Search results

COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new norm of operation and has further presented new health and safety challenges in all sectors, including the construction sector. Consequently, several guidelines have been developed and instituted by various countries to prevent the spread of the disease among the citizenry. This paper aims to explore the COVID-19 guidelines incorporated in the health and safety management policies of construction firms in South Africa.

A qualitative approach was adopted for the study. Data was collected from construction companies by means of an open-ended questionnaire. The open-ended questionnaire was distributed by using the purposive sampling technique. The collected data was analysed with thematic content analysis.

The findings show that most construction companies have incorporated aspects of COVID-19 guidelines into the site health and safety policies, whereas the majority of the companies had incorporated guidelines such as site access, handling of COVID-19 cases, induction, screening and social distancing; only a few had incorporated guidelines such as compliance, sanitisation, sick leave, wearing of personal protective equipment, audit and risk assessment, lunchtime rules and grouping of workers into the health and safety policies on site.

Data was collected from higher grade firms; therefore, the research findings may not be applied to smaller construction firms. A study that focuses on lower grades is recommended.

Construction companies could use the recommendations provided to improve upon the policies developed/adopted to curb the spread of CVID-19 on-site.

Research on COVID-19 construction site health and safety measures are still being developed. Thus, this study contributes to advancing the body of knowledge in this evolving field.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a capacity building project on construction health and safety that is recently completed in Pakistan. The major objectives of this project are: first, to benchmark the current state of construction health and safety practices in Pakistan and to identify the data needs for continuous performance measurement; second, to develop health and safety guidelines; third, to develop adequate educational and training material; and finally, to improve the existing regulatory infrastructure for worker health and safety.

Mixed-methods approach is adopted for data collection which included site observations, surveys, semi-structured interviews, and case studies. The methodology consists of following major tasks: first, literature review and study of best practices; second, investigation of existing safety practices and development of guidelines; third, educational and training programs for construction professionals and educators; and finally, development of a strategic framework for continuous improvement in construction safety culture, laws, and practices. Collected data were analyzed using various qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods.

The enforcement of health and safety regulations on construction sites is very limited in Pakistan. Procedures for formulating, implementing, and monitoring safety rules and regulations are weak, and the implementation of safety management systems does not occur on most construction sites. The paper presents a detailed plan to improve the health and safety culture, laws, and practices in Pakistan.

Detailed proposals for improving existing construction health and safety laws and regulations are prepared for relevant regulatory and statutory bodies and ministries in Pakistan. From an educational perspective, comprehensive health and safety training material are developed and training workshops are conducted in major cities of Pakistan. Over 1,000 construction professionals benefited from these workshops.

The project helped in raising awareness about construction health and safety in Pakistan.

The project benchmarked existing health and safety practices in Pakistan. It identified data needs for continuous monitoring of health and safety performance and provided a mechanism for collecting such data. The project produced international standard health and safety training material that can fulfill the local needs. The project deliverables are extremely helpful for other developing countries in the region.

In the Covid-19 pandemic era, corporate responsibility and accountability for maintaining employee health and safety, particularly from this pernicious virus, have become a matter of major social and economic importance. From an accountability through action perspective, this study aims to set out to evaluate the potential occupational health and safety accountability consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This paper is based upon purposive sampling of several sets of publicly available data including published research literature addressing corporate social responsibility and accountability, and the literature more specifically addressing occupational health and safety (OHS) and its reporting. Also included are recent Web-based reports and articles concerning Covid-19-related OHS government and industry sponsored guidelines for employers and their workplaces across the UK and Australia.

The findings of this research highlight that firstly, the extant literature on OHS has been predominantly functionalist in its approach and that accountability through action provides an opportunity to make employers more visibly accountable for their response to Covid-19. Secondly, the paper highlights that despite recent progress on OHS issues significant concerns remained in the pre-Covid-19 era and that emerging regulations and legal obligations on employees have the potential to make OHS issues a prominent part of corporate social responsibility research.

Disease and mental health statistics reveal the potential significance of their expansion in the Covid-19 environment, and regulatory and legal liability concerns emerge as potential drivers of renewed corporate as well as researcher attention to OHS issues. Implications for the emergence of a broader range of accountability forms and visibilities are also canvassed.

This chapter provides an overview of the policies that taxi and ridesourcing regulators in the USA and around the world have adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery from it, including regulatory actions and measures to protect driver and passenger safety and health, as well as various efforts intended to provide economic relief and assistance. This chapter raises the issue of guidance versus regulatory mandates by transportation officials, and what issues need to be further researched and evaluated for permanent implementation and/or to prepare for any resurgence of this or other pandemics.

Health and safety in small construction firms is often neglected by owners leading to poor health and safety performance and unacceptably high fatality and injury rates. A body of knowledge has established significant links between the motivational behaviours of operatives towards health and safety. Motivation is also considered as a key tool for improving operative productivity as when operatives experience safe worksites, they can carry out their work in a more productive manner. The purpose of this research is to develop a framework to examine the motivational factors that affect operative health and safety in small construction firms.

A critical review and synthesis of the body of knowledge incorporating motivational theory, health and safety literature and the factors which characterise small firms, is used to develop the framework.

Key components of the framework include the presence of intrinsic and extrinsic components, appropriate health and safety policies and procedures, the type of work environment, the operatives (i.e. attitude, experience and training) as well as the presence of appropriate management and supervision. The study revealed that operatives in small firms are less likely to be extrinsically motivated due to the absence of training, management commitment, policies and the wider working environment

Failure of motivational support can result in increased danger and risk in exposing operatives to injury in the small firm environment. In this context, the damage caused to operative's health and safety in small construction firms is dependent mainly on the extrinsic factors.

