Assessing level of complianceof occupational health and safety amongsmall and medium enterprises

Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) is the responsibility of everyone at work, construction companies have to be aware that they are responsible for managing and improving issues related to H&S on construction sites. The data in this research was obtained from secondary and primary sources. 70 Questionnaires were dispersed to different companies in the construction industry, 42 were brought back and they were all valid and usable. This represented 60% response rate. The research revealed that the level of implementation was not practice well to the level of acceptance. Therefore, the study went on the assess the hindrance of the poor implementation among small medium enterprise’s (SMEs) which were poor supervision, lack of regular audits and inspection, poor material and component, poor management commitment, lack of equipment and tools, lack of training and risk education, lack of communication, lack of skilled workforce, poor working condition, poor subcontractors involvement, lack of incentive for good performance, poor investigation and risk assessment. The research point out that safety and health of the workers is not negotiable, is all pervasive, increases productivity, and leads to better performance, improve the company image, reduced claims and accidents also reduce lost times spent on injuries and property loss. Emphases on the OHS level of implementation are greatly urged to be implemented non-stop to overcome the challenges facing the SME’s contractors.