Construction Practices in Karachi Featuring Town Wise Study: Non-Compliance of Safety Measures and Consequences

Abstract

Based on the statistical evaluation of accidents, the construction industry on an overall basis is full of dangers and risk oriented. The natures of the activities involved become hazardous when compliance with the safety rules and regulations are not properly followed, as a result high rates of accidents occur on the construction sites. In the metropolitan city of Karachi, Pakistan, a poor safety record has been observed in the construction industry. The primary reason existing for this situation is a non-preventive construction safety practice during execution of the projects. The secondary causes are dependent on the lack of resources, skills and interest of the concerned public sector agencies in enforcing the safety protocol regulations for the construction sites. In-addition, this situation also arises due to the lack of training in construction practices, child labor and a minimum awareness about the safety rules and regulations concerned with working on the construction sites.

This necessitated a need to embark on a program of collecting data in connection with the accidents occurring on construction sites in Karachi; a six months program involving Construction Site Accidents (CSA) was accomplished. This involved different districts of Karachi region to be included in this study. In particular, CSA contributory factors relating to skilled, semi-skilled, and non-skilled labors were evaluated and marginalized. Through this study, it will be shown how by properly implementing the safety and operational measures, based on statistical conclusions, the rate of accidents can be significantly reduced.

Index Terms— Construction, Construction Site Accidents (CSA), Safety, Labor, Construction Industry.