Toward improved construction health, safety, and ergonomics in South Africa: A working model for use by architectural designers

Abstract

The construction industry produces a high rate of accidents. Despite evidence that up to 50% of accidents can be avoided through mitigation of hazards and risks in the design phase of construction projects,  architectural designers do not adequately engage in designing for construction health, safety, and  ergonomics. The article reports on the development of an architectural design-oriented model toward a  reduction of construction hazards and risks. The research intertwined a range of secondary data with four  provisional studies undertaken in the Eastern Cape Province considered representative of South Africa,  and involved quantitative and qualitative methodologies directed at architectural designers registered  with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP). These served to provide local  insight and a line of structured questioning for use in the main study, which was positioned in the action research (AR) paradigm and used focus-group (FG) methodology to solicit vast qualitative data from  SACAP-registered participants. Synthesis of the FG data with literature and the provisional studies gave  rise to a provisional model comprising six main model components and a range of subcomponents. The  provisional model was validated and refined. The evolved model includes a core model embedded in a  greater process model, and implementation and use of the core model relies on appropriate knowledge of architectural designers. It is recommended that tertiary architectural education institutions and those involved in architectural CPD programmes take ‘upstream design ownership’ and use the model as a basis  for designing and implementing appropriate education and training programmes.

Keywords: Construction health, safety, and ergonomics, architectural design model

Die konstruksie-industrie het ‘n hoë koers van ongelukke. Ten spyte van bewyse dat tot 50% van ongelukke voorkom kan word deur, tydens die ontwerpfase van konstruksie-projekte gevare en risiko’s te verminder, raak argitektoniese ontwerpers nie voldoende betrokke in die ontwerp vir konstruksie-gesondheid, -veiligheid, en -ergonomie nie. Die artikel doen verslag oor die ontwikkeling van ‘n argitektoniese ontwerp-georiënteerde model vir ‘n vermindering van konstruksiegevare en –risiko’s. Die navorsing kombineer ‘n verskeidenheid van sekondêre data met vier voorlopige studies wat onderneem is in die Oos-Kaap, wat beskou word as verteenwoordigend van Suid-Afrika, asook betrokke kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe metodologieë wat gerig is op argitektoniese  ontwerpers wat geregistreer is by die Suid-Afrikaanse Raad vir die Argitektuurprofessie (SARAP). Hierdie dien as plaaslike insig en ‘n lyn van gestruktureerde vrae vir gebruik in die hoofstudie, wat geposisioneer is in die aksie-navorsing (AN) paradigma en gebruik die fokusgroep (FG) metode om groot kwalitatiewe data in te samel van SARAP-geregistreerde deelnemers. Sintese van die FG data met die literatuur asook die voorlopige studies het aanleiding gegee tot ‘n voorlopige model wat bestaan uit ‘n model met ses hoofkomponente en ‘n verskeidenheid subkomponente. Die voorlopige model is gevalideer en verfyn. Die aangepaste model sluit ‘n kernmodel, ingebed in ‘n groter prosesmodel in. Die implementering en gebruik van die kernmodel berus op toepaslike kennis van argitektoniese ontwerpers. Dit word aanbeveel dat tersiêre argitektoniese onderwysinstellings en diegene wat betrokke is in argitektoniese VPO programme ‘n ‘stroomop ontwerp eienaarskap’-benadering volg en die model gebruik as ‘n basis vir die ontwerp en implementering van toepaslike onderwys- en opleidingsprogramme.

Sleutelwoorde: Konstruksie-gesondheid, -veiligheid, en -ergonomie, argitektoniese ontwerp model