A framework for promoting health and safety through procurement in the construction industry in developing countries: A case of Ghana

Despite its significant contributions to national development, the construction industry has an infamous reputation for being unsafe. Particularly, in developing countries, the rate of construction accidents is unacceptably high, and it is predicted that the rate will increase parallelly with the pace of industrialization. Consequently, there has been considerable amount of research into health and safety (H&S) performance improvement. One of such areas is the promotion of H&S through the construction procurement process. However, many studies which focus on promoting H&S via procurement have often been discussed in the context of developed countries, while empirical investigation in developing countries is rare. Therefore, using Ghana as a case study, the aim of this research is to explore the extent of H&S integration into the procurement of public works and propose a framework for promoting H&S in construction procurement in developing countries. This is based on the premise that as major procurers of works, public clients can use their immense purchasing power to drive H&S improvement in the construction industry though their procurement practices and decisions. This research adopted the mixed methods approach. In the quantitative part, 287 valid responses were received from both online and paper-based questionnaire surveys. The quantitative data was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to assess the extent of H&S considerations in the procurement process. Also, structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the survey data to verify the hypothesised relationships between the research variables. Thereafter, qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews with 20 experienced public clients and contractors. The qualitative data was subjected to both deductive and inductive thematic analyses to verify the assessments in the quantitative study and obtain further insights into the phenomenon. The results of the quantitative study showed that public clients in developing countries do not usually set clear project objectives relating to H&S and do not satisfactorily consider H&S matters in the various stages of the construction procurement process. Also, the final model derived from the SEM analysis demonstrated that an adequate consideration of H&S matters within the procurement process impacts positively on project H&S implementation. In the qualitative study, it was found that the extent of H&S consideration in the procurement process depended on the funding source(s) for the public projects. While H&S matters are generally overlooked in the various procurement stages for state-funded public projects, H&S is prioritised and as such, given considerable attention on donor-funded projects. Finally, through both the quantitative and qualitative findings, the study proposed a practical framework, covering the practices, decisions, and key management measures, that can assist clients to promote H&S matters in the various stages of the procurement process for public construction projects in developing countries. This study contributes to the broader research on construction H&S improvement in developing countries by providing evidence-based assessment of the extent of H&S integration into public procurement and proposing a framework to promote H&S in procurement. Also, it contributes to the understanding of the influence of funding sources on the extent of H&S consideration in the procurement of public projects in developing countries. Another theoretical contribution is exploring the effect of considering H&S in the procurement process on the extent of H&S implementation, demonstrating that a clear and thoughtful consideration of H&S in the procurement process has a positive impact on project H&S implementation.