Construction Health and Safety

Radhlinah Kunju Ahmad (Radhlinah.Kunju_Ahmad@bekon.lth.se)

Source:Charles Ebbet, 1932

Learning outcome

At the end of the lecture, students should be able to:• Understand the different types of existing hazards on site• Comprehend the diferent types of accident measurement

approach• Reflect on the Swedish construction accident records• Appreciate the importance for improving health & safety

in construction• Undertake the techniques of improving health & safety in

construction• Understand the existing legislative framework• Understand an accident analysis if required.

• Safety is free from risk and danger.

• Accidents is defined as an unexpected and desirable event resulting in damage or harm.

• Hazards is an unsafe condition or activity, that if left uncontrolled can contribute to an accident.

• Risk is the assessment of ’probability of loss’ and ’potential amount of loss’.

(concise Oxford Dictionary)

Definitions

Common situation on a construction site

• Construction work is dynamic, diverse, and constantly changing in nature.

• Constantly changing job site environments and conditions

• Multiple contractors and subcontractors• High turnover; unskilled laborers• Constantly changing relationships with other work groups• Diversity of work activities occurring simultaneously• Construction workers are at risk of exposure to various

hazards and risks that can result in injury, illness, permanent disability, or even death.

ÅRETS VILDA VÄSTERN

Området från Sälen till Hemavan har förvandlats till rena vilda västern. Situationen är extrem inför kommande world cup-skidåkningen i Åre. Arbetsmiljön är ofta direkt livsfarlig när fritidshusen byggs. Det saknas skydd, personalutrymmen, med mera. I Hamra, Härjedalen, skadades två baltiska byggnadsarbetare då de föll åtta meter ner i ett betonggolv. De skulle montera en byggnadsstomme på ett timmerhus, men gavelspetsarna gav vika. Där fanns varken ställningar eller annan fallskyddsutrustning.

Byggnadsarbetaren, nr 18, dec 2006, sd 11

Arbetsmiljöverket har stoppat byggjobb 135 gånger under det senaste året. I 113 av förbuden fanns det akut risk för personskador då de handlade om risk för fall från hög höjd.Sedan slutet av 1990-talet har antalet byggarbetsplatser som stoppats av Arbetsmiljöverket ökat dramatiskt. 1998 stoppades byggverksamhet 40 gånger. I år är siffran 135, en uppgång på 238 procent. Precis som vanligt har de flesta stopp, 113 stycken, satts i samband med risk för fall. Det handlar om dåliga ställningar som saknar skyddsräcken, om fallrisk från tak, om personer som jobbat utan personlig säkerhetsutrustning.

Byggnadsarbetaren, nr 18, dec 2006, sd 20

Types of hazards

• Chemical

• Physical

• Biological

• Ergonomic

Chemical Hazards

Chemicals can exist in the form of

• dusts, fumes, fibers (solids)

• liquids, mists

• gases, vapors

• welding fumes• spray paints• cutting oil mists• xylene vapor• solvents

Examples of chemical hazards found in

construction work:

• asbestos

• lead

• silica

• cadmium

• carbon monoxide

Physical Hazards

• Noise

• Vibration

• Temperature extremes

• Radiation

Physical hazards are different types of energy which may be hazardous to workers.

Biological Hazards

Exposure may occur during demolition, renovation, sewer work, work on air handling systems, or other construction work from contact with contaminated or disease-carrying

• soil• water• insects (mosquitoes, ticks)• bird, bat droppings• animals• structures

Ergonomic HazardsErgonomic hazards can cause painful and disabling injuries till example Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) . This following situation may causes these injuries:

• heavy, frequent, or awkward lifting

• repetitive tasks

• awkward grips, postures

• using excessive force, overexertion

• using wrong tools for the job or using tools improperly

• using improperly maintained tools

• hand-intensive work

Types of accident measurements • Death • Fatal injury (broken leg, hips, amputation)• Non-fatal injury (finger cut)• Occupational accidents (MSD, hearing loss)• Absence from work ( >1 day, > 3 days etc)• Near misses• Rate per 100 000 – number of injuries or causes

of ill health per 100 000 employees.• Working days lost – days off work due to

workplace injuries & work-related ill health

Other health hazards

• Living conditions and welfare facilities– Temporary accomodation– Food– Drinking water– Sanitary conveniences– Facility for clothing

• Work related mental stresses– Alcoholism and drug addiction

Personal protective clothing and eqiupment (PPE)

• Legal requirements• Eye protection• Respiratory protection• Ear protection• Face protection• Head protection• Hand protection• Foot protection• Body protection• Fall protection

Construction accident record for 2005 (Samuelson & Lundholm, 2006)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

95 96 97 98 99 0 1 2 3 4 5

years

num

ber

Occupational fatality

Occupational fatality /1000person

Occupational health fatality

Occupational healthfatality/1000 person

Leackage, flood1%

Landslide, fall,breaking of material

14%

Fire explosion2%

Other injuries2%

Body injury due to physical lifting

17%

Body injury not due to physical lifting

5%

Fall of person not from height11%

Fall from height11%

Other form of loss of control

1%

Loss control of material handling

10%

Loss control of tools15%

Lost control of vehicle6%

Lost control of machine5%

Samuelson & Lundholm, 2006

Causes of construction accidents 2005

ISO EU Sweden UK Malaysia

ISO BS8800

Framework Directive Council Directive 89/391/EEC

The Work Environment Act (1997:1160)

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1994

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994

Existing health & safety legislations in practice

Reasons and benefits to improve health and safety in construction

• Responsibility;

• Economic reasons;

• Impact of safety on overall performance;

• Contractor’s performance;

• Control of accident causes.

