Infrastructure projects are the foundation for essential public services and have an influential position in societal development. Although the role of infrastructure projects is substantial, they can involve complexities and safety issues that lead to an unsafe environment, and which impacts the project key stakeholders. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the barriers to implementing occupational safety in infrastructure projects in the Gaza Strip, which cause serious threats and reduce project performance. To evaluate the barriers, 39 items were highlighted and modified as per the construction context and environment, and which later were distributed in the form of a questionnaire, to get feedback from consultants and contractors. The analysis shows that in the safety policy barriers group, consultants and contractors both ranked the item "a contractor committed to an occupational safety program is not rewarded" first. In the management barriers group, consultants and contractors both ranked the item "safety engineer does not have significant powers, such as stopping work when needed" in the first place. In the behavior and culture barriers group, consultants and contractors both ranked the item "workers who are not committed to occupational safety are not excluded" in the first place. Overall, both consultants and contractors shared the same viewpoint in classifying the barriers in the working environment. The outcome of this study is beneficial for Palestinian construction industry policymakers, so they can monitor the highlighted barriers in on-going infrastructure projects and can modify the safety guidelines accordingly.
Objectives. This research intends to investigate the responsibilities of the parties engaged in the implementation phase of the infrastructure projects in occupational health and safety, i.e., the consultant and contractor. Methods. A questionnaire was developed through the selection and modification of the responsibilities from the literature review. Results. The statistical analysis results show that the consultants and contractors both ranked the item 'The owner requires the contractor to implement the occupational safety standards within the bid' first in the owner responsibilities, having 0.67 relative importance index (RII). In the responsibilities of the consultant, the first ranked item was 'The consultant has a role in adopting occupational safety plans and contingency plans', having 0.66 RII. In the responsibilities of the contractor, the first ranked item was 'The contractor shall provide the insurance cover for all project crews', having 0.71 RII. In the responsibilities of the workers, the first ranked item was 'Workers know the handling of tools and equipment within the project', having 0.59 RII. Conclusion. Overall, there was general agreement between consultants and contractors to classify and arrange items because both face the same conditions and have the same working environment.
Objectives. Lean construction techniques have been considered an effective approach and strategy to reduce accidents in construction projects. This article aims to investigate the application of the lean construction principle and its impact on occupational health and safety. Methods. To achieve the aim, an analytical descriptive method was used. The data were collected through a questionnaire, with 70 respondents who were chosen using a random stratified sample method. The questionnaire evaluated the perception of contractors and consultants about the important lean construction factors and their impact on construction project safety. Results. There is an agreement that the application of lean construction techniques can be impeded by challenges like lack of lean construction knowledge, complexity, misconception about lean construction and difficulties in changing employees. Conclusions. The study identified strategies that could be used to address these challenges that will improve the safety of construction projects. These include enlightenment on benefits of the lean practice, publication of improvements realized from lean practice, training, workers' involvement and empowerment, persistence, robust planning and gradual implementation.
The construction industry is one of the hazardous fields due to its exceptional environment. Therefore, this work aimed to assess the essential drivers needed for employing safety management in the Palestinian construction industry. The drivers for safety management were recognized from earlier literature, where the questionnaires were dispersed to professionals from construction projects. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) technique was then performed to contextually adjust the identified drivers. The results showed that safety management drivers could be categorized into three constructs: management, awareness and policy. In addition, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was performed to generate the safety management driver's model. The results indicated that management drivers were vital drivers for adopting safety management. The study's findings would act as a reference for construction stakeholders to decrease danger and enhance the construction project's success via implementing safety management drivers.
This research aimed to investigate the effect of nanorice husk ash (NRHA) prepared using different thermal treatment methods on ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) behaviour. NRHA was prepared by two methods: (1) burning for 3 h at 300, 500, 700 and 900 °C and (2) burning for different durations (9, 7, 5 and 3 h) at 300, 500, 700 and 900 °C. NRHA was added to UHPC to make 25 mixtures with three dosages (1%, 3% and 5%). Density, compressive strength, tensile strength, flexure strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity tests were performed at the experimental level. Moreover, full microstructure analysis, including X-ray diffractometry, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, was performed. The best performances in in the first method (constant duration, different temperatures) were obtained by 1% NRHA burned at 900 °C with 12.5% compressive strength and 1% NRHA burned at 700 °C with increased ratio (10%). Moreover, the best performance in the second method (different burning durations and temperatures) was obtained by 3% NRHA with a ratio of 22.5% at 700 °C for 5 h. Burning rice husk ash improved the compressive strength. It also remarkably improved the splitting tensile strength and flexure strength by 32% and 47%, respectively, at 3% NRHA treated at 700 °C for 3 h. The microstructural analysis showed the efficient role of NRHA in the compactness of concrete sections. It improved the formation of new calcium silicate hydrate gel; decreased the cracks, voids, CaCO3 and Ca(OH)2; and increased the Ca/Si composition. The obtained experimental results were used to build an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict UHPC properties. The ANN model was used as a validation tool to determine the correlation between results. Results showed a remarkable improvement in the mechanical properties of UHPC incorporating NRHA for all mixtures. The ANN model indicated a reliable correlation between input and output variables. The R2 values for the training, validation and testing steps were all 0.99.