Management support as a critical success factor (CSF) for changing worker’s safety attitude: a case of the Nigerian construction industry

Safety awareness and adaptation strategies of Nigerian construction workers in extreme heat conditions

“…From the study outcome, it was clearly evident that the construction companies have challenges complying with the country's health and safety provision in general. In addition, the consequence of an inadequate safety policy aimed at addressing risks associated with extreme heat condition at work as reported by the respondents was consistent with other safety accounts in the construction environment in Nigeria [24,69]. In line with this poor safety policy, there is need for organisations to consider introducing mandatory workrest regimes to help workers cope with extreme heat conditions and avert accidents and illnesses related to heat stress, just as majority of the respondents reported experiencing injury to themselves, or colleagues while working in extreme hot environments.…”

“…The survey was carried out from 1 st March to 31 st July 2022 among frontline construction workers across the geopolitical zones in Nigeria which coincided with the dry hot season experienced in most parts of the country. To achieve the required sample size of 385 based on fisher's formula [24], a deliberate contact and sensitisation approach was adopted among the target population and completion of the survey was made voluntary without the use of any form of incentive to encourage participation among the target population. A random sampling technique was adopted, which involved distributing the questionnaires to construction workers stationed in projects within different geopolitical zones of the country using approaches that included face to face distribution and use of social media platforms to raise awareness around the study, and solicit participation.…”

“…Studies have opined that the likelihood and magnitude of the occurrence of risks on the job site exponentially declines when there is increased awareness on the risks involved, and continuous efforts are made towards ensuring safety [21]. Relatedly, studies have earlier identified the general lack of effort from both workers and their employers in the Nigerian Construction Industry (NCI) to achieve these goals [22][23][24]. Furthermore, low levels of safety related attitude and behaviour amongst construction workers in the country often impede their ability to recognise key health and safety hazards on the jobsite [25].…”

“…Furthermore, low levels of safety related attitude and behaviour amongst construction workers in the country often impede their ability to recognise key health and safety hazards on the jobsite [25]. This, according to a recent study [24] is an indicator of employers' poor commitment to a positive safety climate in the work environment. In addition, architectural practitioners in the NCI recently rated focusing on health and safety issues as the least among 45 Key Performance Indicators for project success [26].…”

Improving the antecedents of non-compliance to safety regulations toward an optimized self-regulated construction environment in Nigeria

“…In addition, there is a large disparity between safety management efforts and the reality of safety performance within the nation's construction sector (4). Earlier, (6) reported that contractors and consultants in the Nigerian construction industry perceive safety as an important measure of project performance, however the overall actions of such project participants contradict their perception. In furtherance, (7) observed that organizations often fail to pay adequate attention to safety management practices that present the potential for improved performance.…”