention measures are not in place, occupational accidents on building construction site will
occur. Hence, accidents will occur on the building construction site and it will not be free from
accidents. But if they are taken care of, there will be no occupational accidents occurring and the
building construction site will be free from accidents
Prevention is better than cure, prevention of accidents and causes of accidents can be
done through adequate designs, quality control of materials, proper construction work
Occupational
accidents on
building site
Causes of accidents
on building sites
Control of
Accidents Accident
free site

26
techniques, adequate supervision and others. Once occupational accidents and their causes are
prevented from occurring on the building construction site, the site will be free from accidents.
But if they are not controlled accidents will occur and building construction site will not be free
from accidents.
For a building construction site to be free from accidents there should be proper measures
on the site to prevent causation of occupational accidents from occurring.
Occupational accidents that occur on building construction sites
Phil Hughes and Ed Forrett (2008) pointed out the most common accidents that occur on
workers on building construction sites. These included slips, trips and falls on the same level, fall
from height, being struck by moving, falling or flying objects, and striking against fixed or
stationary objects.
The major forms of site accidents in the building construction industry are: structural
failures, machinery (involving construction plants) accidents, fall from heights, falling objects
(improperly staked materials or tools and equipments), excavation cave-in, equipment mishaps,
fires and electrocutions. P.P Dharwadker (1990), had this to say; ‘In U.K, statistics revealed that
more than 60% of fatal accidents in the construction industry occur due to persons falling from
heights or due to them being struck by falling objects from heights.’ He further stressed that; ‘the
accidents occurring because of structures failure and after construction, collapse of centring and
shuttering, failure of building scaffoldings, caving-in excavations and damage of fire are
indicators of utter lack of awareness of occupational safety in the industry.’
According to the African Newsletters on OHS (2001 and 2004), occupational health
hazards can be categorised as physical, chemical, biological and social hazards.

27
Physical Hazards
These include:
 Noise and vibration hazards which cause harmful effects to workers, including hearing
defects/loss (deafness), annoyance/irritability, psychological.
 Welding hazard which include the presence of ultraviolet lights, gas leaks and metal
fumes released during the welding processes. These hazards are associated with fire and
explosions which result into burns from heated metal work pieces; electric shocks from
damaged cables and faulty circuits; photo-ophthalmia from electric arc flash; fume fever
from melting metals; and gassing accidents from toxic metal oxide fumes.
 Musculoskeletal impairments resulting from cumulative trauma, chest pain, knee lesions
and low back pain which are due to lifting, lowering and carrying heavy loads and
aspects of work posture such as bending, twisting and reaching out of materials. These
can lead to permanent disability.
 Excessive dust resulting from cutting, plainning and sanding operations in carpentry,
demolition operations, excavation operations and others.
Chemical Hazards
Some building materials such as cement, lime, paints, adhesives oils, solvents and many
others contain chemicals which are corrosive to the skin, cause skin irritation and allergies in the
event of direct contact and when inhaled they may lead to respiratory ailments such as bronchitis
asthma and rhinitis. Other health hazards due to exposure to chemicals may be dermatitis and
cancer.

28
Biological Hazards
During site clearance operations, workers are exposed to risks of insect and snake bites
leading to illnesses and fatalities. Sometimes inhalation of pollen and fungal spores can cause
respiratory allergies. Furthermore, working in wet conditions increases the likelihood of fungal
infections of toes, fingers and nails unless the workers are provided with protective gears.
International Labour Organisation on Occupational Health and Safety in the construction
industry
Using some statistical data from USA, France, Spain and Argentina, it will be easy to see
the significant contribution of construction industry to employment creation (5.4% in the USA,
7.6% in France, 9.2% in Spain and 10.4% in Argentina). The construction industry has
traditionally been considered a hazardous occupation, due to the incidence of occupational
accidents and above all, of fatal injuries.
Another common feature is the high proportion of the work-related accidents of a
particular country that occurs in the construction sector (8% in the USA, 19% in France, 22% in
Spain and 14% in Argentine), which makes construction safety a compelling issue.
The statistical information also reveals that the likelihood of a construction worker suffering a
fatal injury at work is several times higher than that of an average worker. Therefore,
construction workers have a strong argument for demanding the national policies and
programmes on occupational safety and health but a high emphasis should be on the construction
industry.
Historically, occupational safety and health programmes in construction have been
focussed on the area of safety, that is, on the prevention of accidents. This is not surprising
because of the immediate visibility of the effects of accidents (injuries and material damages) as
compared to diseases whose consequences appear only after a period of time. The problem lies in

29
the fact that the health of workers may be affected many years after being exposed to a certain
agent or contaminant at the workplace. Thus, reliable statistical data on occupational disease,
especially in the case of a work force as mobile and sporadic as construction, are difficult to
obtain. (Alberto Lopez-Valcarcel, 2001)
Causes of building construction site accidents
Tutesigensi, A. and Reynolds. J.R (2008) investigated the causes of accidents on
construction sites; and their case study was the case of a large construction contractor in Great
Britain. The aim of the study was to identify the causes of accidents on company A‟s
construction sites; and to suggest how accidents on company A‟s construction sites can be
minimised. This was achieved using the following objectives:
 Acquire information about incidences of injury, disease or dangerous occurrences.
 Analyse the information acquired in order to identify the primary and secondary causes
of the incidences.
 Analyse data derived from the acquired information in order to quantify the relative
importance of the primary and secondary causes.
 Suggest strategies that can lead to reduction in incidences of injury, disease or dangerous
occurrences.
The researchers found out that the top three primary causes of accidents on contractor A‟s
sites are causality error, work methods and poor quality error while the top three secondary
causes are work methods, causality errors and site conditions.
T. Michael Toole (2002) conducted a survey on construction site safety roles. He identified
the root causes of construction accidents as lack of proper training, deficient enforcement of

