The role of project managers in occupational health and safety

The lack of, or inadequate health and safety directly compromises productivity and quality due to workers being precluded from focusing on their activities. Productivity is also compromised indirectly as a result of rework attributable to nonconformance to quality requirements. Based on a literature and descriptive survey this paper will address the current and potential role of project managers in health and safety by not only influencing design and detailing, but by influencing the overall construction environment. The need to include health and safety as a project objective and for focus thereon by project managers is substantiated by research which determined, inter alia, that inadequate health and safety negatively affects cost, the environment, productivity, quality, schedule and client perception. The trend of workplace reform and humanisation of work processes and the need to sustain the environment, motivate the inclusion of health and safety as a project objective to ensure fatality and injury free construction within budget to quality and schedule requirements.