RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Estimating health and safety costs in the construction industry presents various difficulties, including the complexity of cost allocation, the inadequacy of data available to managers and the absence of an accounting model designed specifically for safety cost management. Very often, the costs arising from accidents in the workplace are not fully identifiable due to the hidden costs involved. OBJECTIVE: This paper reviews some studies of occupational health and safety cost management and proposes a means of classifying these costs. METHODS: We conducted an empirical study in which the health and safety costs of 40 construction worksites are estimated. RESULTS: A new classification of the health and safety cost and its categories is proposed: Safety and non-safety costs. CONCLUSIONS: The costs of the company's health and safety policy should be included in the information provided by the accounting system, as a starting point for analysis and control. From this perspective, a classification of health and safety costs and its categories is put forward.