30
safety, lack of safety equipments, unsafe methods or sequencing, unsafe site conditions, not
using provided safety equipment, poor attitude towards safety, and isolated freak accident.
Michael Armstrong (1979) said that; „building site diseases and accidents result from a
multiplicity of factors, but these have to be traced to their root causes, which are usually faults in
management system arising from poor leadership from the top; inadequate supervision;
insufficient attention to the inclusion of health and safety precautions into the system; an
unsystematic approach to the identification, analysis and elimination of hazards; and poor
education and training facilities.’
John Cameron Aspley (1955) said that; ‘....................accidents do not happen, they are
caused. They are caused because someone did something he should not have done or somebody
failed to do something he should have done. Carelessness, indifference and negligence are
responsible for one out of three accidents.’ He further argued that; „the work assignment should
match the mental and physical abilities of the worker and he/she should be selectively placed at
the job he/she can do best.’
Most of the accidents in building activities occur because of negligence, ignorance,
incompetence or complacency on the part of the workers, management or civic authorities.
(Gupta, 2000)
P. P. Dharwadker (1996), said that; ‘safety in high raised construction at the construction
stage and occupation and maintenance stages continue to be somewhat neglected in the
construction industry the world over......................most accidents in the construction industry are
due to negligence, ignorance, complacency or incompetence on the part of the workers,
management or civil authorities...............no sooner has the accident occurred than it is forgotten
till another accident take place.................Several reports bringing out the basic aspects and

31
deficiencies which come in the way of application for safety measures have been produced by the
inquiry of officers and the commission appointed for the purpose, but the follow-up action has
remained inadequate.’
He further stressed that; ‘practical applications of national code, which lays down
minimum provisions for building design to ensure the safety of the public with regard to
structural sufficiency, safety hazards and occupational health aspects, are followed more by
default rather than by rule and that basic deficiencies in legislation, loopholes in inspection
mechanisms and collusion at micro-level enables everybody concerned to go Scot free
irrespective of their apparent failure or even direct involvement.’
According to H. Lubega, B. M. Kigundu and D. Tindiwensi in their scholarly report
(Monitor 27-07-2006), said that; ‘accidents on building sites are mainly caused by inadequate
supervision, use of incompetent personnel, use of inappropriate construction techniques, use of
poor quality materials, lack of quality control, insufficient soil investigation, negligence of site
safety, weak foundations, site layout and lack of appreciation for use of professionals.’ They
further argued that; ‘other factors which lead to construction site accidents are negligence,
carelessness, and lack of commitment, ignorance, hunger, fatigue, inexperience, poor
communication/language barrier and inadequate visibility/inadequate lighting for night shifts.’
According to Eng. Dr. Francis Bazirake (2009), ‘among the accident causes are poor
design, inferior materials, poor workmanship and non observance of safety regulations; all of
which are avoidable’
Checking of the design by the local authorities is minimal as they lack capacity in
numbers, qualifications and experience. Site supervision is limited to checking whether the
developer has a building permit and is rarely done by a qualified engineer. Due to laxity in the

32
professions some engineers out of greed take on too much work which they cannot reasonably
execute. There is also disregard of specialisations so that any civil engineer thinks he/she can do
anything in his/her field of general education. There is also a problem of architects acting as lead
consultants whereby engineers are marginalised as they do not negotiate their fees with the client
and end up not dedicated to good practice. This approach is open to errors, which can
accumulate, such as lack of structural calculations and design, use of substandard materials, poor
workmanship and lack of qualified supervision on the construction site so that the resultant work
may be catastrophic.
Ransom (1987) argues that; ‘causes of failures/accidents in the construction industry are
either due to faulty design, poor execution, and use of poor construction materials or through
unexpected user requirements. There is a need to narrow the gap between the designers and the
constructors, and examine the design for build-ability.’
In the building inspection and construction in Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi and other districts
of Uganda, reports by the Ministry of works and transport indicate that use of unapproved plans,
poor quality materials, and inadequate inspection by local authorities, architects, engineers and
safety officers are some of the contributory factors to the occurrence of accidents on building
sites.
According to William Mukasa, the rapid growth in the industry has brought about
increased threat to occupational safety and health and such as there have been a number of
injuries and fatal accidents in the recent past due to the following reasons:
 Lack of clear policy by government on how the construction industry should operate
 Out dated legislation, regulations have narrow scope and penalties are minimal
 Limited number of safety and health inspectors

33
 Inadequate resources for effective enforcement of legislation
 Inadequate and incompetent supervision at the construction sites
 Low attitude towards safety and health by clients
 Lack of national standards for construction
 Lack of awareness and understanding of safety and health regulations and generally
labour laws.
 Lack of skilled workers or competent persons
 Lack of Occupational Health and Safety information, training materials, courses and
programmes which the Ugandan construction industry could utilise.
 Lack of thorough reporting of incidents and accidents
 Weak professional institutions to monitor ethical conduct of their members
 Weak contractors‟ association to benefit its memberships through training and other
health and safety services.
 Inactive insurance industry
 Use of inappropriate construction techniques and poor designs which do not take into
account safety and health
 Workers‟ negligence, ignorance and carelessness (attitude and behaviour)
 Mechanical failure of construction equipments, plants and machinery (often very old)
 Unlevelled bidding ground due to design specifications not having considerations for
safety and health
 Workers in poor health conditions and working under stress
 Use of poor quality materials coupled with lack of quality control to ensure compliance
with standards or specifications

