The literature on health and safety (H&S) is bound with different elements and indicators of meas... more The literature on health and safety (H&S) is bound with different elements and indicators of measuring H&S performance. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the success and challenges of using quantitative and qualitative approach of Delphi technique in validating and identifying H&S performance indicators that small and medium construction enterprises (SMEs) can use to measure and monitor their H&S performance improvement at project level. Furthermore, discuss the identification of experts in the field of H&S, ways of improving consensus analysis and minimizing experts' non-response. This study is based on practical experience of the researchers pertaining to the Delphi technique method which is a constructivist or interpretive approach to knowledge. The study started with an extensive literature review to identify core elements and leading indicators characterizing H&S culture to develop a Delphi questionnaire that was used in the first round of Delphi. A four round Delphi ...
Ergonomics SA : Journal of the Ergonomics Society of South Africa, 2014
Low back pain has become one of the most influential musculoskeletal disorders of modern society.... more Low back pain has become one of the most influential musculoskeletal disorders of modern society. Exercise has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of chronic low back pain. The goal of the study was to test the effect of two exercise intervention programmes (conservative or progressive-aggressive programmes) for 12 weeks on low back muscle strength as well as psychological factors in participants with chronic low back pain. In total 32 participants were recruited for the study and randomly assigned to two exercise groups. However, due to medical and work related reasons a number of subjects dropped out. At the end there were 10 subjects in the conservative exercise group and 11 in the progressive-aggressive group. Statistically significant differences at the 5% level of significance were found at the post-test measurements between the two groups. The results from the present study indicate that both types of programmes have shown to be very effective in the treatment of...
Substance abuse among youths is a worldwide epidemic that impacts negatively on the health sector... more Substance abuse among youths is a worldwide epidemic that impacts negatively on the health sector as well as the family and society. Early student life at the university is a time of tremendous high motivation to conform to the behaviours, values and attitudes that are valued by the student culture. However, students observe their peers’ behaviour and alter their own behaviour with their peers’ norms and expectations. Some of the perceived peer norms can however lead to substance abuse, which has led students’ not to complete their education. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to determine students’ perception on the effects of substance abuse on their physical, cognitive and affective development. The research philosophy adopted was positivism and the approach was deductive. Hence, a self-administered questionnaire containing items developed from literature review was administered to 199 built environment and civil engineering students at a South African university. ...
Nutritional knowledge as well as economic, social, biological, and cultural factors have been kno... more Nutritional knowledge as well as economic, social, biological, and cultural factors have been known to determine an individual’s food choices. Despite the existence of research on the factors which influence nutrition globally, there is little known about the extent to which these factors influence the food choices of construction workers, which in turn influence their health and safety during construction activities. The present article investigates the extent to which construction workers’ nutrition is influenced by nutritional knowledge, as well as economic, environmental, social, psychological, and physiological factors. A field questionnaire survey was conducted on site construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Principal components analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that consumption of foods termed alternative foods including dairy products, eggs, nuts, fish, and cereals, was influenced by nutritional k...
Purpose The common measures of measuring health and safety (HS good consensus, median 7-8.99, mea... more Purpose The common measures of measuring health and safety (HS good consensus, median 7-8.99, mean 6-7.99, IQR≥1.1≤2 and ≥60%≤79%(8-10); weak consensus, median ≤ 6.99, mean ≤5.99 and IQR≥2.1≤3 and ≤ 59%(8-10). Findings The key findings indicate that there was a good to strong consensus of 53 indicators. Nine of the indicators had weak consensus. The indicators with weak consensus were from the core elements of appointment of H&S staff one measuring indicators, formal and informal written communication, four
Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 2014
Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate the personnel attributes perception on rel... more Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate the personnel attributes perception on reliable and valid health and safety (H&S) practices within small- and medium-sized construction enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. It explores whether these valid and reliable H&S practices could be implemented based on the demographic attributes, namely, years of experience in the construction industry, number of years working in the current organisation and educational level. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method approach was used to conduct this research, namely, Delphi and questionnaire survey. A structured questionnaire consisting of 31 H&S practices categorised into five major H&S practices was developed from extensive literature review and the participation of 20 purposive sampled H&S experts. Sixteen H&S experts completed four iterations. A convenient sample of 1,450 SMEs was obtained. In total, 228 questionnaires were returned, of which 216 responses were useable for analy...
Participation in formal mentoring programme in South African construction industry: A perspective... more Participation in formal mentoring programme in South African construction industry: A perspective of new knowledge workers
This study examined mentoring relationships within organizations, important characteristics of me... more This study examined mentoring relationships within organizations, important characteristics of mentors, important mentoring functions, effectively achieved mentoring functions, potential negative outcomes or problems in mentoring relationships as reported by new knowledge workers and the implications of cultural divide in relation to gender and race. A descriptive survey was used to conduct this research, using a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and the Number Cruncher Statistical System version 6.0. Reliability for internal consistency for the objectives, were determined using Cronbach’s alpha test. A list wise deletion analysis was conducted to verify the valid cases to be analyzed. Results indicated that male mentors still dominate in the South African construction industry. Important characteristics that mentors should possess were identified, including important and adequately achieved mentoring functions whic...
