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BACKGROUND: The Brundlandt Report (Our Common Future), from 1987, provided just a generic notion of sustainable development, leaving to the political, academic and social milieus the formulation of the technical foundations of sustainability. Within this context, category workers' health was neglected. OBJECTIVE: The present paper discusses the central relevance of work and its relationship to health for the development of sustainability as anchored in the respect for the life and health of workers. METHODS: Based on the qualitative scientific paradigm and the dialectical method, the theoretical and empirical research conducted in the presented study adopted an epistemological perspective grounded on three basic principles: constructive nature of interpretative knowledge, interactive nature of the research process and significance of singularity as a level of knowledge production through a dialogical process. RESULTS: Based on the analysis performed, subject workers' health in its relation to sustainable development was subjected to an epistemological discussion. CONCLUSION: To fully substantiate this notion, the idea of sustainable development implies a thorough involvement of ergonomics and other fields of knowledge related to work.

The main objective of this study is to analyze the perception of Occupational Health and Safety in small construction projects in the Brazilian construction industry. The adopted approach is qualitative in nature and seeks to understand the character of the current practices through interviews held with 'actors' who are directly involved in small-scale building sites, as well as with others who are involved in large-scale work sites. In Brazil, there is a weakness in supervision at small construction projects. This is due to numerous factors, such as the low visibility of these types of works and short deadlines, as well as the lack of knowledge about Occupational Health and Safety. This study reinforces and illustrates the idea of the inherent dangers involved in the occupational health of workers in small construction projects. It also indicates that there is a need to put greater emphasis on compliance with Occupational Health and Safety principles, which are covered by the current Brazilian Legislation and Regulatory Standards. This should be undertaken in order to ensure that the work in small-scale building sites is more visible and, especially, to ensure acceptable health and safety conditions for construction workers.

The main objective of this study is to analyze the perception of Occupational Health and Safety in small construction projects in the Brazilian construction industry. The adopted approach is qualitative in nature and seeks to understand the character of the current practices through interviews held with 'actors' who are directly involved in small-scale building sites, as well as with others who are involved in large-scale work sites. In Brazil, there is a weakness in supervision at small construction projects. This is due to numerous factors, such as the low visibility of these types of works and short deadlines, as well as the lack of knowledge about Occupational Health and Safety. This study reinforces and illustrates the idea of the inherent dangers involved in the occupational health of workers in small construction projects. It also indicates that there is a need to put greater emphasis on compliance with Occupational Health and Safety principles, which are covered by the current Brazilian Legislation and Regulatory Standards. This should be undertaken in order to ensure that the work in small-scale building sites is more visible and, especially, to ensure acceptable health and safety conditions for construction workers.