34
 Weather and disaster
From the above literature, the causes and factors that lead to accidents on building sites
can be summarised as follows:
Accident causing factors
Human factors
These are categorised into psychological, physiological factors and unsafe acts factors.
Psychological Factors: these are related to the mental condition of the workers and they
include: stress, worry, mental tension, emotional attitude, impulsiveness, nervousness,
overconfidence, carelessness, fear, negligence and ignorance.
Physiological factors: these are related to the physical condition of the workers and they
include poor health, poor eye sight, old age, young age, intoxication, hunger, fatigue and
physical handicapped-ness.
Unsafe acts factors: these are risky acts which can be potential hazards leading to
accidents for example taking shortcuts, wanting to finish quickly, removing or not using
protective gears, not following approved preventive methods.
Technical factors
These include system breakdown, faults in equipments or machines, use of wrong
equipment.
Work environment factors
These include bad weather, repetitiveness and monotony of work, dirty working places.
Other causes of accidents
 Inadequate site management and supervision, this leads to hazards not easily identified
and mitigated, the result may be repeated accidents.

35
 Defective or wrong equipment, here accidents may occur due to system breakdown,
faulty equipment being used, wrong equipments being used or use of equipment by an
inexperienced/incompetent person.
 Failure to comply with the recommended safety provisions in design leads to potential
hazards.
 Non-compliance to building standards and regulations, here unapproved or no plans are
used on many sites and even where approved plans exist they are not referred to on sites
besides lack of building specifications on site or failure to comply with them result in
accidents.
 Inadequate inspection by the local authorities, structural engineers, architects and safety
inspectors. This is rarely done possibly due to poor facilitation, lack of commitment,
insufficient inspection staff, lack of knowledge about the location of the construction
sites, perception that the services of engineers and architects are expensive or poor
sensitisation of the need for supervision by engineers and architects.
 Poor site layout may complicate or restrict movements on site and if materials are poorly
stacked they may fall on workers/visitors or obstruct them from moving vehicles leading
to collisions.
 Use of poor quality materials that do not conform to standards/specifications and lack of
quality control lead to construction of weak structures prone to accidents.
 Insufficient or lack of soil investigation before both designing and construction, which
might lead to poor design and weak/inappropriate foundations which consequently result
into the collapse of structures.

36
 Inappropriate construction techniques which are used on some sites especially in concrete
batching, mixing, transporting, placing and compaction may be due to incompetence,
ignorance, carelessness or inexperience of personnel.
 Lack of or insufficient support and protection to excavations. Cave-ins of excavations
such as those of the Nakasero shopping arcade and Lumumba Avenue NSSF pension
tower were as a result of lack of insufficient support to sides of excavations respectively.
In addition, if excavations are not protected by fencing and warning signs, workers or
visitors can fall into them.
 Use of incompetent, unqualified or unprofessional personnel. The contractors‟ and
clients‟ preference for cheap yet incompetent, unqualified and unprofessional personnel.
This has greatly exposed workers and the public to fatal and costly accidents. In addition,
some professionals execute work unprofessionally due to pressure from
clients/contractors who want high savings, lack of commitment or carelessness.
Prevention of accidents on the building construction site
Tutesigensi, A and Reynolds J. R (2008) came up with a proposal on reducing accidents as
follows:
Training which involves initial training – to train technical skills, health and safety
awareness and professional values. Advanced training – to master technical skills, deepen health
and safety knowledge and develop leadership skills. Periodic training should be done to value
human life, understand human behaviour and to communicate effectively.
Briefing which involves unpack tools/equipment – to ensure they are right, sufficient and
safe; prepare for work – rehearse processes, answer any question questions and check

37
understanding. Discuss risks – identify risks and highlight how the risk exposure can be
minimised.
Debriefing which involves packing up tools/equipment – check, clean and recharge them.
Reflect on what happened – identify risk events that occurred and identify the impact of the
events. Reflect on what did not happen – identify risk events that were avoided, why the risks
events were avoided and what needs to be done next time.
From the case study undertaken, the authors concluded that it is important that health and
safety is taken seriously at all levels in the construction industry as it affects all of us either
directly or indirectly. They also noted that action that focuses on effective training, briefing and
debriefing of workforce can increase awareness of health and safety issues among the workforce
and lead to reduction in accidents on construction sites.
T. Michael Toole (2002) conducted a survey on construction site safety roles. He noted
that there was no uniform agreement on the site safety responsibilities of design engineers,
general contractors, and sub contractors. His study suggested that specific site safety
responsibilities be assigned on future projects based on each group‟s ability to control the factors
needed to prevent the root causes of construction accidents.
His research came up with factors needed to prevent root causes of construction accidents
as:
 Proper training should ensure that graduates have expertise in task; have expertise in
training requirements; able to interview, test or observe employee,; have access to prior
training records.
 Safety officers should be able to monitor work on frequent basis; know safety
requirements for task; able to enforce safety.

38
 A supervisor on construction site should know what safety equipment is required for task;
able to provide and enforce use of equipment; know inspection and maintenance history
of equipment being used.
 Supervisors should know standard methods and sequencing for task; able to observe
actual methods and sequencing; able to control methods and or sequencing.
 Supervisors should know proper site conditions; able to observe actual site conditions;
able to control site conditions.
 The supervisor on the building construction site should be able to observe employee
constantly; able to influence behaviour through evaluations.
 The management of the building construction site should be able to interact with worker
frequently; able to influence attitude through evaluations.
Summary of the literature review
The author has learnt that to have a free accident environment on building construction
sites, training of all stakeholders of construction industry should be done. The previous
researchers on the study area do not emphasise the need to start training the young generation on
issues concerning health and safety since it is very hard to train an adult such a delicate topic.
Previous researchers have come up with so many ways of minimising accidents on
building construction sites but this has not stopped accidents from occurring on building
construction sites. The gap would be that they have failed to transfer this knowledge to the
concerned stakeholders.
The author has learned that management should always be in position to involve
employees on building construction site to participate in health and safety issues on building
construction sites. Evaluations should always be done and safety meetings should be attended by

39
all employees of the building construction sites. The previous researchers have failed to notice
that majority of workers on building construction sites are illiterate and do not encourage
employers to pass on safety and health messages on to the workers in the language they
understand best.