Responsibility

• Safety is everyone’s responsibility.

• It is a moral and legal obligation of employers to provide a safe working place and of employees to work safely.

• Employer’s duty of care to employees as covering the following areas:– safe system of work;– a safe place of work;– plant and machinery that is safe to use;– competent supervision and/or suitable training; and– care in the selection of fellow employees.

Costs of accidents – direct costs and indirect costs

Direct costs

The direct costs are insurance. These include medical costs and others workers’ compensation insurance benefits as well as liability and property-damage insurance.

Indirect costs

Below are the lists of indirect costs:

Transportation costs – include the cost of emergency transportation, together with the cost of other personnel that were necessary to get to the injured worker to proper medical facilities

 

Wages paid to injured worker for time not worked – include all the time in which the worker was not actually doing his or her job and for the wages paid.

 

Cost incurred because of delays which resulted from accident – other crews affected or delayed; equipment idled; duration of project lengthened; plus all wages, rental fees and indirect supervision costs that occurred as a result of the accident.

 Costs of overtime necessitated by accidents – overtime occurred

because of the accidents

Loss of efficiency of crew – decrease of crew efficiency due to low morale or reshuffling that might occur to replace an injured worker.

Cost to break in and/or teach replacement worker – hiring new worker would include training and orientation

Costs for clean-up, repair or replacement and stand-by costs – normally accidents involves spillage, cave-ins vehicle damage, material wastage or site clean-up

 

 Extra wage costs, slower returned worker – normally when a worker return to the job site and is partially and/or temporarily disabled, the worker is probably working at a different, less demanding job or less efficient at the former job.

 Costs to reschedule work – include time spent to review and reschedule the project due to investigations or project being temporarily suspended by the authorities.

Costs of wages for supervision as a result of the accidents – include all time spent on the accident and its results: caring for the worker’s medical treatment, investigation, completing forms, disseminating information, visiting the worker, planning to prevent recurrence, appearance in court

 

Costs for safety and clerical personnel as a result of the accident – typing, investigating, forwarding forms, time with press, etc.

 OSHA and civil fines – paying fines. Cost of legal assistance – engaging a lawyer to settle the accident

claims. Other costs – any other cost that were incurred because of the

accidents. The average ratio of indirect costs to direct costs is 4:1.

Impact of overall performance

• Time

• Budget

• Accident statistics

• Absentism

• Low morale

Contractor’s performance

• Studies have proved that there is an adverse effect on a contractor’s reputation and unfavourable image for the client when the project suffers high accident rates.

Control of accident causes

• Safety performance measurement enables behaviours and conditions to be identified that have the greatest potential in contributing to an accident.

• It also forms a basis to predict future accident problems and enables management to control the causes of accidents on site and establish long-term accident control.

• These measurement techniques provide continuous information concerning changes in the safety state within an organisation in operation.

How to improve health and safety on construction sites?

• Reactive measures– Accident recording & reporting– Accident investigations

• Proactive measures– H & s safety policy– H & s safety programme/plan– H & s safety induction/training– Tool-box talk– Others

Example of an accident analysis

Accident: Falling off a stepladderThe unsafe act: Climbing a defective ladderThe unsafe condition: A defective ladderThe correction: Replace the ladderQuestions:

– Why was the defective ladder not found during normal inspection?– Why did the supervisor allow its use?– Didn’t the injured employee know it should not be used?– Was the employee properly trained?– Was the employee reminded not to use the ladder?– Did the supervisor examine the job first?

Answers:– An improved inspection procedure– Improved training– A better definition of responsibilities– Pre-job planning by supervisors

References

• Grifitth A & Howarth T. 2000. Construction health & safety management. Pearson Education Limited.

• Samuelson B & Lundholm L. 2006. Arbetsskador I byggverksamhet 2005. Byggindustrins

• Kunju Ahmad. 2000. Developing a safety performance measurement tool (SPMT) for construction sites. Loughborough University thesis. UK.

• Heberle D. 1998. Construction safety manual. McGraw Hill. USA.

• Davies V.J. Tomasin K. 1990. Construction safety handbook. Thomas Telford, London.

• Brown. 1996. Total integration of safety professional into project management. Proceedings. of the 1st International Conference of CIB, Libson, W99. pp 137-144.