The construction industry is considered to be an extremely dangerous working environment, and therefore the health status of construction workers needs to be considered prior, during and on leaving the industry. Occupational hazards relative to the construction worker are well researched internationally; however few countries undertake routine medical surveillance to identify the health status of the construction worker relative to these hazards. Employers have a higher duty of care to identify workers who could be a risk at work from non-occupationally related conditions such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Work could exacerbate these conditions, leading to absenteeism, poor performance and eventually leaving the industry due to ill health. The dissertation explores, inter alia: the risks to which workers are exposed; the legal aspects; relevant literature regarding medical surveillance, and the use of a medical surveillance instrument used to determine the health status of 142 construction workers who consented to participate in the study. The methodological approach used in this study was a quantitative descriptive design, more specifically, using a randomised cross-sectional survey design. The instrument used to determine health status included a full medical, occupational and social history, as well as a physical examination undertaken by Occupational Health Nursing Practitioners (OHNs). Findings indicate that most construction workers believe they are healthy. However only a small percentage of construction workers did not require referral for further investigation and / or treatment.

In an attempt to address the challenges relating to the lack of well-trained and skilled workers, which directly impacts on the quality of products delivered by the construction sector, this study focuses on an assessment of the Accelerated Professional Trade Competency Development Programme within the Department of Public Works in the province of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The main focal area of the study is the OR Tambo Region. These challenges manifest themselves through, among others, backlogs in the delivery of housing by the Eastern Cape Department of Housing and Local Government where the majority of houses demonstrate poor workmanship. Hence the Department of Public works has introduced the Accelerated Professional Trade Competency Development Programme. This study investigates the effectiveness of the implementation of the Accelerated Professional Trade Competency Development Programme. Particular attention is paid to the extent to which the Programme contributes towards the development of qualified artisans and what improvement areas can be effected to achieve its objectives.

The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, it sought to identify constraints on program implementation by exploring the nature of contractual relations in the construction industry. The program of interest was the Laborers’ Membership Assistance Program. Second, it sought to operationalize behavioral norms identified by Macneil in his work on relational contract. The underlying intent was to assess the usefulness of relational contract theory in explaining observed behaviors among parties potentially affected by program implementation. The research strategy chosen for study of the Laborers’ Membership Assistance Program was the embedded case study. Multiple projects were embedded within the overall design, and analyses incorporated outcomes from these multiple projects. Results were then used collectively to propose a grounded theory framework for systematically evaluating relational contract. This was accomplished by comparing ideas growing out of Macneil’s work to empirical evidence. Data were collected from three distinct groups. Each group was potentially affected by the program being implemented -- union stewards and foremen, union business leaders, and signatory employers. Mechanisms for data collection were the semi-structured interview, focus group interview, and questionnaire. Data collection was accomplished through researcher visits to hiring hall premises, focus group interviews at selected hiring halls, and mail surveys. Multiple analytical techniques were used to analyze the data including conceptual correlation matrix analysis, frequencies, correlations, multidimensional scaling, and cluster score analysis. The study was exploratory and the results descriptive. Its theoretical significance lay in its use as a means for assessing the usefulness of Macneil’s work on relational contract as a viable approach to study of workplace relationships and to study of social contract. Its practical Significance lay in its applicability to decisions by unions as to what factors should be considered when designing implementation strategies. / Ph. D.

by Edmond Tam Wai-chu. / Bibliography: leaves 105-107 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1984

by Chan Kin-Chung and Pau Koon-To. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Bibliography: leaves 73-74.

