An Exploratory Study into Promoting Construction Health and Safety in Ghana Through Public Works Procurement
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Date
2015-09-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
CIB W099
Abstract
The construction industry is commonly associated with high or increasing levels of workrelated
hazards with ensuing injuries and fatalities. Studies have shown that procurement can
further promote good construction H&S practice as it occurs throughout the life cycle of a
project. However, the use of procurement as an instrument to promote H&S practices in
construction has received little attention till date especially in developing countries. For this
reason, the research aimed to explore practical measures to improve construction H&S
through public works procurement in Ghana. Qualitative data was collected through semistructured
interviews. Seven respondents (procurement managers, consultants and Quantity
surveyors), selected through a non-probabilistic purpose sampling from public institutions
participated in the survey. In Ghana, the Public Procurement Act, Act 663 which was
introduced in 2003 to ensure sanity and value for money in public procurement provides
guidelines for the procurement of public works. In view of this, a case study of the H&S
management of project procured using the Act 663 was also carried out. This was done to
ascertain how public works is carried out in the Ghanaian public sector setting by determining
the various stakeholders involved, the processes the project underwent and the various
considerations looked at especially under H&S. The results however indicated that the Act 663
has no clause that addresses construction H&S. The paper also finds that, H&S does not form
part of the criteria for evaluating tenders. To address the constraints so as to improve upon
construction H&S, certain recommendations are offered. These include the inclusion of nonambiguous
H&S requirements as criteria for evaluating tenders and the pricing of H&S items
in bills of quantities. Additionally, practical measures to improving construction H&S in
Ghana at the key stages of works procurement are also provided. It also includes the specific
roles and involvements of other stakeholders in the procurement process.
Description
Proceedings of CIB W099
Benefitting Workers and Society through Inherently Safe(r) Construction
Belfast, Northern Ireland, 10-11 September 2015
Keywords
Ghana, Heath and Safety, Public Procurement, Public Procurement Act
Citation
Proceedings of CIB W099 Benefitting Workers and Society through Inherently Safe(r) Construction Belfast, Northern Ireland, 10-11 September 2015