IMPROVING CONSTRUCTION HEALTH AND SAFETY: APPLICATION OF COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS (CBA) FOR ACCIDENT PREVENTION

Past efforts to reduce accidents in the construction industry have failed to examine the application of CBA for accident prevention. Detailed information about the application of CBA for accident prevention on construction projects is deemed necessary to achieve high productivity. The CBA was proposed as the method to guide decisions on accident prevention in the UK construction industry. A quantitative method was used to collect data from health and safety managers in the UK construction industry for the survey. A total of 79 contractors (small, medium and large) participated in the questionnaire survey. The method used benefit-cost ratio (BCR) to determine if the benefits of accident prevention outweigh the costs of accident prevention. The research found that total benefits of accident prevention outweigh costs of accident prevention by a ratio of approximately 3:1 (62% benefit gain to 38% benefit loss). The method has the potential to improve decision-making process on accident prevention and contribute to a reduction in costs, deaths and injuries in the construction industry. The result of this investigation forms part of a study of cost and benefits of accident prevention in the construction industry.