Investigation on the Nature of Safety Rule Violations in High-Rise Construction Projects

• Published in: Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology
• Main Author: Harahap M.I.P.; Othman I.; Dinata N.A.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Semarak Ilmu Publishing 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85188707841&doi=10.37934%2faraset.41.2.164179&partnerID=40&md5=4e1f9bef2adb10240e8398f2a1c62f0e

The construction sector has consistently demonstrated a greater risk of fatal and non-fatal occupational accidents than other economic sectors, particularly with respect to high-rise building construction projects. Despite searing progress in the regulatory domain and the progressive formulation of a new safety agenda for the industry, the truth is that safety incidents involving fatalities and injuries still perpetuate with varying degrees of intensity. This is further aggravated by the loss of vital project resources such as materials, equipment, and labour, which is counter-productive, unsustainable, and occasionally polluting. What is abundantly clear is that the human factor, when dealing with safety intricacies and observation, still plays a considerable role in determining key safety objectives' accomplishment. With that in mind, the aim of this study was to delve deeper into this issue among practitioners at the forefront of high-rise building construction in Malaysia. Specifically, it investigates, analyses, and ranks the degree of severity of the safety rule violation repercussions, the frequency, and the perpetrators. A questionnaire survey approach was devised and distributed to respondents from among the developers, consultants, contractors, and relevant authorities. The collected data were analysed using the SPSS package by determining the average index, standard deviation, variance, and frequency analysis. The results have shown that the lack of fire protection was perceived to have the most severe repercussions, while the lack of risky, near-miss accident reporting and the LOTO procedures during servicing and maintenance activities were the most frequent safety rule violations. In addition, the contractor party was the most regular violator of the safety regulations, understandably by virtue of its numbers. In conclusion, these outcomes could facilitate safety authorities and professionals in devising pragmatic schemes that best utilise both persuasive and punitive mitigation measures for better safety outcomes. © 2024, Semarak Ilmu Publishing. All rights reserved.