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A principal components analysis of safety performance measures: a study among construction workers in Gauteng, South Africa

  • Authors: Okoro, Chioma , Musonda, Innocent , Agumba, Justus
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Construction workers , Exploratory factor analysis , Gauteng
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/216627 , uj:21531 , Citation: Okoro, C., Musonda, I & Agumba, J. 2016. A principal components analysis of safety performance measures: a study among construction workers in Gauteng, South Africa.
  • Description: Abstract: The health and safety (H&S) of construction workers has been a subject of much deliberation for decades. However, there is scant literature focusing on aspects of workers’ safety performance (SP) relating to their unhealthy and unsafe eating behavior. The paper presents findings on a principal components analysis (PCA) of H&S performance measures. A 10-item questionnaire which was developed after an extensive literature review was used to collect empirical data on SP of construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Results showed that SP could be reasonably measured by two constructs. The two constructs were clearly defined by the PCA as trailing and prevailing. The emerged trailing measures were named lagging indicators while the prevailing ones were designated as leading indicators. The results lend support to extant literature which advocates the use of both leading and lagging safety performance indicators for effectively assessing construction workers’ safety performance. The study provides evidence which could be beneficial in psychometric evaluation of construction workers’ safety performance and behaviours on construction sites.
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A qualitative study on solar energy use in South Africa

  • Authors: Nocwanya, Sanele , Agumba, Justus N.
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Gauteng , Households , Photovoltaic systems , Solar water heaters
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/93785 , uj:20390 , Citation: Nocwanya, S. & Agumba, J.N. 2016. A qualitative study on solar energy use in South Africa.
  • Description: Abstract: Many South African citizens and residents are dependent on Eskom for electricity distribution. Its’ limited energy distribution and its’ ever increasing cost has taken its toll on the consumers. The citizens might be motivated to adopt solar energy technology to circumvent this problem. It is therefore imperative to establish, additional information that warrants investment in solar energy technology. Furthermore, it is imperative that consumers are presented with a database of information to the efficiency of solar power in households who have already implemented solar energy technology. It can therefore be suggested that there is paucity of research in South Africa in relation to challenges and benefits of using solar energy. In this regard a study was conducted in Gauteng province, in the city of Johannesburg, in South Africa to fill this gaps. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The target population for the current study were the suburban households which had solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar water heaters (SWHs) installation. A total number of 15 respondents were interviewed. The data was analysed using Tesch’s open coding approach. The findings suggest that these Johannesburg suburban households shared similar positive experiences and negative experiences from the use of solar energy systems. The findings suggest that the use of solar energy saved on electricity. However they experienced water leakage from their geysers. The findings from this qualitative research is of particular importance to the South African households who are considering an alternative solar energy supply.
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An investigation of factors that assure a zero accident goal in construction sites in Gauteng, South Africa

  • Authors: Van Heerden, J. H. F. , Musonda, I. , Okoro, C. S.
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Construction industry , Gauteng , Health and safety
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/282206 , uj:30405 , Citation: Van Heerden, J.H.F., Musonda, I. & Okoro, C.S. 2018. An investigation of factors that assure a zero accident goal in construction sites in Gauteng, South Africa.
  • Description: Abstract: Construction accidents and fatalities bear heavily on companies. Thus, achieving zero accidents on construction projects is a desired goal universally. The present study aims to identify critical conditions or factors to ensure zero accidents on projects. A field questionnaire survey was used to collect data in different locations in Gauteng. Participants were selected using snowballing and judgemental sampling techniques. Empirical data were analysed using EXCEL to output descriptive statistics including mean item scores and standard deviation. The factors were further ranked to identify the most important as perceived by the sampled respondents. The study found that clear H&S goals, regular recording of accidents and incidents, regular tool box talks as well as following strict H&S rules, procedures and processes were the most indicators of a good safety record among the sampled organisations. On the other hand, involving staff in H&S planning and worker incentives did not appear to have much bearing on achieving zero accidents in the organizations sampled. The study was conducted in only one Province in South Africa and may not be generalisable to construction organizations in entire country or other geographical areas. The current research identifies factors necessary to prevent or avoid accidents on construction sites. Continuous health and safety improvement is likely if factors to prevent accidents are taken into account to prevent their occurrence.
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Assessment of credit accessibility to construction SMEs in the South African construction industry using binary logistic regression

Drivers behind health and safety implementation in construction organisations within the Gauteng province in South Africa

  • Authors: Van Heerden, Jacobus H. F. , Musonda, Innocent , Okoro, Chioma S.
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Construction industry , Health and safety implementation , Gauteng
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/238019 , uj:24397 , Citation: Van Heerden, J.H.F., Musonda, I. & Okoro, C.S. 2017. Drivers behind health and safety implementation in construction organisations within the Gauteng province in South Africa.
  • Description: Abstract: Research about the implementation of health and safety (H&S) in the construction industry is required, as it may create more awareness on strategies to significantly reduce the rate of incidents and fatalities in construction organisations. It may encourage such organisations to improve their H&S performances on construction projects. The aim of this research is to establish the drivers of H&S implementation in construction organisations within the Gauteng Province in South Africa. The research adopted a quantitative research methodology. A survey questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Judgemental and snowball sampling techniques were employed to select the respondents consisting of site engineers, site agents, contracts managers, construction managers and project managers. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics, mean item score and standard deviation. Findings indicated that the most important drivers are the need to manage hazards; organisations regard H&S as important; compliance with the legislation; consideration of H&S as a way to do business and to reduce costs associated with accidents and injuries. These results may assist construction organisations in setting H&S as a priority, since little attention has been paid to the objective of H&S implementation. This study was restricted to large construction organisations within the Gauteng Province in South Africa and therefore may not be generalizable to all construction organisations within South Africa and in other geographical locations.
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The making of a ‘Big 5’ game reserve as an urban tourism destination : Dinokeng, South Africa

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