An Examination of Occupational Health and Safety Management Practices in Selected Construction Sites of Lusaka City

The purpose of this study was to investigate occupational health and safety management (OSH) practices in selected construction sites of Lusaka city. The study was guided by the following objectives: to identify safety and health hazards in selected construction sites of Lusaka city, to examine challenges that workers face in terms of occupation health and safety management in selected construction sites of Lusaka city, to ascertain occupational health and safety management measures put in place in selected construction sites of Lusaka district, and to suggest sustainable mitigation measures that could be put in place to improve occupational health and safety management practices in construction sites of Lusaka city. Semi-structured interviews and observations were conducted with 30 participants which comprised 7 employers, 4 sub-contractors and 19 employees. The findings of the study showed that workers in selected construction sites of Lusaka city faced many challenges with occupational health and safety management which negatively affected the way they worked. Most participants explained the challenges they faced such as communication barrier, lack of safety officers, lack of sanitary conveniences, inadequate proper personal protective equipment and lack of safety rules and regulations adherence by workers. The study concluded that occupational health and safety management practices at selected construction sites of Lusaka city were poor and this brought about injuries among workers. OSH management practices at sites would be more effective if government inspected construction sites and assessed if they were complying with safety and health rules and regulations.