40
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION
Introduction
This chapter details the methodology that was used during the study. It presents the study
design, target population, sample size, sample techniques, data sources, data collection
instruments, data analysis and interpretation, and limitations of the study.
The first step of the study was the identification of the research problem covering the
significance, objective and scope of the study followed by exploratory review of the available
literature. The information was gathered through books, journals and publications, reports,
internet search engines, interviews which took place through conversation and interaction with
building construction workers.
Exploratory research involving descriptive case - studies was used for the research study
because it is envisaged to be the best approach for obtaining suitable responses to questions
concerning the status of the subjects under study. Data was collected in order to answer the
established research questions.
Scope of the Study
The study was carried out in Uganda and the case study was in Kampala district. The data
was collected from the five divisions namely Nakawa, Makindye, Rubaga, Kawempe and
Kampala Central.

41
The target subjects were the workers on the building construction sites and distributed
500 questionnaires to people working on construction sites located within Kampala district. The
researcher ensured that the questionnaires were approximately equally distributed among the 5
divisions making Kampala district. The research targeted to cover buildings that were still under
construction.
Questionnaires for the building construction site workers were later developed and then
distributed to respondents by hand; this was done between mid-July to end of August 2010.
Within that period, filled questionnaires were collected from the respondents and the researcher
had face to face interviews with the respondents as well. The data was then compiled, analysed,
discussed and conclusions made together with recommendations to improve the safety of
workers in the construction industry.

42
Research Design
This is an applied research with a focus on the occupational accidents on building
construction sites and their mitigation measures in Kampala district, Uganda. A list of selected
building construction sites was identified and a random sample method used to select the
building construction site on which to carry out the study. The category of subjects/ownership
formed the centre of focus and included:
 Government/public institutions – The study looked at government building projects
within the different ministries, corporate bodies or departments.
 Private institutions – Here the focus was on private and corporate bodies.
 Individual developers – This mainly looked at the construction of residential and
commercial building sites owned by individuals but have formal contracts with
contractors.
Sample Size and Sample Size determination
The sample space from which information was got ranged from site engineers, foremen,
Technicians, masons, and labours.
The current number of building construction sites was not available in the relevant
authorities within Kampala district like Kampala city council; and respective division
headquarters.
However, the sample size was determined using Kish Leslie‟s formula for sample size
determination. There were no available data of the current numbers of building construction
projects going on in Kampala district. So such basic values like prevalence and standard
deviations which are important in determining the sample size was not available. The expected

43
prevalence of the study problem was not available, therefore the prevalence of the problem was
assumed to be at 50%
Kish Leslie‟s formula for sample size determination is





 
 2
2 1
d
p
pzn (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pd006, viewed August – 2010)
Where n = minimum sample size required
z = alpha risk expressed in z-scores at confidence level of 95% which is 1.96
p = expected prevalence of the problem which was assumed to be 50%
d = desired precision in this study; a precision of 5% was assumed





 
 2
2
5
50100
5096.1n
= 384.16
≈ 384 respondents
Therefore, a total of 500 questionnaires were distributed to the various ongoing building
construction sites to be filled by the respondents but 300 questionnaires only were recovered by
the end of the exercise.

44
Data Collection methods
The data collection methods included the following though was not limited to them
alone:
Questionnaire: The main interest behind these questions was to assess if indeed the expectations
are met or not as per the health and safety of workers on sites. About 500 questionnaires were
distributed to the participants who were anticipated to respond back upon each question.
Observation: By visiting the various sites and moving around, a number of working
environmental conditions of exposure of the workers were able to be seen.
Oral interviews: This was actually used were some people or participants were unable to
understand the language used on questionnaires.
Photography: Some photographs were taken, portraying the conditions prevailing on sites. These
show the physical state of the problems and give a very vivid elaboration in a pictorial form.
Study Population: The population comprised workers on the government or public building
construction sites, private building construction sites and individual developers who were by the
time of research were operating and under contracts.
Research Instrument
The instrument used in the data collection comprised:
 An interview guideline, which was used to interview the different parties involved in the
identified projects.
 Used structured questionnaires to obtain statistical data on specific technical information.
 Observation of selected building construction sites that were under construction.

45
Materials/Apparatus: Internet services, training manuals, hand outs, and computer programs
were used.
Research Procedure
The procedure used in the research involved the following:
 Questionnaires were designed to collect information (data) of interest as per the topic.
 Pre-testing or piloting scheme were done to ensure quality and validity of the
questionnaires distributed.
 The questionnaire was then adjusted to suite the targeted category of respondents on the
building construction site.
 Distribution of the questionnaires was done by the researcher and the research assistants
 A follow-up of the questionnaires was done to collect and/or extract the raw data for
processing to enhance a basis of identification, conclusions and recommendations.
 The raw data from the respondents or participants was then retrieved/collected and tallied
statistically.
 Sorting of answered sheets was done in which those questionnaires not satisfactorily
attended were discarded, for their results were deemed insufficient and hence futile to
consider.
 Processing of the raw data was done using selected statistical methods, which included
bar graphs/charts, link charts, pie charts and write-ups.

