Investigating the challenges of implementing covid-19 preventive practices in the construction industry in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on various industries worldwide, including the construction industry. The construction industry in Sri Lanka has faced numerous challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 preventive measures were followed and resumed the work to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. However, there were challenges when implementing the COVID-19 safety measures. Thus, the study aimed at investigating the challenges of implementing COVID-19 preventive practices. The research adopted a qualitative approach, including twelve structured expert interviews within four case studies from different graded contractor organisations. According to the findings of expert interviews, the background of the research problem was validated. Besides, the challenges of adopting COVID-19 preventive measures were identified in the literature. Data collection was conducted to validate the literature review findings. The findings of this study reveal that the safety measures followed by the highest-graded organisations are different from the other organisations. Hence, the challenges were changed according to the grade of companies. ignorance, contradiction and conflicts when someone near does not follow guidelines, additional time, limited resources, contractors having financial difficulties and difficulties in adapting preventive measures are common challenges of implementing COVID-19 preventive practices in the Sri Lankan construction industry. Hence, this provides insights into the effective implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures in construction sites to overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic.