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THE USE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) ON CONSTRUCTION

SITES IN NIGERIA

Conference Paper · July 2012

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 THE USE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
ON CONSTRUCTION SITES IN NIGERIA
B. L Tanko and N.A. Anigbogu
Department of Building, University of Jos
Jos, Nigeria

Abstract: Personal Protective Equipment plays a prominent role in ensuring overall health and
safety on construction sites. Different surveys indicate that PPE is often not worn by workers on
construction sites in Nigeria, which undermines their general health and safety and leads to
different types of injuries. This study focuses on studying the factors that determine the use of
PPE on construction sites in Nigeria, including its availability, maintenance, user-friendliness
and training in the use of PPE. The study revealed that the vast majority of workers understand
the need for PPE and want to be protected against accident, injury and illness. However there is
a need to address the issues of comfort with respect to PPE to ensure it does not interfere with
worker’s productivity and takes into account specific work environment. Supervision, checking
and properly maintaining and replacement of PPE would also go a long way in improving the
practices of PPE use on construction sites in Nigeria. Policies and regulations with respect to
PPE need to be developed and implemented.

Key Words: : Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), construction, safety, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

Majority of publications on safety issues in construction start and end with reiterating the fact
that construction industry world over has poor safety records. Construction has about 6% of U.S.
workers, but 20% of the fatalities - the largest number of fatalities reported for any industry
sector. In the U.S. there were 1,225 fatal occupational injuries in the construction sector in 2001
with an incidence rate of 13.3 per 100,000 employed workers; for the same year the construction
industry experienced 481,400 non-fatal injuries and illnesses at a rate of 7.9 per 100 full-time
workers in the industry (Taylor, 2011). According to The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA, 2010.) one in ten construction site workers are injured every year. The
OSHA also reports that fall hazards are the leading cause of injury at construction sites. There
are roughly 150,000 construction site accident injuries each year according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLC) (OSHA, 2010). The BLS also reported that while falls make up the
majority of the construction site accidents, contact with equipment was also a significant cause
of injury for workers. Workers between 25 and 34 years old are the most likely to be injured in a
construction site accident. Most construction site injuries involve construction workers' backs,
spines, and trunks. In 2005 1,224 construction workers died on the job over the course of one
year in US, making the construction industry the most dangerous industry in the country; full 15
percent of workers' compensation costs are spent on workers who were injured while at a
construction site. According to Taylor (2011), construction is a particularly dangerous and high
risk industry, accounting for more than 2,800 work-related deaths in the UK over the past 25
years alone. Hong Kong is also notorious for her high construction accidents rates. Although the
accidents rate dropped from 350 per 1000 workers in mid 1980 to 60 per 1000 workers in 2007,
it still accounted for nearly 20% of all the industrial accidents in Hong Kong (Construction site
safety, n.d.).

In Africa there are major sources of bias in current reported data on safety due to the poor
coverage of certain groups of workers, the poor ascertainment of occupational disease, and the
effects of some legal and bureaucratic features of the reporting systems (Loewenson, 1999).

A study of 40 contractors in Nigeria (Idoro, 2011) revealed that the accident and injury rates in
Nigerian construction industry are high (in 2006 - the best safety ratios were 2 accidents per 100
workers and 5 injuries per 100 workers, and there was no significant difference between national
and multinational contractors).

Despite huge technological advances in PPE, the invention of supposedly much more „user-
friendly‟ materials, and the introduction of increasingly stringent health and safety legislation,
construction still has the highest number of fatal injuries across all the main industry groups.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Construction

Personal Protective Equipment is defined in the UK Regulations 1992 as „all equipment

(including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to be worn or
held by a person at work and which protects him against one or more risks to his health or
safety‟, e.g. safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear and
safety harnesses (A short guide to the Personal Protective Equipment…, n.d.). Personal
protective equipment commonly referred to as “PPE” is equipment worn to minimize exposure
to a variety of hazards; is also a method to protect a person from hot and cold temperatures.
Where health risk cannot be avoided or processes cannot be improved, the use of appropriate
PPE can also be effective measure to protect the health of workers.

McPherson and Shamis (2007) give account of history of development of personal protective
equipment, which initially focused on protecting the worker. Later focus shifted to worker
comfort, to functionality and performance issues, and finally to style issues. By mid-century,
advance in glove styles and compound dipping were complemented by production innovations
designed to improve cost and quality. In addition to improvements in cut resistance, this era saw
the development of coated gloves with textured finished to meet grip requirements. In the mid
1970s the formation of OSHA led to an increased focus on worker safety product.

Sometimes PPE is considered the most boring of all the facets of health and safety (Hands,
2010). But personal protective equipment -- while it should be the last resort in the safety
controls put in place by an employer -- is, on the other hand, also our own first, personal, line of
defense against the hazards we come across at work. This is especially true in many developing
countries where PPE might often be the only line of defense against hazards on construction site.

In most developed countries PPE is considered a moot point in construction safety discuss,
because safety regulations have been developed there in the first place and there is a legal
framework for enforcing those regulations.
Research carried out in UK (Taylor, 2011) found that some construction site workers continue to
have a rather cavalier attitude towards protective clothing, but even more worryingly, that little
was being done in terms of training or education to rectify this situation; some health and safety
managers interviewed during the study admitted to a lack of knowledge about different PPE
product specifications and which clothing would be most suitable for their workplace, while they
also had concerns about how to deal with unknown or unpredictable hazards. With such a lack of
clarity, it should therefore come as no surprise to discover that only just over half of construction
workers (56%) received any PPE training at all, with nearly a third simply selecting the
protective clothing they thought was most suitable for the appropriate task; workers also
acknowledged their biggest issues with PPE were to do with comfort and performance. Three-
quarters said that if work wear was more comfortable, they would be more willing to wear it than
is currently the case.

In Nigeria almost all Occupational Health Safety (OHS) regulations originated in foreign
countries. Two notable regulations: Factory Act of 1990 and the Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) regulations of 2002 are specifically concerned with regulating the use of PPE, the latter
being a directive of the European communities (Idoro, 2011). After analysing the above
documents, Idoro (2011) points out that the Directive is only reference document in Nigeria and
its provisions of the Directive deals mainly with design and manufacture of PPE but they do not
specifically cover construction activities and in Factory Act of 1990 and revised version of 1992
the construction sites and their operations are excluded in the existing OHS regulations. The
efforts of the construction contractors and workers on the provision and use of PPE are therefore
unregulated.

It is also important to note that the basic structure of the Nigeria economy, like most developing
countries) is dualistic (with a formal and informal sector). The informal sector of the
construction industry is large and is estimated to be responsible for up to 70% of activities in the
industry (http://cosinesnigerialtd.com/,n.d.). Key operators and stakeholders tend to focus more
in the formal sector in the execution of capacity building programs aimed at increasing efficiency
in the industry. The same applies to research in the area of construction. It is however true that
total success in safety regulations cannot be achieved without paying due attention to the
challenge of the informal sector of the industry.

Traditionally, work wear has been judged against very basic criteria - does it protect the worker
and is it functional enough to let them do their job effectively? But while these factors are
obviously important, other issues need just as careful consideration, especially comfort, style and
wearability (Taylor, 2011). According to Joel (2007) protective devices are designed to interpose
an effective barrier between harmful object or environment. Personal protective devices should
meet the following requirements before it is considered adequate;
- It should provide maximum comfort and minimum weight compatible with the protective
efficiency.
- It should ensure adequate production from the hazards to which the workers will be
exposed
- It should be durable
- It should impose no restriction on essential movements or work or objections.
- It should have maximum attractiveness in appearance.
- It should be constructed in accordance with acceptable standards for performance and for
the materials.

If the items of protective clothing are uncomfortable and slow down workers, then they are less
likely to wear it, which increases the probability of accidents and heightens the risk that they will
suffer injury. On the other hand, if clothes fit properly and do not impede the wearers‟ ability to
do their job, they are much less likely to suffer a costly lapse in concentration or make a
potentially lethal mistake (Taylor, 2011). The PPE should be suited to the environment and;
properly selected for the individual and task; readily available; clean and functional; correctly
used when required and; maintained by appropriately trained staff in accordance with personal
protective equipment maintenance and servicing program. These programs should be developed
from manufacturers‟ recommendation in regard to servicing the equipment, if required.

The main requirement of the PPE at Work Regulations 1992 is that personal protective
equipment is to be supplied and used at work wherever there are risks to health and safety that
cannot be adequately controlled in other ways. The Regulations also require that PPE:
- is properly assessed before use to ensure it is suitable;
- is maintained and stored properly;
- is provided with instructions on how to use it safely; and
- is used correctly by employees
- staff must wear protective clothing as a legal requirement

Unfortunately, for many workers „health and safety‟ is just another in a long line of bureaucratic
measures put in place that make it more and more difficult to carry out their day-to-day duties
effectively.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Different surveys indicate that PPE is often not worn by workers on construction sites in Nigeria,
which undermines their general health and safety; anecdotal evidence also suggests that this
leads to different types of injuries.
This study focuses on studying the factors that determine the use of PPE on construction sites in
Nigeria, including its availability, maintenance, user-friendliness and training in the use of PPE.

METHOD
Questionnaire for workers on construction sites was designed to address such issues as the type
of protective clothing available to workers on construction sites, and the most important
considerations workers attach as regards PPE; rate of compliance with wearing PPE and reasons
for non-compliance; types of training offered with respect to PPE and measures of control of
PPE use.
Cluster sampling technique has been used to generate the sample, because of the heterogenic
nature of the population, represented by workers using PPE on construction sites. Ongoing
building construction projects have been used as clusters. 120 questionnaires were distributed
during the survey and 90 were returned and used for the analysis.
Questionnaire survey was followed by actual on-site inspection of availability and maintenance
of PPE using a checklist, which also addressed the issues of training and policies with respect to
PPE.
Management staff was interviewed to obtain additional perspective on challenges of control of
compliance with PPE use.
Pictures were also taken to illustrate and reiterate some of the points addressed in the above
surveys.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Data collection were analyzed in terms of perception of respondents in respect of importance of
PPE and its availability and different characteristics
As part of Questionnaire analysis, respondents were categorized according to their occupation on
sites (fig.1).The majority of the respondents (82.3%) were labourers.