46
The methodology frame work (summary of research procedures) is shown below in figure
3.1
Figure 3.1: Summary of research procedure
Identification and
Evaluation of key issues
and Research problem
Final Report,
Conclusions and
Recommendations
Data Analysis
Data Collection
Informal
Discussions
Observations
InterviewsDesign and Post
Questionnaires
Literature Review

47
Ethical consideration and approval
Informed consent was requested from the respondents orally only after having informed
them what the study was all about and the objectives of the study. The researcher told them that
the study was solely for academic purpose and participation was voluntarily. To ensure the
confidentiality and anonymity of the respondents, when data was being collected, the
respondents were not required to write their names. Approval and mandate to carry out the study
was obtained from the Institute of Health Policy and Management of the International Health
Sciences University and from other relevant authorities.
Data processing
For the data obtained from the field, the researcher ensured that validity, reliability,
accuracy and correctness of the findings were achieved. It was tackled by using multiple
sources of evidence while collecting the data and to prove that all the different
methods lead to the same result or that they all support the same proposition.
Reliability was fostered through allowing the respondents give comments to the
results, reports and these comments were reviewed by observational methods on their
responses.
Data Analysis
Analysis involves working with data, organizing them, breaking them into manageable
sizes, synthesising them, searching for patterns, discovering what is important and what is to be
learned; and finally deciding what to communicate to the others.

48
Limitations of the study/problems faced during the study
Denial to access sites
Some sites had strict rules of not allowing anybody who does not work on the building
construction site to access the site for information. The researcher then obliged to seek for other
sites who appreciated the need for researches by students.
Language barrier amongst the workers
This was rampant especially amidst the labourers who were illiterate. This made it
difficult for them to answer the questionnaires and therefore the researcher had to re-interpret.
Demand for pay
Meanwhile others were willing to give information, a set of individual site workers asked
to be paid to participate in answering the questionnaires. The respondents were made to know
that the research was academically oriented and not economically lucrative to the researcher.
Lack of cooperation from some site supervisors
Some supervisors would toss around when it is time to collect the questionnaires left
behind. This was a major time wasting factor because few sites would be covered in a long spell
of time. Some supervisors claimed they had no time to help in whatsoever way, not even
releasing a worker to reply to some questions from the researcher. Due to this, about 200
questionnaires out of the 500 distributed questionnaires were lost or considered abandoned (that
is to say, 40% of the total designed and distributed questionnaires). This reduced the range of
opinion taken.

49
Less time to interact with the workers
In most occasions, the time of visiting the sites were working hours and so, it proved
cumbersome to have quite sufficient time with the participants to get the required information
from them. In some cases, they never trusted their supervisors to give them the time to speak to
the researcher. In this case, a mutual understanding had to be reached before any interaction was
initiated.
Financial constraints
Increase in fuel prices increased the transport fares and other subsequent prices of items
the researcher wanted to use. The researcher had to deplete his account aiming at finishing this
research.
Loss of questionnaires
Due to perhaps carelessness, some of the respondents misplaced their answered sheets
and this resulted into loss of data as well as financial loss on the researcher‟s side because of the
costs incurred in printing and photocopying more copies. Therefore more questionnaires had to
be redistributed by the researcher for this case.

50
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
In this chapter presentation, analysis of data, interpretation of empirical data, presentation
of results and findings of data collected from the field (primary data) have been elaborated. The
aim of the research was to study the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction
sites in Kampala district. The study focussed on the five divisions making Kampala district
namely Nakawa, Makindye, Kawempe, Rubaga and Central. About 500 questionnaires were
distributed but only 300 were recovered.
The findings are presented in line with the objectives of the research study and are
intended to give answers to the research questions which were formulated in relation to the
study. The lucidity of the findings has been demonstrated with statistical information backed by
the obtained data from the field.
Part 1: Worker’s Personal Data
The first part of the questionnaire was general information about the worker on the
building construction site. This included sex, age, job title, education, years of experience,
income per day, health history, and area where the respondent lives.

51
Sex
Gender is very important when it comes to the construction industry. It is believed that
women are more careful when it comes to safe guarding their lives and that of the others.
Analysis
Upon analysing the results obtained, a revelation of the percentage of men and women
working on the building construction sites within Kampala is as shown in the pie chart, figure
4.1.
Figure 4. 1: Gender of respondents working on building construction site (source: primary data)
Interpretation of the results
From figure 4.1, it can be seen clearly that of all the number of people working on the
construction site, 211 respondents (70%) are men and 16 respondents (7%) are women. 73
respondents (24%) did not answer this question. This shows the gender imbalance that exists
within the construction industry. Men believe and have persuaded the women to believe that
working on a building construction site is the work of men only which is not true. But the truth is
that women are more careful when it comes to safe guarding themselves and others against
accidents.

52
Age
Age is very important when it comes at executing work on the construction sites, as the
younger or older someone is the more likely to cause accidents.
Analysis
After analysing the results obtained, a revelation of the age of the respondents are
revealed in the bar chart, figure 4.2
Figure 4. 2: Age group of the respondents (Source: Primary data)
From figure 4.2, it can be seen that the ages of respondents working on the building
construction site are: 4 respondents (1.3%) are below 18 years; 111 respondents (37.0%) are
between age 18 years to 30 years, 89 respondents (29.7%) are between 30 years to 40 years; 12
respondents (4%) are between age 40 years to 50 years; 84 respondents (28.0%) did not declare
their age.

53
Job title
Job title helps in putting the building construction site in order as labourers will know
who is who on a site. When it comes to the safety on the construction site, someone must give
orders to the workers to be followed.
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the job titles of the respondents on the
building construction site are given in the bar chart, figure 4.3.
Figure 4. 3: Job titles of the respondents (Source: primary data)
From figure 4.3, it can be seen that the job titles of the respondents on the building
construction site are: 14 respondents (4.7%) are site engineers, 41 respondents (13.7%) are
foremen, 40 respondents (13.3%) are technicians, 21 respondents (7.0%) are masons and 101
respondents (33.7%) are labourers. 83 respondents (27.7%) did not respond to this question.

