Exploring the Current Technologies Essential for Health and Safety in the Ghanaian Construction Industry

Abstract

Technology has undoubtedly played a vital role in improving construction procedures and processes for many years. However, its application for health and safety monitoring and management has not been fully exploited in the Ghanaian construction industry. This study aims at exploring the current technologies essential for health and safety in the Ghanaian construction industry. Three specific objectives are set: (1) to identify the current health and safety technologies important in the Ghanaian construction industry; (2) to examine the level of utilization of the current health and safety technologies in the Ghanaian construction industry; (3) to identify the barriers to the adoption of the current health and safety technologies in the construction industry. A structured questionnaire is used to solicit the views of 123 construction professionals who double as health and safety officers in large construction firms in Ghana. The questions are developed through a critical comparative review of the related literature. The data are analyzed via descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings reveal that key among the current technologies important for health and safety in the Ghanaian construction industry are wearable safety devices, geographic information systems, sensing technologies, virtual reality, and BIM. The findings further reveal a moderate level of usage of the key technologies among construction professionals in Ghana. Key among the barriers to the adoption of these technologies for health and safety in the Ghanaian construction industry are the factors ‘excess costs related to acquiring new technologies’, ‘weak innovation culture’, ‘lack of continuous training of the workforce in adapting to the technologies’, ‘resistance to change with aging workforce’, and ‘little or no governmental support and regulations for the use of the technologies’. The findings from this study provide insight into the ever-increasing state-of-the-art technologies used in the construction industry.