Earthmoving equipment cabin conditions and its health impact on operators

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Date
NOVEMBER, 2016.
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Abstract
The building and civil engineering construction industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Construction and civil works are widely regarded as an accident prone work. Earthmoving equipment operators are seven times likely to be involved in an accident that an operator in any sector except mining. Ghana Labour Act, 2003, Act 651, ensures that employees are not exposed to conditions that would lead to work related injuries or illnesses. Factories, offices and shops Act 1970, Act 328 and the Mining Regulations 1970 LI 665 all relate to the health safety of employees on site. Workmen’s Compensation Law 1987 (PNDC) which relates to compensation for personal injuries caused by accidents at work and hence, indirectly impacts on monitoring worker/workplace safety. It is expedient for construction owners to ensure health and safety at their worksite without putting the life of their earthmoving equipment operators at risk. The objectives of this research are to determine the standard conditions of earthmoving equipment cabin, the current state of earthmoving equipment cabins on construction sites, the impact on the health and safety of operators and to make recommendations to rectify the poor conditions. Research methodology included ample literature review and questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was designed based on the literature review and distributed to the targeted respondents in the Western and Central region. Responses were analyzed. From the feasibility study conducted, responses were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative method. The sole aim of this work is to assess the earthmoving equipment cabin conditions and its health impact on operators. Data for the study were collected through a questionnaire survey administered to earthmoving operators in Takoradi and Cape Coast building and civil engineering construction industry. Data collected were analyzed and ranked using Relative Importance Index (RII) and Descriptive statistics methods. As a conclusion, the research also reveals major effect of earthmoving equipment poor cabin conditions and its health impact on operators. As recommendations, employers of equipment operators should ensure that, they fix the earthmoving equipment with well-structured Roll-Over Protective structure (ROPS) or Falling-Object Protective Structure (FOPS).
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A dissertation submitted to the Department of Building Technology, College of Art and Built Environment, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science,
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