Technical enablers of human errors and violations in construction

Department of Built Environment, Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein, Republic of South Africa

^* Corresponding author: mfemuze@cut.ac.za

Abstract

The performance of public sector projects in developing countries such as South Africa is an on-going concern in a region where injuries and fatalities are almost a daily occurrence in the industry. This reported study assessed the human errors and violations consistently encountered on public sector projects. The feedback from the survey research reinforced the notion that technical matters such as poor planning or the lack of it significantly erode safety system capacities on construction sites. The technical problems are aided by latent conditions such as design errors and negligence. The issues highlighted imply that public sector projects tend to fail to achieve the required conditions of satisfaction by clients. In other words, the reduction of human errors and violations as safety concerns should look beyond the set-up of construction site operations and people in the front line of construction.