The framework provides a basis for improving our understanding of how to motivate operatives to act safely and will help to improve the health and safety performance of small firms. It is therefore vital to emphasise enhancement efforts on these extrinsic strategies in the small firms' environment especially in the initial stages of the project (or activity), so that the health and safety of operatives in small firms can be improved.

This study proposes a contribution in developing an understanding of the motivational factors and their influence on the health and safety of operatives in small construction firms. The study revealed that operatives in small firms are less likely to be extrinsically motivated and have only intrinsically motivated elements in their workplace. The study proposes an indirect link between the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect motivation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought profound changes to all sectors of society including the construction sector. The main purpose of this study is to explore and provide insights into the impact and changes that have occurred in the construction sector due to COVID-19 and to present a mitigation framework to minimize the effects.

The scope of this study is limited to peer-reviewed articles in Scopus or Web of Science indexed journals. A systemized review was performed with bibliometric and content analyses of articles related to the impact of COVID-19 on the construction sector.

Through content analysis, the main topics discussed in the selected articles were grouped into 10 categories. Most of these studies were found to have focused on the challenges, impact, and health and safety at construction sites resulting from the pandemic. The study further identified 39 subtopics through detailed content analysis and organizes them into the categories of negative impacts, positive impacts and opportunities and barriers to COVID-19 safety guidelines in the construction sector. Moreover, the study developed a systematic mitigation strategy based on the recommendations of the literature review to reduce the impact of the current pandemic on the construction sector. The mitigation strategy presents separate set of measures regarding safety guidelines, process improvements, government intervention, psychological support and technology adoption.

The research insights provided in this study are useful for practitioners in guiding them to design effective strategies for addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and future crises. Furthermore, a systematic presentation of the impacts, challenges and mitigation measures in this study will help researchers to identify existing gaps in the literature and explore other aspects of the impact of the pandemic on the construction sector.

This study aims to investigate the potential impacts of rapid prototyping systems on the health and safety of operators and the environment, a growing concern given its wide-spread use in industry and academia.

Materials, processing and equipment features were used to identify potential health and safety risks and hazards, as well as environmental effects.

The study concludes with a “best practices” guide for rapid prototyping laboratories and service bureaus.

A thorough literature search revealed that Stephen M. Deak, the Rapid Prototyping Department Manager at Hasbro Inc., is the pioneer of the safety and health concerns in the rapid prototyping area. He is the only person to publish papers in this field in addition to these authors’ recent publications. His papers focused on the rapid prototyping laboratory safety guidelines and safe work practices in the rapid prototyping area.

Purpose: This study purposes to explore the numerous factors that had affected the tourism industry during the novel coronavirus outbreak in India. It also discusses the guidelines, directives and measures proposed by reputed agencies and organisations on the importance of education and training of the staff and consumers to boost their confidence in travelling and enhance their re-visit and re-purchase intentions.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A comprehensive literature review of the directives, guidelines and measures proposed by World Health Organization (WHO), Food safety and standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) will be done to explore the possibilities that are emerging for the revival of the hospitality industry in India, especially through education and training.

Results: This study based on the review of literature discussed the various guidelines on safety and hygiene concerning COVID-19 based on the different sub-sectors of the entire tourism industry (Accommodation, Airlines and Attractions) including areas where their implementation is required, for example, guest handling at front of the house areas, receiving and material handling, guest rooms, restaurants, kitchens, room service, linen handling, customer handling in airlines and airports and guest transportation.

Originality: This study will be useful for the stakeholders in tourism to re-draft their standard operating procedures to thrive back and instil trust amongst the tourists related to their safe and healthy stay at the hotels. It will also help the stakeholders to appropriately train their employees and give their guests an unforgettable and safe inclusive hotel experience.

During the early SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated masks “may not protect the wearer, but it may keep the wearer from spreading the virus to others”. Health officials revised mask guidelines to include both the wearer and others, but contradiction became a focal point for online debate and credibility. While revised policies eventually became adopted by the public, there was loss time and lives during this critical stage. This study investigates collectivist messaging on public policy support.

COVID-19 public policy hypocrisy was defined as the gap between supporting community policies while rejecting policies more likely to impact the individual. United States participants (N = 1,605) completed questionnaires. Moderated mediation analysis was conducted using SPSS PROCESS.

Those high on collectivism and high on global personal impact associated with lower COVID-19 public policy hypocrisy. These individuals indicated consistent support for community and individual policies, likely requiring personal sacrifices. Indirect conditional effects of lower conscientiousness associated with higher hypocrisy among those collectivistic.

Participants evaluated preference to original public safety ads, representative of basic societal and individual benefits. Those higher on collectivism preferred societal “we” versus individual “me” public safety ads. Implications discuss benefits of personal and communal public health messaging in an individualistic society so businesses can reopen. Entrepreneurs experienced major economic setbacks that effective public health policies could have mitigated.

The purpose of this study is to explore educational policy directions in the Maldives to continue learning in public schools during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and identify policy changes that could improve the preparedness of the schools for future pandemics.

This qualitative study is descriptive in nature with an analytical methodology of document and interview data analysis. The purposively selected participants for the interviews included senior officials of the Ministry of Education, school leaders and teachers of public schools in the Maldives.

This study identified significant policy changes for public schools in the Maldives during the COVID-19 pandemic. These were early response and timely policy directions to continue education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Another finding was the effective change communication of the educational policies for its implementation. Following the policy changes, the teachers were trained for online teaching, hence increasing their competency in information and communications technology. As a result, this led to resilient teachers who were determined to provide education through the challenging times of the pandemic. Hence, it is evident that the school system of the Maldives will emerge stronger beyond COVID-19.

The education policy changes for public schools in the Maldives during the global COVID-19 pandemic have merits for education practices beyond the pandemic.