54
Education Background
Uganda is still faced with high illiteracy levels, and this is reflected on the building
construction sites where by illiterate workers will find a problem in reading safety guidelines and
interpreting them.
Analysis
After analysis results obtained, a revelation of the education level of the respondents on
the building construction site are given in the bar chart, figure 4.4.
Figure 4. 4: Educational background of the respondents on the building construction site
(Source: primary data)
From figure 4.4, it can be seen that the education background of the respondents on the
building construction site are: 6 respondents (2%) are of illiterate level, 56 respondents (18.7%)
are of primary level, 73 respondents (24.3%) are of secondary level, 64 respondents (21.3%) are
of certificate level, 29 respondents (9.7%) are of ordinary diploma level, 39 respondents (13.0%)

55
are of higher diploma level, 20 respondents (6.7%) are of degree level, and 6 respondents (2%)
are of master level. 7 respondents (2.3%) did not respond to this question.
Years of Experience
In one way or the other, the numbers of years a labourer have spent on the building
construction site are attached to the safety on the building construction site. The more the
experience of the workers, the less error are expected to made, hence the safer the work.
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the years of experiences of the
respondents on the building construction sites are given in the bar chart, figure 4.5.
Figure 4. 5: Years of experience of the respondents (Source: Primary data)
From figure 4.5, it can be seen that the years of experiences of the respondents on the
building construction site are: 55 respondents (18.3%) have 0 – 5 years of experience, 31
respondents (10.3%) have 5 – 10 years of experience, 16 respondents (5.3%) have 10 – 15 years

56
of experience, and 5 respondents (1.7%) have 15 – 20 years of experience. 193 respondents
(64.3%) did not respond to this question.
Income per day
An income of a worker can be a motivating factor or a de-motivating factor which may lead to
the good or poor performance of the worker.
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the income per day of the respondents on the
building construction site are given in the bar chart, figure 4.6
Figure 4. 6: Income per day of the respondents on the building construction site. (Source:
primary data)
From figure 4.6, it can be seen that the income per day of the respondents on the building
construction site are: 3 respondents (1.0%) earn less than 5,000/= per day, 111 respondents
(37.0%) earn between 5,000/= - 10,000/= per day, 42 respondents (14.0%) earn between

57
10,000/= - 20,000/= per day, 43 respondents (14.3%) earn more than 20,000/= per day. 101
respondents (33.7%) did not answer this question.
Health history
When a worker is having a health problem, is more likely to cause accident than one who does
not have.
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the health history of the respondents on the
building construction site are given in the pie chart, figure 4.7.
Figure 4. 7: Health history of the respondents (Source: primary data)
From figure 4.7, it can be seen that the health history of the respondents on the building
construction site are: 169 respondents (56%) had no health problems, and 21 respondents (7%)
had a health problem. 110 respondents (37%) did not answer this question.

58
The exact health problem
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the exact health problem of the respondents on
Figure 4. 8: Exact health problem of the respondents (source: primary data)
From figure 4.8, it can be seen that the exact health problems of the respondents on the building
construction site are: 4 respondents (19%) suffered from diabetes, 1 respondent (4.8%) suffer
from High blood pressure, 4 respondents (19%) suffer from heart problem, and 12 respondents
(57.1%) suffer from other diseases.

59
Division in Kampala where respondents stay
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of where respondents stay after work is given in
figure 4.9
Figure 4. 9: Where the respondents stay after work (source: primary data)
From figure 4.9, it can be seen that the place of resident of the respondents are: 70 respondents
(23.3%) reside in Makindye, 50 respondents (16.7%) reside in Rubaga, 9 respondents (3%)
reside in Central, 50 respondents (16.7%) reside in Nakawa, 45 respondents (15%) reside in
Kawempe, and 76 respondents (25.3%) reside outside Kampala.

60
Part 2: Accident and Site Conditions
Kampala District where the building construction site is located
The questionnaires were randomly distributed within the 5 divisions of Kampala District. Ten
(10) building construction sites were randomly selected in each division making a total of 50
building construction sites selected for the study purpose in Kampala district. With the 300
received questionnaires out of 500 distributed questionnaires, it means that on average,
approximately 30 building construction site workers participated in this study.
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the location of the building construction
sites within Kampala are give in the bar chart, figure 4.10.
Figure 4. 10: Division of Kampala where the site is located (source: primary data)
From figure 4.10, it can be seen that the location of building construction sites within
Kampala divisions are: 52 sites (17.3%) are located within Makindye division, 40 sites (13.3%)

61
are located within Rubaga division, 78 sites (26.0%) are located within Central division, 30 sites
(10%) are located within Nakawa division and 41 sites (13.7%) are located within Kawempe
division. 59 respondents (19.7%) did not declare the location of their building construction sites.
Indication of category of ownership of the building site
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the category of ownership of the building
construction site are given in the bar chart, figure 4.11.
Figure 4. 11: category of ownership of the building construction site (source: primary data)
From figure 4.11, it can be seen that the category of ownership of the building
construction site are: 32 sites (10.7%) are owned by Government/Public institutions, 116 sites
(38.7%) are owned by Private institutions, 44 sites (14.7%) are owned by individuals, and 14
sites (4.7%) are owned by Companies. 94 respondents (31.3%) did not answer this question.

