Effective Safety And Health Planning On Construction Sites
[ONITSHA AND AWKA OF ANAMBRA STATE]

1.4    AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The aim of the study is how to use good planning of construction activities to achieve safety, good health, control and prevention of accidents on building construction sites with the following objectives:
•    To    identify    health    and    safety    problems    associated    with    building construction industry.
•    To find out factors that lead to health and safety problems
•    To investigate how to avoid accidents in the building construction industry.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:
It is the desire and expectation of every developer to accomplish any development project without much hitch or draw backs. When an integrated approach of good production planning and accidents preventive mechanism is adopted, the out come is quality assurance of the project delivery process.
It is an outcome so much desired by all stakeholders. The problem had always been: who bells the cat? Who initiates the process that challenges the status quo of practices that are inimical to the common and collective good?
This study will equally provide the following benefits:
•    It will lead to more harmonious work environment.
•    It will show safer and healthier ways to carry out site work.
•    It will show how good site planning can lessen site accidents.
•    It will lead to savings in the use of human and material resources.
•    It will be a factor to arrest cost and time overruns of projects
•    Its adoption will save the following costs
I.    The need of scores of hospital beds per day
II.    The drain on medical staff and services.
III.    The drain on union and insurance company funds
IV.    The loss of thousands of man-days to production.
HYPOTHESIS
The following null hypothesis was formulated for the study to be tested at
0.05 level of significance;
HO: The observance of safety and health procedures do not significantly control the rate and nature of accidents on construction sites
HI: The observance of safety and health procedures do significantly control the rate and nature of accidents on constructions sites.
1.7.1    SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
This study is focused on the use of production planning approach that observes safety and health procedures, to curb accidents arising from execution of production activities on sites within the confines of building industry. It does not cover high engineering projects like bridges and oil and gas sector.
1.7.2    LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: The following limitations are inherent in the study.
1    The limitations inherent in the use of questionnaires in terms of bjectivity, truthfulness and sincerity from respondents are acknowledged; there is therefore, likelihood of error to occur in the final evaluation of data
2    The inability of the researcher to cover all of the major towns in Anambra State, except Awka and Onitsha, due to lack of time; therefore the findings were based on the data from the two main towns.
1.8    RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In view of the aim of this study, the following research questions are posed to drive the study:
1.    what are the types of accidents associated with building construction activities
2.        What are the types of health/safety problems associated with building activates problems.
3.    What are the factors that cause these construction problems?
4.    How can these problems be mitigated?
5.    Can the observance of health and safety provisions during construction reduce the rate of accident occurrence?
1.9    DEFINITION OF TERMS (KEY WORDS)
The following terms are defined as used in this study:
1.9.1    Planning: Oxford advanced learners dictionary defined “plan” as: “An arrangement to do a set of things in order to achieve something, especially one that has been considered in detail in advance;
Following from this, planning is therefore the act of arranging the procedure for carrying out an action to achieve set objectives.
1.9.2    Accident: “An eventful occurrence in a work place that interrupts or disrupts production activities or processes through loss of time, loss of resources and injury (fatal or otherwise) consequent upon wrongful and inappropriate human behaviour and /or inappropriate, faulty or deficient working environment, design or management (Oyederan, 1989, as quoted by Amaechi, 1990)
1.9.3    Health and Safety: Health- conditions of a person’s body or mind (have poor health or enjoy the best of health).
Safety: - Being safe, not being dangerous or in danger (Hornby 2000).
1.9.4    Management: The act of running and controlling a business or similar organization (Hornby 2000).