The Directorate of Physical Development and Estate Management (DPDEM) in collaboration with the Training and Development Section has organised a two-day training programme on Construction Health and Safety Management for staff of the Directorate.

The training programme is aimed at providing staff of the Directorate with requisite skills and knowledge to ensure safety at the work place. In addition, it would equip them in Occupational Health and Safety with requisite skills and knowledge to successfully complete projects without significant injuries and damage to properties. Participants would also be taken through legal requirements on construction safety in Ghana.

In his open remarks, an Assistant Registrar at DHR, Mr. Isaac Adom-Konadu, who represented the Director of Human Resource, said the workshop would equip them with knowledge and skills to carry out their work without getting involved themselves in accident at the construction site. He said the University would continue to safeguard the welfare of staff, stressing that “Management will create a conducive working environment for all categories of staff to ensure that they derive job satisfaction”.

Mr. Adom-Konadu called on participants to take the training programme seriously to enable them educate their other colleagues in the Directorate. He was optimistic that the training programme would have positive impact on their work to benefit the University.

On his part, the Director of DPDEM, Mr. Philip Ntim, said Health and Safety, was a critical issue in the working environment. He said most organisations, especially the construction, mining and oil and gas industries have policies on Work and Safety that regulates how staff perform their duties.  “It helps workers to carry out their work perfectly without causing harm to them,” he indicated.

Mr. Ntim said health and safety was very important in UCC’s setting, because most of the renovation and construction works were done in-house and there was, therefore, the need to enforce some guidelines to protect life and property. He appealed to participants to make good use of the available resources, like crash helmet, safety boots and uniforms to avoid accidents at the working environment.

Mr. Ntim said a dirty environment was an indictment on the workers, saying “the working environment tells a lot about the attitude of the workers and their supervisors so the construction site should not expose people to harm or danger”.  He noted that a good health and safety policy meant increased productivity but most organisations considered the implementation of the policy as very expensive. He said the Directorate would develop a template to check the working environment after the workshop.