Site Supervisor

Architect

Labourer

Builder

Civil Engineer

Fig. 1 Occupation

The respondents were asked to describe the clothing they usually wore on site. Figure 2 reflects the
result of the analyses of the responses as regards the above.
 Shorts
Trousers
Short-sleeve shirt/T-shirt
Long-sleeve shirt/T-shirt
Canvas
Boots
Slippers
Sandals
Overall
Others
0 20 40 60 80

Fig.2 Types of Clothing worn on construction sites

Most of the respondents indicated that they usually wear clothing suitable for working on the
construction sites such as trousers, long-sleeve shirt/T-shirt and boots (Fig.2),many indicated
wearing overalls too. However, considerable proportion of workers wears shorts, short-sleeve
shirts/t-shirts, sandals and slippers (Fig.2,Plate 1 and Plate 4),which endanger the exposed parts
of the body and attracts different types of injuries. While 90% of the respondents considered that
protection against injuries is the most important characteristic of PPE (Fig.3), 81.1% do not wear
the PPE provided on site (Fig.4 and plate 4).Such characteristics as appropriate size, lightweight
and hygiene are also considered important by a considerable number of respondents. On the
other hand, environmental factors such as noise, dust and heat received the least attention when it
comes to PPE characteristics.

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Approriate Light weight Hygiene Protection Protection Protection Protection Others
size Against heat against against dust against noise
injuries

Fig.3 Assessment of characteristics of PPE by workers

 Wear PPE
Don't wear PPE

Fig.4 Wearing of PPE on construction sites

The questionnaire addressed the reasons for not wearing PPE by workers on sites. Most of the
workers feel that the PPE is uncomfortable, often oversized/undersized,not designed for hot
weather and heavy (Fig.5,Plate 2).

Does not really prevent injuries

Oversized or undersized
not designed for hot weather
Restricts movement
Heavy
Slow down work
Uncomfortable
0 20 40 60 80

Fig.5 Reasons for not wearing of PPE by workers

It is interesting to note that only 1.1% of respondents believe that PPE does not really prevent
injuries (Fig.5).Most of the injuries sustained on site when the PPE is not worn are minor
injuries(Scratches, wounds…) according to 87.8% of the respondents, but that leaves a
considerable proportion of respondents that believe that not wearing PPE can lead to major
injuries(Falls, eye injuries…).
 PLATE 1 PLATE 2

PLATE 1

PLATE 3 PLATE 4

The survey addressed the issue of responsibility for treatment of injuries sustained on
sites.85.4% of the respondents indicated that management is responsible for the treatment.

According to all of the respondents management is also responsible for the provision of PPE on
construction sites. The types of PPE provided vary from site to site (Fig.6). The results in figure
6 reflect that workers are rarely provided with respirators, breathing aids, safety nets and safety
belts. Often other major types of PPE are not provided as well.
 First aid kits
Breathing aids
Disposable Filtering face piece/Respirator
Overall
Googles
Safety net
Safety belt
Gloves
Boots
Helmet

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Fig.6 Types of PPE provided to workers on construction sites

According to questionnaire survey, PPE is issued daily most of the time and 93.3% of the
respondents indicated that instructions on wearing PPE is the most common type of PPE training
they receive. Almost 90% of the respondents stated that they get used to wearing PPE when they
wear it regularly. The respondents suggested thorough supervision as the control measure to be
used with respect to wearing of PPE. Other measures like regulations/penalties, monitoring and
checking were also suggested to improve the efficiency of PPE use to improve health and safety
on construction sites in Nigeria. The surveys carried out on site and interviews with supervisors
and management staff reveal that there are poor storage and maintenance practices of PPE on
site.

CONCLUSION

The study revealed that the vast majority of workers understand the need for PPE and want to be
protected against accident, injury and illness. However there is a need to address the issues of
comfort with respect to PPE to ensure it does not interfere with worker‟s productivity and takes
into account specific work environment. Supervision, checking and properly maintaining and
replacement of PPE would also go a long way in improving the practices of PPE use on
construction sites in Nigeria. Policies and regulations with respect to PPE need to be developed
and implemented.

REFERENCES

Idoro, G.I. (2011). Comparing occupational health and safety (OHS) management efforts and
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Loewenson, R. (1999). Assessment of the Health Impact of Occupational Risk in Africa:
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A short guide to the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. (n.d.) http://www
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Joel, A. (2007). Health and Safely Practices on Construction Site. Agege, Star Publishing Press,
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McPherson, D. and Shamis, M. (2007).Hand Protection Update Glove Technology Evolves to

Meet User Needs. Retrieved on 05.02.12 from http://www.kcprofessional.
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OSHA (2010). Retrieved on 02.02.12 from http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection

/construction.html
Hands (2010). Retrieved on 05.02.12 from http://www.dennismac.co.uk/hands/ ppe/index.html
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