62
Type of accident that has ever occurred
Analysis
After analysis results obtained, a revelation of the type of accident that has ever occurred
on the building construction site are given in the bar chart, figure 4.12.
Figure 4. 12: Type of accident that has ever occurred on the building construction site. (Source:
primary data)
From figure 4.12, it can be seen that the type of accident that has ever occurred on the
building construction site are: 7 Contact with electricity accidents occurred, 4 Crane
accidents occurred, 110 Tool accidents occurred (tools like spades, hoes, hammers,
spanners trowels, floats, etc), 11 Failure of lift device accidents occurred, 3 Structure
failure accidents occurred (such as fall of walls, slabs, columns, ceiling, structures
under construction, etc), 33 Fall from height accidents occurred, 28 Exposure to
hazardous materials accidents occurred, 134 Struck by materials accidents occurred,

63
52 Fall from ladder accidents occurred, 4 Scaffolding accidents occurred, 13 Natural
causes accidents occurred, 47 Falling object from height accidents occurred, and 5
Machinery Vehicle accidents occurred.
Hours in which accidents occurred
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the period when accidents occurred on
Figure 4. 13: Periods when accidents have ever occurred. (Source: primary data)
From figure 4.13, it can be seen that the periods during which accidents occurred on the
building construction sites are: 3 respondents (1.3%) said accidents occurred between 8:00am –
10:00am, 70 respondents (23.3%) said accidents occurred between 10:00am – 1:00pm, 7
respondents (2.3%) said accidents occurred between 2:00pm – 4:00am, 80 respondents (26.7%)

64
said accidents occurred between 4:00pm – 5:00pm, and 90 respondents (30%) said accidents
occurred between 5:00pm – 7:00pm. 50 respondents (16.7%) did not respond to this question.
Weather conditions when accidents occurred
Analysis
After analysing the results obtained, a revelation of the weather conditions during which
the accidents occurred on the construction site are given in the bar chart, figure 4.14
Figure 4. 14: Weather conditions during which accidents have ever occurred (Source: primary
data)
From figure 4.14, it can be seen that the weather conditions during which accidents have
ever occurred on the building construction site are: 8 accidents (2.7%) occurred during hot
weather condition, 9 accidents (3.0%) occurred during cold weather condition, 6 accidents
(2.0%) occurred during moderate weather condition, 9 accidents (3.0%) occurred during humid

65
weather condition, 19 accidents (6.3%) occurred during windy weather condition, and 57
accidents (19.0%) occurred during rainy weather condition. 192 respondents (64.0%) did not
answer this question.
Month in which accident occurred
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the months in which accidents have ever
occurred on the building construction site are given in the bar chart, figure 4.15
Figure 4. 15: Months in which accidents have ever occurred (source: primary data)
From figure 4.15, it can be seen that the months in which accidents have ever occurred
are: 13 accidents (4.3%) occurred during January – February period, 47 accidents (15.7%)
occurred during April – June period, 6 accidents (2.0%) occurred during July – September
period, and 63 accidents (21.0%) occurred during October – December period. 171 respondents
(57.0%) did not answer this question.

66
Whether contractor has any insurance policy towards the workers
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of whether the contractor has any insurance
policy towards the workers on the building construction site are given in the pie chart, figure
4.16.
Figure 4. 16: whether the contractor has any insurance policy for the workers (source: primary
data)
From figure 4.14, it can be seen whether the contractor has any insurance policy towards
the workers or not as indicated. 79 respondents (26%) said that the contractor has an insurance
policy on them, 108 respondents (36%) said that the contract does not have any insurance policy
on them, and 98 respondents (33%) said that they do not know whether the contractor has an
insurance policy on them or not. 15 respondents (5%) did not answer to this question.

67
Welfare facilities and Safety gears that exist on site
Analysis
After analysing results obtained, a revelation of the safety gears used by workers on the
building construction site are given in the bar chart, figure 4.17
Figure 4. 17: Welfare facilities and Safety gears on the building construction site (source:
primary data)
From figure 4.17, it can be seen that the safety gears used by the respondents on the
building construction sites are: 46 Fire extinguishers exist on building construction site,
1 Ambulance exist on building construction site, 29 First Aid rooms exist on building
construction site, 30 First Aid personnel exist on building construction site, 58

68
Drinking water points exist on building construction site, 133 Gum boots exist on
building construction site, 61 Safety shoes exist on the building construction site, 29
Ear defenders exist on building construction site, 128 Overalls exist on the building
construction site, 108 Overcoats exist on the building construction site, 103 Helmets
exist on the building construction site, 23 Meal/rest rooms exist on the building
construction site, 38 Safety regulations exist on the building construction site, and
51 Security Personnel exist on building construction site.
Part 3: Factors attributed to building construction accidents
Indicate your degree of agreement or disagreement with each statement in reference to
construction site you are working on.
The table consists of the rankings of the opinions as per each respondent‟s view on the
category of hazards. The rankings/scores have been represented as:
Table 4. 1: representations of rankings/scores
Representations Rankings/Scores
HA Highly Agree
MA Moderately Agree
N Neutral
MD Moderately Disagree
HD Highly Disagree
These rankings too, have been assigned probabilistic numerical values as indicated below
to ascertain the degree of acceptance, undecided-ness and rejection of a suggestion by the
respondents.

