The Effect of Safety Precautions on Construction Performance in Sudan

Abstract

The construction industry is considered one of the most hazardous industries, not only in developing countries but also throughout the world due to its unique nature. The hazards of this industry make it very essential to pay more attention to construction safety and to improve the safety performance of construction companies. However, safety is not a luxury but a necessity, and may be considered an important function to be used against unnecessary loss. Little studies have been done in this field in Sudan. The objectives of this research are to identify the effect of safety precautions on construction performance. The methodology of this study was to use both qualitative and quantitative methods. Comprehensive literature review has been undertaken to gather the information about the safety factors that affect the performance of construction project to protect workers form accidents and to insure safety performance. From the previous researches, four hypotheses have been proposed to construct the theoretical model which was constructed according to the literature of the research and previous researches. The research methodology was conducted by questionnaire which was reliable and valid according to statistical methods. Twenty three factors were identified as factors affecting the Sudanese construction projects these factors divided into two levels: 1 - at the level of project management, 2 - at the project level in the workplace. The results of this study indicate that the factors at an organization level has a greater impact on the construction industry than the factors at the project level and It was concluded that The most important factors affecting the safety performance is personal protective equipment (PPE) and from the study i find that 8% of companies provide PPE for their workers. The recommendations of study were to expand the model to cover factors which not discussed within model, and study the external environment factors and its effect on the performance.