This research investigates the impacts of construction skills acquired by the beneficiaries who participated in the construction of housing in the three case studies used in this study; the housing policy also assumes such a connection. The study argues that the construction skills can assist training beneficiaries to acquire sustainable employment in the housing construction industry. The housing beneficiaries have however experienced the problem of being unable to make further housing completion due to various problems such as unemployment, low income, regulations and building standards. Therefore, the study also assumes that housing construction industry has a potentially pivotal role to play in providing sustainable employment to the training beneficiaries, which In turn allow them to generate income for housing improvements. The study uses two core-housing approaches (incremental and enabling), which emphasises the importance of construction skills to the training beneficiaries and are relevant to the South African Housing Policy. This study argues that the Housing Policy has a crucial role to play in construction skills acquisition during the construction of incremental housing projects. This study investigates the relationship among skills, employment and housing improvements of Hambanati, Mshayazafe and Waterloo areas in KwaZulu-Natal. A research In this study has been conducted for the purpose of highlighting realities regarding the impact of acquiring relevant construction skills through incremental housing projects. The research will enable the study to inform the government's current housing policy about the potential benefits of providing construction skills in the delivery of incremental housing. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 2003.

The construction workforce in South Africa is one that is ageing. This is a global phenomenon and necessitates research into how the older cohort of the construction work force can be optimally engaged. Optimum worker productivity, high quality products that meet the specifications required, and high levels of occupational safety and health are integral factors in achieving a sustainable workforce. The purpose of the research was to quantify the injury rates among older construction workers as well as to determine the events leading to these injuries, the nature of the injuries and the bodily locations affected. The costs associated with these injuries were investigated to understand whether there were any discernable differences between injuries to older and younger workers. Apart from the literature review, two statistical construction injury databases were analysed. Qualitative questionnaire based interviews were designed to gather information related to older construction workers. Questionnaires were sent to construction site managers to gauge their perceptions of older construction workers. The statistical data was collected from the Western Cape region and was for the period 1998 through 2005 while the interviews and questionnaire data were collected during 2008. xv The potential benefits to industry are a consolidation of injury information relating to older construction workers. This should assist construction managers with developing policies and implementing strategies to prevent or at least minimise injuries and minimise the related costs, with the aim of more effectively utilising their older workers and ultimately achieving a more sustainable construction industry. The study found that older workers sustained less injuries in total compared with younger workers. No discernable variances occurred between younger and older workers when it came to events leading to injuries (causes) and the type/nature of injuries. It was, however, found that for the body parts affected, older workers were more prone to certain injuries. Older workers sustained less severe injuries compared with their younger counterparts but the injuries were more costly. The research findings supported the notion that older workers receive less training than younger workers.

Sammanfattning Titel - Drivkrafter för byggnadsarbetare- Med fokus på Maslows behovstrappa Kurs - Examensarbete 15hp Utgivningsår - 2015 Författare - Nino Jelec Handledare - Kristian Widén Nyckelord - Motivation, Produktivitet, Maslows Behovstrappa,byggnadsarbetare Syfte - Syftet med mitt arbete är att undersöka vad sommotiverar byggnadsarbetare och om man kananvända sig av Maslows behovstrappa på enbyggarbetsplats. Metod - Jag har använt mig av en kvantitativ metod i formav enkätundersökningar som jag har delat ut till byggnadsarbetare. Teori - Min teori kommer från Abraham Maslow somsammanställde en behovstrappa för att se vad som motiverade människor. Empiri - Min empiriska data var sammanställd genom attdela ut undersökningsenkäter till byggnadsarbetare i Halmstad. Slutsats - Min undersökning visade att Maslows behovstrappagår att användas fram till steg 3 men att arbetarna sedan inte fann steg 4 som är behovet av uppskattning särskilt viktigt för deras motivation och att de istället ansåg det sista steget i behovstrappan vara av vikt som är behovet av självförverkligande / Abstract Title - Incentives of construction workers – With focus onMaslow’s hierarchy of needs Course - Master’s dissertation 15hp Year of publication - 2015 Author - Nino Jelec Advisor - Kristian Widén Keywords - Motivation, Productivity, Maslow’s hierarchy ofneeds, Construction workers Purpose - The purpose of this work is to investigate whatmotivates construction workers and if Maslow’shierarchy of needs can be of any use at aconstruction site. Methodology - I had a quantitative approach and I have been usinga questionnaire survey on the construction workers. Theory - My theory comes from Abraham Maslows hierarchyof needs. Empirics - My empirical data was collected from questionnairesurveys done on construction workers in a citycalled Halmstad. Conclusions - My investigation shows that Maslows hierarchy ofneeds can be used up to level 3. The constructionworkers in my research didnot find level 4 to be of any big importance but theyfound level 5 to be of importance.

