Safety inspection blitz on construction companies.

[Dave A]

Compliance with occupational health and safety regulations at construction sites is currently under scrutiny.

Fifty out of 85 construction employers were found to be violating workplace safety regulations during an on-site crackdown by labour inspectors in the Eastern Cape, the Labour Department said on Wednesday.

Department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said seven construction sites had been shut down and an additional 48 contravention notices were served.

The notices were served to 50 of 85 employers visited on site in Mthatha, East London, Queenstown and Port Elizabeth in the first two days of a five-day inspection blitz, which started on Monday.

"All nine provinces are currently conducting inspections in the construction industry -- these are specifically to do with occupational health and safety."

Employers were randomly chosen and not informed of the inspections, Sigabi said.
full story from M&G here

It would be most helpful if the more common deviations were also reported
Is the goal to shut down sites or educate contractors?

[Graeme]

Safety

This is the age-old battle between safety and profits (cost containment) - maybe it was going on even in ancient Egypt or before. The site engineer is fully aware of the safety regulations and should spot OHSA infringements, whilst the site foreman will always try to keep costs down, his bonus depends on it. As a one time ex-officio OHSA compliance officer I used to come across this tug-of-war all the time. It will always be a tightrope that the construction industry walks. They just live with it.