A new policy framework developed at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is calling for construction safety practices to extend beyond site gates and into host communities.
Presented by Professor Emmanuel Adinyira of the Department of Construction Technology and Management, during his inaugural lecture at the KNUST Great Hall, the framework sets out practical steps for transferring health, safety and environmental (HSE) knowledge from contractors to the very communities that bear the brunt of construction-related hazards.
Researchers argue that such reforms could help Ghana recover lost ground in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where progress remains stalled at just 41.1 percent, with performance worsening in over a quarter of the targets.
The Framework for Change
Prof. Adinyira and his colleagues identified 26 hazards common to both construction sites and households including slippery floors, open drains, poor ventilation and chemical exposure.
While workers on site are shielded from these risks with helmets, signage and medics on standby, communities outside the fence are left uninformed and unprotected.
The framework proposes that contractors extend their safety culture into host communities through public demonstrations, school outreach, radio campaigns, and partnerships with churches and traditional councils. Workers recruited locally can serve as “safety ambassadors,” carrying lessons from the site back home.
“…if we get the knowledge and put it into practice, it would help us reduce health problems in our communities,” one resident said during a pilot study.
The Construction Paradox
On construction sites, safety is enforced with discipline: accidents are tracked, hazards flagged, and protective gear made mandatory.
Yet just beyond the gate, children play near transformers, vendors inhale dust, and families are unaware of how to respond in an emergency.
“On site, workers wear helmets, nose masks, and earplugs, but step outside the fence, and you’ll see children playing near transformers, vendors inhaling dust, and families with no idea how to respond in an emergency,” Prof. Adinyira observed.
This paradox leaves communities with invisible scars from noise pollution and unsafe sanitation to preventable injuries and illnesses.
The Ghana Statistical Service reports that domestic accidents like slips, burns, electrical shocks and poisoning remain a leading cause of injury among children under 15 years.
Diseases such as malaria, cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea continue to strain already burdened health systems.
Meanwhile, the 2023 Afrobarometer survey shows that 64 percent of Ghanaians consider pollution a serious problem in their communities, with poor sanitation and water contamination ranking highest.
Prof. Adinyira argued that if Ghana is to close its safety gap, construction firms, regulators, and educational institutions must think beyond their traditional boundaries.
He explained that firms should no longer view HSE as an internal obligation owed only to their workforce, but as a shared responsibility toward the communities that host construction projects. This would mean rewriting company safety policies to include community awareness campaigns, structured outreach, and active monitoring of environmental impacts outside the project fence.
To institutionalise this shift, Prof. Adinyira urged the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to make community HSE education a contractual requirement in all major works projects. According to him, this step would ensure that safety awareness is not left to the discretion of contractors but embedded in the legal and financial framework of Ghana’s infrastructure development.
At the national level, he called for urgent passage of the long-delayed Occupational Safety and Health Bill, which has been under discussion for years but remains stalled. Without a strong legislative anchor, he cautioned, Ghana will continue to rely on fragmented regulations that fail to protect citizens comprehensively.
He emphasised that regulators such as the Environmental Protection Authority, the Labour Department, and the Factories Inspectorate must also be adequately resourced with personnel, technology, and funding to enforce compliance effectively, rather than leaving safety standards unenforced on the ground.
Education, in his view, is another cornerstone of reform. He recommended that the Ghana Education Service weave HSE principles into school curricula so that children grow up with a natural awareness of everyday hazards and preventive behaviour.
At the same time, adult learning opportunities must be expanded through trusted institutions like churches, clinics, and community centres, where residents already gather and can receive accessible, practical lessons.
Such measures, he noted, would help close the knowledge gap among older populations who face the highest daily risks but often lack formal safety training.
“Safety is not a gadget but a mindset,” he stressed, insisting that Ghana’s construction industry must commit to building this mindset at every level of society.
Beyond Cement and Steel
Prof. Adinyira’s call reframes construction not as a pursuit of cement, steel, and profit margins, but as an opportunity to build resilience alongside infrastructure.
“Our communities have poor HSE knowledge despite hosting major projects,” he concluded