Purpose of this paper: This paper seeks to investigate the current use of risk-identification tec... more Purpose of this paper: This paper seeks to investigate the current use of risk-identification techniques in the South African construction industry. Methodology: An extensive literature search was conducted to collect the secondary data; and these were supplemented by primary data via a questionnaire survey. These were then distributed to contractors, who were conveniently sampled in Gauteng (South Africa). The data were analysed by using the Mean-Item Score (MIS). Findings: A total of twelve risk-identification techniques were identified, of which checklist, flowchart and brainstorming were rated as the most used risk-identification techniques in construction projects in Gauteng. Research limitations: This research was conducted only with considered contractors in the Gauteng province. Further research could include an increased target population more representative of the South African construction industry. Practical implications: Practitioners and researchers are likely to find ...
Purpose: It is well known that managing H&S helps ensure that construction organizations are achi... more Purpose: It is well known that managing H&S helps ensure that construction organizations are achieving their H&S objectives and targets. As such, the H&S management practices constitute a vehicle to improve H&S performance outcome. However, the challenge is to determine what needs to be measured and practiced by SMEs at project level. The objectives of this paper are therefore to determine the H&S elements indicative of SMEs, employee involvement and empowerment H&S practices and the influence of employee involvement and empowerment on H&S performance at project level. Research methodology: A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire consisting of 31 items categorized in five independent variables (IV). This was developed from extensive literature and four rounds of Delphi survey. A total of 216 valid questionnaires were analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20. Inferential statistics were used to determine the perception of SMEs employee ...
This study sought to identify and validate a comprehensive set of health and safety (H&S) leading... more This study sought to identify and validate a comprehensive set of health and safety (H&S) leading indicator metrics that will enable small and medium construction enterprises (SMEs) personnel to monitor the level of H&S performance in their projects. The Delphi approach was used where the opinion of H&S experts, academics and industry practitioners were canvassed on 64 potential indicator metrics, categorized in 10 elements or leading indicators that will enable H&S performance improvement e.g. reduction in accidents, injuries, diseases but to name a few. The experts rated each indicator metric on a 10-point Likert scale of impact, where 1= no major impact or 10% impact and 10 = major impact or 100% impact. Consensus was reached on 32 indicator metrics after four successive rounds of Delphi if the indicators attracted final scores of, percentage median impact of 90% to 100% which is 9.00 to 10.00 median rating and over 50% of respondents rating the indicator metrics in the band of 9...
The literature on health and safety (H&S) is bound with different elements and indicators of meas... more The literature on health and safety (H&S) is bound with different elements and indicators of measuring H&S performance. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the success and challenges of using quantitative and qualitative approach of Delphi technique in validating and identifying H&S performance indicators that small and medium construction enterprises (SMEs) can use to measure and monitor their H&S performance improvement at project level. Furthermore, discuss the identification of experts in the field of H&S, ways of improving consensus analysis and minimizing experts' non-response. This study is based on practical experience of the researchers pertaining to the Delphi technique method which is a constructivist or interpretive approach to knowledge. The study started with an extensive literature review to identify core elements and leading indicators characterizing H&S culture to develop a Delphi questionnaire that was used in the first round of Delphi. A four round Delphi ...
Ergonomics SA : Journal of the Ergonomics Society of South Africa, 2014
Low back pain has become one of the most influential musculoskeletal disorders of modern society.... more Low back pain has become one of the most influential musculoskeletal disorders of modern society. Exercise has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of chronic low back pain. The goal of the study was to test the effect of two exercise intervention programmes (conservative or progressive-aggressive programmes) for 12 weeks on low back muscle strength as well as psychological factors in participants with chronic low back pain. In total 32 participants were recruited for the study and randomly assigned to two exercise groups. However, due to medical and work related reasons a number of subjects dropped out. At the end there were 10 subjects in the conservative exercise group and 11 in the progressive-aggressive group. Statistically significant differences at the 5% level of significance were found at the post-test measurements between the two groups. The results from the present study indicate that both types of programmes have shown to be very effective in the treatment of...
Substance abuse among youths is a worldwide epidemic that impacts negatively on the health sector... more Substance abuse among youths is a worldwide epidemic that impacts negatively on the health sector as well as the family and society. Early student life at the university is a time of tremendous high motivation to conform to the behaviours, values and attitudes that are valued by the student culture. However, students observe their peers’ behaviour and alter their own behaviour with their peers’ norms and expectations. Some of the perceived peer norms can however lead to substance abuse, which has led students’ not to complete their education. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to determine students’ perception on the effects of substance abuse on their physical, cognitive and affective development. The research philosophy adopted was positivism and the approach was deductive. Hence, a self-administered questionnaire containing items developed from literature review was administered to 199 built environment and civil engineering students at a South African university. ...
