Safety in Construction Yards: Perception of Occupational Risk by Italian Building Workers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the perception of occupational risk by building workers in an area of Central Italy. Three hundred male building workers compiled questionnaires including 7 different types of dangers: falling from height, cuts and wounds to body and eyes, manual handling of loads, noise, vibrations and dust inhalation. The workers quantified, on a scale of one to five, the potential injury and frequency of occurrence of each risk, as well as providing information on the possibility of checking/avoiding the risk. Furthermore, attendance of the workers at previous specific courses on accident prevention and the effectiveness of these was evaluated. A possible correlation between the perception of job risk and having had previous injuries was also assessed. The results showed that about 35% of workers do not consider their job hazardous; moreover, the risk perception is higher regarding dangers producing immediate injury, as opposed to those producing occupational illnesses. Moreover, there is no direct relationship between considering the job dangerous for health and having attended training courses, while the relationship between risk perception and past injuries is more marked. In conclusion, accident prevention training is essential for building workers; however, it is even more important to improve the quality of workers' information in order to increase their awareness of danger.