CONSTRUCTION LOST-TIME INJURIES IN LAOS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

This paper presents a study on construction safety in the People Democratic Republic of Laos (PDRL). Fifty workers experienced certain injuries in their construction sites and 15 top managers were interviewed in twenty-six construction projects in Vientiane, the capital of PDRL. Research results show that stepping on and/or striking against objects (48%), struck by falling objects (24%), falling of persons (12%) are major types of construction injuries. The paper stresses that the ignorance of top managers about their crucial role in safety improvement, using safety incentive to raise safety performance, lack of thorough understanding about benefit from labor safety performance, and the willingness to cut off safety performance expenditures is considered as obstructions of safety improvement programs. The survey indicates that physical working conditions, relationship among workers, foremen behaviors and the monthly wage were influencing factors to worker's job satisfaction. The study also highlights afternoon as dominant time that led to a large number of injuries.