Construction project management expert, Professor Emmanuel Adinyira, has urged Ghana’s construction industry to go beyond providing physical infrastructure and become a platform for community empowerment through Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) education.
Delivering his inaugural lecture on the theme “Beyond the Fence: Transferring Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Knowledge from Construction Sites to Host Communities”, Prof. Adinyira noted that while contractors strictly enforce safety standards within project sites, surrounding communities often remain vulnerable to hazards.
He described this as a paradox in Ghana’s construction sector: “We build bridges but fail to connect with the people. We enforce protective equipment for workers, but we fail to raise awareness among families living near the site,” he said.
His research identified 26 hazards commonly managed on construction sites such as slips, burns, electrical accidents, poor ventilation, and chemical exposure that also exist in homes and communities. While workers are safeguarded by regulations and protective equipment, nearby residents are often left unprotected and uninformed.
Prof. Adinyira argued that transferring HSE behaviours to host communities is both feasible and necessary. He recommended community safety demonstrations, greater use of media, and partnerships with schools, churches, and traditional councils to spread safety knowledge.
He further called on policymakers and contractors to integrate HSE education into project delivery, urged the Public Procurement Authority to make community knowledge transfer a contractual requirement, and appealed to Parliament to pass the long-delayed Occupational Safety and Health Bill.
Concluding his lecture, Prof. Adinyira stressed the importance of a cultural shift in safety practices: “We need a new mindset, a change in our attitudes towards health, safety and the environment. Safety is not a gadget but a mindset.”