Impact of the South African Construction Regulations on construction health and safety: Architects' perceptions

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact on architects of recently introduced Construction Regulations in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the passing of the first anniversary of the promulgation of the Construction Regulations, a survey was conducted to determine the perceptions of member practices of the South African Institute of Architects.

Findings

Findings include: the traditional project parameters in the form of cost, quality, and time are still perceived to be substantially more important than health and safety (H&S); the manifestations of the impact of the Construction Regulations are wide spread – increased H&S awareness predominates among the manifestations, followed by increased consideration for H&S by most stakeholders, and H&S predominates in terms of the extent to which the Construction Regulations will impact on various project parameters.

Originality/value

The paper offers a valid argument for the inclusion of construction H&S to feature more prominently in architectural education and training programmes.

Citation

Smallwood, J.J. and Haupt, T.C. (2007), "Impact of the South African Construction Regulations on construction health and safety: Architects' perceptions", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 23-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/17260530710746588