Research and legal underpinnings of the quantity surveyor as a health and safety manager

Abstract

Although the construction industry is a risky one with its average rate and severity of injuries and fatalities higher than most other sectors, it is, nonetheless, a major contributor to the economic growth of countries. Although in the advanced and developed economies, measures have been put in place to minimise rate and severity of accidents in the construction sector, the same cannot be said of Nigeria, with identified poor health and safety awareness, regulation and management. As a result, improvements in health and safety management in the Nigerian construction sector cannot be achieved through the regulatory route, but rather through the influence of project stakeholders. It then recommended that the Quantity Surveyor (QS) as an important stakeholder in the construction sector should begin to champion good health and safety management ethics in the construction industry.