The function of the construction industry in an economy has proven to be beneficial, especially during the economic downturn. The nature of the products of the construction industry makes it possible for the government to utilise the industry as a means to accelerate and multiply the economy by utilising the fiscal budget to build infrastructures. By so doing, the economy will be multiplied as the construction industry is an industry that produces investment goods. However, due to the nature of the Malaysian construction sector, the expenses required to stimulate the economy could not be made to the maximum extent, as the industry relies heavily on immigrant construction workers to address its labour supply problem. Immigrant construction workers are known for their high tendency to remit their salary to their country of their origin. This scenario disturbs the economic cycle within the Malaysian economy and, hence, dampens the function of the construction industry as the multiplier-accelerator provider. This research was undertaken to better manage the cash flow economic cycle leakage by adopting some economic measures coupled with improvised management of immigrant construction workers exercised through legislation. The adopted research methodology used transformative mixed-methods to balance the limitations of a single research approach. A literature review of the economic models and tools were conducted in a search for the most suitable measures, while attempting to understand the nature of construction industry by highlighting the structure and the problems associated with the industry. Special attention was also given to investigate the motivation behind the human migration to justify and support the research. Other than issues involving the use of immigrant workers, special attention was given to issues of remittances and its impacts on the global economy. The findings underpinned by literature and the research findings were used to develop the conceptual framework to manage the economic cycle leakage that is entrenched in the construction industry s economic cycle. The integrated framework consists of economic, management and legislation and was developed to address the issues highlighted. The use of economic tools can only be materialised through better management and the execution of legislation. The framework was encapsulated in a combination of process protocol and a maturity framework to allow time for the policy makers to implement it. Considerations have been made to develop the framework to ensure the smooth transition its implementation. The framework was self-validated through formative evaluations where data were attained from several parties to reduce any bias perspective. In addition, most of the measures suggested were derived from interviews conducted among the respondents. Several benefits of the framework were identified. It is concluded that the impact of immigrant construction workers employment can be managed by considering the appropriate tools in the form of economic, managerial and legislation measures. This research has developed an integrated process protocol maturity framework that addresses the three aforementioned aspects. The framework is simple and easily understandable with detailed activity zones that entail specific tasks that must implemented by different parties. The developed framework is expected to aid the authorities in managing immigrant construction in Malaysia and to effectively manage these workers. The framework also allows time for its implementation through the maturity stages suggested.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to make industry employers, teachers and career guides aware of the barriers that continue to hold back women from pursuing careers in the construction industry. This research study focused on females working in the construction industry and investigated the experiences of women who chose to study construction-related degrees. The goal was to communicate what influenced their choice to study degrees in the construction industry, and what factors are currently influencing their career development. This was done with the purpose of finding solutions to re-engineer and transform the industry and make a form of transformation. A quantitative research methodology was used as a means of collecting and analysing data. This comprised of questionnaires which were designed and distributed, using targeted sampling, to 82 women studying construction-related degrees and 54 women actively employed in professional positions in the South African construction industry. Respondents’ experiences were captured with quantitative data on education, course preference, family involvement, mentors, self-efficacy, women involvement, cultural influence, image of industry, reason for entering industry, motivator/influencer, traditional beliefs, social and cultural beliefs, government involvement, time, slow career progression, inclusive environment, queen bee syndrome, site conditions, discrimination and harassment. The data was analysed by using quantitative methods. Questionnaires were developed and ranked on a scale of one to five, namely strongly agree to strongly disagree and interpreted by means of counting the frequency of occurrence of answers to each ranked question. Percentages were then calculated and responses weighted according to average means. The findings and conclusions indicate the choices women make, what motivates women in South Africa to choose careers in the construction industry and the barriers encountered by them. The results from this study highlight the need for a shift in the industry; and the findings give employers, teachers and career guiders insight into what draws women into the industry and what underlying issues women face once in the industry. This provides as a guide for strategic change within educational environments and within the industry to encourage more women not only to draw themselves to find careers in the construction industry, but also retain them.