Developing a framework for a reciprocal safety implementation system (RSIS) in the pakistani construction industry

Despite the fact that the construction industry in Pakistan has witnessed a rapid growth in the past few years, workers are still working in poor safety conditions. The high injury/fatality rate in Pakistan is probably due to the direct exposure of workers to hazardous conditions, such as working at elevation or in confined spaces without any formal safety training and personal protective equipment. While Pakistan has several occupational safety and health laws, they are too broad to be applied directly to the construction industry. Due to the presence of a weak regulatory system, worker safety is not a principal focus of the construction industry. This study is conducted to improve the current construction safety situation in Pakistan by developing a framework for better implementation of safety practices and thus bridging the safety related perceptual gaps between different stakeholders and regulatory authorities. A three phase research model (3’PRM) was instigated to streamline the research efforts. These three phases are: 1) Benchmarking 2) Evaluation 3) Development. During the benchmarking phase, various reasons were identified for the poor construction safety implementation in Pakistan. The existing situation was further evaluated through survey questionnaire and interviews. After conducting an extensive literature review and field study, the research entailed the development of a framework for better construction safety implementation in Pakistan. The proposed framework is composed of guidelines for a reciprocal safety implementation system with aspects such as regulatory enhancements and corporate safety culture improvements. The emphasis of this system is to extend all the efforts for minimizing the risks for construction workers through stronger regulations and voluntary compliance efforts by all the stakeholders. This study will help initiate a sustainable regulatory environment for safety implementation specifically designed for construction workers in Pakistan.