The effectiveness of the occupational health and safety (OH&S) inspectorate in South African construction

Irrespective of all the efforts made by the Department of Labour (DoL) and other relevant stakeholders to improve construction occupational health and safety (OH&S) performance, there is still a very high level of accidents and fatalities in South Africa. Injuries and accidents to workers help no community in any nation. A doctoral study was recently conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness and performance of the DoL OH&S Inspectorate in the Republic of South Africa. Information was sought and obtained from various respondents including civil and building contractors, OH&S consultants, project managers, DoL inspectors, and designers by means of questionnaires. The research significantly identifies interventions which contribute to a reduction in the number of accidents, which in turn is likely to result in: a reduction in the cost of accidents (CoA); a reduction in the cost of workers' compensation insurance; alleviation of fatalities, injuries, pain and suffering, and a reduction in the indirect CoA to society and the national health care system. The salient findings of the study are presented and elucidate that the DoL OH&S Inspectorate is not effective in terms of OH&S relative to the construction industry in South Africa. Conclusions and recommendations included reinforce the need for a reviewed OH&S Inspectorate model framework. The findings of the study with recommendations are included.