Nutritional knowledge as well as economic, social, biological, and cultural factors have been kno... more Nutritional knowledge as well as economic, social, biological, and cultural factors have been known to determine an individual’s food choices. Despite the existence of research on the factors which influence nutrition globally, there is little known about the extent to which these factors influence the food choices of construction workers, which in turn influence their health and safety during construction activities. The present article investigates the extent to which construction workers’ nutrition is influenced by nutritional knowledge, as well as economic, environmental, social, psychological, and physiological factors. A field questionnaire survey was conducted on site construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Principal components analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that consumption of foods termed alternative foods including dairy products, eggs, nuts, fish, and cereals, was influenced by nutritional k...
Purpose The common measures of measuring health and safety (HS good consensus, median 7-8.99, mea... more Purpose The common measures of measuring health and safety (HS good consensus, median 7-8.99, mean 6-7.99, IQR≥1.1≤2 and ≥60%≤79%(8-10); weak consensus, median ≤ 6.99, mean ≤5.99 and IQR≥2.1≤3 and ≤ 59%(8-10). Findings The key findings indicate that there was a good to strong consensus of 53 indicators. Nine of the indicators had weak consensus. The indicators with weak consensus were from the core elements of appointment of H&S staff one measuring indicators, formal and informal written communication, four
Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 2014
Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate the personnel attributes perception on rel... more Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate the personnel attributes perception on reliable and valid health and safety (H&S) practices within small- and medium-sized construction enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. It explores whether these valid and reliable H&S practices could be implemented based on the demographic attributes, namely, years of experience in the construction industry, number of years working in the current organisation and educational level. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method approach was used to conduct this research, namely, Delphi and questionnaire survey. A structured questionnaire consisting of 31 H&S practices categorised into five major H&S practices was developed from extensive literature review and the participation of 20 purposive sampled H&S experts. Sixteen H&S experts completed four iterations. A convenient sample of 1,450 SMEs was obtained. In total, 228 questionnaires were returned, of which 216 responses were useable for analy...
Participation in formal mentoring programme in South African construction industry: A perspective... more Participation in formal mentoring programme in South African construction industry: A perspective of new knowledge workers
This study examined mentoring relationships within organizations, important characteristics of me... more This study examined mentoring relationships within organizations, important characteristics of mentors, important mentoring functions, effectively achieved mentoring functions, potential negative outcomes or problems in mentoring relationships as reported by new knowledge workers and the implications of cultural divide in relation to gender and race. A descriptive survey was used to conduct this research, using a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and the Number Cruncher Statistical System version 6.0. Reliability for internal consistency for the objectives, were determined using Cronbach’s alpha test. A list wise deletion analysis was conducted to verify the valid cases to be analyzed. Results indicated that male mentors still dominate in the South African construction industry. Important characteristics that mentors should possess were identified, including important and adequately achieved mentoring functions whic...
Purpose of this paper: This paper seeks to investigate the current use of risk-identification tec... more Purpose of this paper: This paper seeks to investigate the current use of risk-identification techniques in the South African construction industry. Methodology: An extensive literature search was conducted to collect the secondary data; and these were supplemented by primary data via a questionnaire survey. These were then distributed to contractors, who were conveniently sampled in Gauteng (South Africa). The data were analysed by using the Mean-Item Score (MIS). Findings: A total of twelve risk-identification techniques were identified, of which checklist, flowchart and brainstorming were rated as the most used risk-identification techniques in construction projects in Gauteng. Research limitations: This research was conducted only with considered contractors in the Gauteng province. Further research could include an increased target population more representative of the South African construction industry. Practical implications: Practitioners and researchers are likely to find ...
Purpose: It is well known that managing H&S helps ensure that construction organizations are achi... more Purpose: It is well known that managing H&S helps ensure that construction organizations are achieving their H&S objectives and targets. As such, the H&S management practices constitute a vehicle to improve H&S performance outcome. However, the challenge is to determine what needs to be measured and practiced by SMEs at project level. The objectives of this paper are therefore to determine the H&S elements indicative of SMEs, employee involvement and empowerment H&S practices and the influence of employee involvement and empowerment on H&S performance at project level. Research methodology: A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire consisting of 31 items categorized in five independent variables (IV). This was developed from extensive literature and four rounds of Delphi survey. A total of 216 valid questionnaires were analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20. Inferential statistics were used to determine the perception of SMEs employee ...
This study sought to identify and validate a comprehensive set of health and safety (H&S) leading... more This study sought to identify and validate a comprehensive set of health and safety (H&S) leading indicator metrics that will enable small and medium construction enterprises (SMEs) personnel to monitor the level of H&S performance in their projects. The Delphi approach was used where the opinion of H&S experts, academics and industry practitioners were canvassed on 64 potential indicator metrics, categorized in 10 elements or leading indicators that will enable H&S performance improvement e.g. reduction in accidents, injuries, diseases but to name a few. The experts rated each indicator metric on a 10-point Likert scale of impact, where 1= no major impact or 10% impact and 10 = major impact or 100% impact. Consensus was reached on 32 indicator metrics after four successive rounds of Delphi if the indicators attracted final scores of, percentage median impact of 90% to 100% which is 9.00 to 10.00 median rating and over 50% of respondents rating the indicator metrics in the band of 9...
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