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

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.