69
Table 4. 2: Numerical values of degree of acceptance, undecided-ness and rejection by
respondents
Opinion HA MA N MD HD
Score value 1.00 0.75 0.50 0.25 0.00
In the analysis of results, a combination of the sorted results from the field and the
rankings in table 4.19 is used to compute the percentage of respondents to any hazard and also
the rate of occurrences of the hazards determined. Below is a table showing how the table of
results have been generated using the formula of rating, R
R = ∑n(sa)
Where, n = frequency or the number of respondents in each category of the expected responses.
Sa = score values for each category of the degree of acceptance, undecided-ness and rejection.
The sample space is 300 participants for all categories of hazards in the table of results.
Table 4. 3: Demonstrations of computations involved in analysis of raw data
S. no. Example Opinion Frequency Percentage (%) Score (S) Rating (R)
1
Appropriat
e Personal
safety
procedure
not
specified
HA 15 15/300*100% = 5 1.00 R = (15*1)
+(27*0.75)
+(0*0.50) +
(70*0.25) +
(106*0) =
52.75
MA 27 27/300*100% = 9 0.75
N 0 0/300*100% = 0 0.50
MD 70 70/300*100% = 23.3 0.25
HD 106 106/300*100% = 35.3 0.00
To appreciate the score values used as a method of obtaining worker‟s opinion, only the
rated results obtained on the same basis is used to analyze and identify the most common
accident or hazards on sites affecting the workers.

70
Table 4. 4: Common likely causes of accidents/hazards on building construction sites
S. no. Likely causes of accidents Opinion Frequency Percentage
(%)
Score
(S)
Rating
(R)
1
Appropriate Personal safety
procedure not specified
HA 15 5 1.00
52.75
MA 27 9 0.75
N 0 0 0.50
MD 70 23.3 0.25
HD 106 35.3 0.00
2
Correct tools are not used for the
specific tasks
HA 10 3.3 1.00
47
MA 25 8.3 0.75
N 11 3.7 0.50
MD 51 17 0.25
HD 127 42.3 0.00
3
Lack of supervision and control on
worker’s adherence to wear safety
items
HA 40 13.3 1.00
98.25
MA 55 18.3 0.75
N 13 4.3 0.50
MD 42 14 0.25
HD 69 23 0.00
4
Safety regulations are not followed
HA 25 8.3 1.00
71.25
MA 17 5.7 0.75
N 31 10.3 0.50
MD 72 24 0.25
HD 38 12.7 0.00
5
No safety Engineer at site
HA 25 8.3 1.00
55.5
MA 7 2.3 0.75
N 33 11 0.50
MD 35 11.7 0.25
HD 58 19.3 0.00
6
Safety items are not available on
site
HA 3 1 1.00
52.25
MA 32 10.7 0.75
N 30 10 0.50
MD 41 13.7 0.25
HD 67 22.3 0.00
7
The management is pushing work
regardless of labourer’s ability
HA 82 27.3 1.00
137.5
MA 59 19.7 0.75
N 2 0.7 0.50
MD 41 13.7 0.25
HD 37 12.3 0.00
8
No or lack of weekly safety meeting
HA 5 1.7 1.00
61.25
MA 35 11.7 0.75
N 31 10.3 0.50
MD 58 19.3 0.25
HD 35 11.7 0.00
9
No training program for the worker
to implement the job
HA 60 20 1.00
77.5
MA 2 0.7 0.75
N 3 1 0.50
MD 58 19.3 0.25
HD 84 28 0.00
10
No written/known procedure for the
assigned job is available
HA 47 15.7 1.00
75
MA 16 5.3 0.75
N 1 0.3 0.50
MD 62 20.7 0.25
HD 93 31 0.00

71
11
Lack of appreciation after
completion of task
HA 76 25.3 1.00
123.25
MA 45 15 0.75
N 3 1 0.50
MD 48 16 0.25
HD 53 17.7 0.00
12
Some workers are suffering from
health problems
HA 0 0 1.00
39
MA 4 1.3 0.75
N 43 14.3 0.50
MD 58 19.3 0.25
HD 60 20 0.00
13
Workers are forced to work even if
there are not in an acceptable
physical condition
HA 0 0 1.00
47.5
MA 16 5.3 0.75
N 44 14.7 0.50
MD 54 18 0.25
HD 65 21.7 0.00
14
Physical fatigue can cause accident
HA 81 27 1.00
138.5
MA 65 21.7 0.75
N 8 2.7 0.50
MD 19 6.3 0.25
HD 29 9.7 0.00
15
Some workers are suffering from the
mental fatigue on the job
HA 15 5 1.00
66
MA 9 3 0.75
N 65 21.7 0.50
MD 47 15.7 0.25
HD 31 10.3 0.00
16
Work is performed while rushing
HA 16 5.3 1.00
74.25
MA 20 6.7 0.75
N 55 18.3 0.50
MD 63 21 0.25
HD 31 10.3 0.00
17
Accidents occur due to
misjudgement from the worker
HA 0 0 1.00
43.75
MA 5 1.7 0.75
N 50 16.7 0.50
MD 60 20 0.25
HD 45 15 0.00
18
Workers have no satisfaction with
the nature of the job
HA 1 0.3 1.00
44.25
MA 3 1 0.75
N 50 16.7 0.50
MD 64 21.3 0.25
HD 45 15 0.00
19
Workers do not have enough
sleeping hours
HA 35 11.7 1.00
89.75
MA 52 17.3 0.75
N 14 4.7 0.50
MD 35 11.7 0.25
HD 32 10.7 0.00
20
Workers do not wear personal
protection items
HA 5 1.7 1.00
39.25
MA 31 10.3 0.75
N 6 2 0.50
MD 32 10.7 0.25
HD 45 15 0.00
21
Workers take overtime
HA 65 21.7 1.00
88.25
MA 26 8.7 0.75
N 3 1 0.50

A study on the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction sites in kampala uganda

A study on the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction sites in kampala uganda

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (20)

Destaque

Destaque (20)

Semelhante a A study on the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction sites in kampala uganda

Semelhante a A study on the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction sites in kampala uganda (20)

Último

Último (20)

A study on the pattern of occupational accidents at building construction sites in kampala uganda