A survey of construction site safety in Honduras

This paper provides the results of a construction site safety survey conducted in Honduras. A questionnaire was used to collect safety-related information from construction workers, field management and upper management in the Home Office on residential, commercial and heavy civil construction projects in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews - 108 construction workers, 10 field managers and eight senior managers participated. Data were analysed using correlation, regression and analysis of variance techniques. Results demonstrated a substantial lack of awareness or importance for safety at all levels of the construction organization. Workers rarely wore personal protective equipment, used poorly constructed scaffolds, improperly used tools and ladders and disregarded good housekeeping practices. Almost three-quarters of the craftsmen suffered at least one lost-time accident; many of their injuries were in expected locations on their bodies given the nature of their work and the site conditions. Many of the field project managers stated that they did not provide workers with personal protective equipment or safety training and did not use a dedicated safety person on-site. Top level management does not appear convinced that it is in their best interests to improve safety performance either since only approximately 25% provided a company-wide safety training programme, maintained accident records and provided safety incentives. Additional results, recommendations for improving construction safety in Honduras, study limitations and future research areas are also identified.