Nutritional quality and health and safety performance in the South African construction industry

Abstract: Nutrition is linked with construction worker health and safety (H&S) performance. Some accidents, injuries and in some cases, deaths on construction sites are direct or indirect results of physical and psychological distresses (chronic health conditions and mental instability) arising from poor nutrition of construction workers. However, despite the undeniable contribution of nutrition to H&S performance improvements, there seems to be very little research on the nutrition of construction workers, especially in South Africa. The study therefore investigated the predominant nutritional intake of construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, the factors which influence the predominant intake, and the influence of nutrition on worker safety performance, and recommended possible interventions to improve construction workers‟ nutrition. A theoretical framework showing interrelationships between nutrition and its influencing factors as well as between nutrition and safety performance was developed based on the literature reviewed. Empirical data was collected through a field questionnaire survey. The questionnaire, which was first piloted, was administered to construction workers in order to determine how often they consumed various foods in a week, the factors which influenced their food choice and their safety performance on construction sites. Reliability test (Cronbach‟s alpha) was applied to the measurement sub-scales. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 software, empirical data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Principal components analysis (PCA) and multiple regression analysis (MRA) were used to analyse the data. Results revealed that construction workers‟ weekly consumption consisted mainly of corn meal, meat, fruits and vegetables. Nutritional knowledge, culture and resources were found to influence construction workers‟ nutrition. Other influencers were economic factors as well as personal ideas and systems. Nutrition was indicated to influence leading safety performance, whereas no significant effect was found on lagging safety performance. This research provides valuable evidence for improving the nutrition of construction workers and thus H&S performance on construction sites. Knowledge of the factors which influence the nutrition of construction workers will allow for the design of explicit, feasible and effectual...M.Tech. (Construction Management