Risk Assessment of Safety for Building Construction Projects in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

The construction industry is considered as one of the most hazardous industries, with very high rate of accidents and ill-health problems to workers, organisations, society and countries. Fatalities, injuries and unsafe work conditions reported on construction sites are owing to contractors neglecting the risk involved in the construction activities that have the potential to cause injuries the most on site due to cost saving attitude. The study's objective is to assess the safety risk level for each work item, in terms of severity and probability on building construction projects in Abuja, Nigeria. 50 copies of well-structured questionnaires were administered to seek the opinion of construction professionals who managed and supervised construction projects in Abuja and 34 were returned representing a response rate of 68%. The data were analysed using Mean value method and prioritization number. The result on probability risk of occurrence (PRO) reveals that roof work and steel structure, with PRO of 3.15 and 3.05 are the building activities with medium risk level. While the result on severity risk impact (SRI): Electrical works, Steel structure, Roof work and Lift installation with SRI of 3.30 and 3.10 are the building activities with medium risk level. Safety risk prioritization result revealed that Roof work, Steel structure and Electrical works had the greatest risk level with an average risk score of 9.77, 9.46 and 9.14 respectively. It was concluded that though findings showed that most building construction activities in Abuja are of medium risks, but workers are still prone to injury and accidents which are tolerable. It is recommended that proper risk identification and prioritization should be a precondition for effective risk control on construction sites. The study provided an avenue for construction managers to identify the risk level of major construction activities which will assist them allocate safety measures in a more efficient manner.