Safety Measures Implemented at Site during COVID-19: A Case from Nepal

Abstract

Purpose: The situation has been unexpectedly bad with the rise of the global pandemic Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Construction industry has been struck with the challenges like human fatalities, decrease in labor productivity, disrupted material supply, and an unsafe working environment due to COVID. However, some of the major construction projects in the Koshi Province of Nepal were in operation even during COVID. The research aims to compare the safety measures implemented at the site during COVID-19 of Birat chowk- Ghinaghat and Kisan Chowk – Tandi – Ramite khola Road Upgrading Project. Design/Methodology/Approach: Data related to Safety Management Practices of construction projects at pre-COVID and COVID phases were collected by questionnaire survey. Data related to safety practices was collected through a checklist during field observation, questionnaire survey as well as key informant interview. The obtained data were analyzed using statistical tools such as correlation analysis and also general descriptive statistical tools and content analysis were performed. Findings/Result: The safety practices adopted during COVID, both the construction projects were found to have adopted similar measures of precautions to maintain workplace safety. On the other hand, Kisanchowk- Tandi- Ramite Road Upgrading Project seems to be less affected by the pandemic as several indicators remained neutral as compared to earlier conditions. The basic approaches such as masks, face shields, social distancing, hand washing, and sanitization were found to be practiced whereas higher preventions like vaccination for workers, and provision of COVID insurance was not practiced. This indicated that the contractor primarily focused on work completion disregarding the safety of workers at the workplace. On the other hand general safety provisions were found different on comparing the two projects as on seven studied parameters, different parameters were found to be highly differing in rank. Originality/Value: A Comparative assessment of safety during COVID-19 highlights the preparedness needed in a similar pandemic. Paper Type: Research paper