Construction Phase Plan

Create Your Own Plan From Scratch

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

Table of Contents
The Essential Elements of the Construction Phase Plan

Writing A Comprehensive Construction Health And Safety Plan

The Humanitarian Dimension Of The Construction Phase Health and Safety Plan

Comprehensive Construction Safety Plan That Prevents Accidents

Practical And Common Sense Construction Site Safety

www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

The Essential Elements of the Construction Phase Plan

Dwelling places - like houses and buildings provide one of the basic needs of human beings. Peoples need for shelter entails their deeper need to be safe and secure in life. Since the end product of building shelters provides for the basic human need of safety and security, the same level of safety would then be essential in the process of constructing a house or building. For this very reason of providing safety for all those involved in the construction process, the government has required principal contractors to draft a construction phase plan under the 2007 Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations. The construction safety plan provides for a strategic assessment of all the risk factors involved in the building construction project. It covers control measures to ensure the overall security and welfare of the workers and the visiting public. In the effective management of the protection and safety of everyone, the construction project plan lays out who is accountable to whom for doing particular safety regulating jobs. The specific factors that pose danger to personnel and the public are classified, and the process of putting these potential hazards under control is systematically laid out. This type of safety regulation plan is actually a work-in-progress. The basics are spelled out at the very onset of the construction project, but all personnel involved, especially those in the management level, are encouraged to give further suggestions and inputs to update the plan and make it more relevant to the present needs of the people involved.

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

The draft of the construction site safety plan begins with the description of the construction project and the proposed safety program, including specific schedules of events. It also lists information about the major players, such as the building owner, the architect, the principal contractor, the coordinator for construction design and management (CDM) and all other consultants involved in the project. The goals for well-being and safety are specified and monitoring measures are established to evaluate the safety and security performance as construction is started. The process for efficient coordination between various departments and personnel are also arranged. This includes the appointment of a functional liaison between managers, supervisors and construction workers in order to facilitate constant communication and consultation within the workforce. There must also be a workable and smooth exchange of information between the building owner, the CDM coordinator and the on-site contractors. When these basic and primary steps of the construction phase plan have been drafted by the principal contractor, then it could be submitted to the corresponding CDM authority for approval in order to begin the building construction project.

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

Writing A Comprehensive Construction Health And Safety Plan

A roof is a symbol of protection. Add to it walls on every side and the dwellers safety is secured. Such is the function of an edifice, be it a house to live in or an office building to do your work. If peoples safety and protection are the basic function of a building structure with roof and walls then these must also be the primary concern in the process of constructing a building. It would not bring a good impression on the would-be home owner or building dwellers if there would have been occurrences of otherwise avoidable injuries and on-site disorders in the construction process. This is the very purpose of the construction health and safety plan that must be written, submitted and consequently approved by the Construction Design and Management (CDM) authorities. The safeguarding of the health and well-being of the project personnel and the surrounding public is a major concern in the provisions of this health and safety plan. In writing out a construction safety plan detailed information must be provided on the full address of the construction site as well as the full name, residential address and business number of the principal contractor. The date of the start of building should also be noted and the estimated duration of the construction project.
2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

Ideally, details should also be laid out about the type of construction and the expected outcomes followed by the policies and procedures to be implemented in the construction process. These procedures and regulations should address the proper management of risk factors that the building contractor is expected to identify and list down in the construction safety plan.
Appropriate control measures must be specified of the risks and hazards that have been listed together with the monitoring and evaluation procedures for the measures of control. Public safety strategy and tactics need to also be systematically planned including clear-cut steps that need to be taken in cases of emergency.
2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

The contractors on site must establish an efficient exchange of updates about the status of health and safety of personnel as well as the provision of adequate security in the construction site. Facilities for first aid and basic health care needs are also properly set up in the construction site with ease of accessibility to all. When the construction health and safety plan have been outlined then it is time for the principal contractor to do an ocular inspection of the construction site to determine the presence of potential causes of danger that could jeopardize working personnel and the visiting public. An actual on-site viewing would give him and the project managers a more realistic perspective of the plan for better implementation and improvisation through the progress of the construction project.

The Humanitarian Dimension Of The Construction Phase Health and Safety Plan
The creation, submission, approbation and proper implementation of a construction phase health and safety plan is not just imperative to fulfill the requirements of the government for building construction. It plays great importance in ensuring the safety, security and healthy condition of the people who play significant roles in the construction project. Studies show that when personnel feel adequate safety and security in their working environment, their performance and productivity would increase considerably. The opposite then would be true if they feel unsafe and insecure in the workplace. Investing in the setting up and implementation of a construction health and safety program would bring about a substantial return of investment (ROI) not to mention the priceless peace of mind for the owners of the company building under construction. The owners and contractors could very well set their minds at peace being aware that they could withstand any building project inspection by government agents because they have fully complied with the legal requirements. Add to this is the equally precious sense of corporate security knowing quite well that the contractors and construction workers are labouring in a maximum safe environment. This eliminates the fears and worries of company owners and management with regards to the potentially sizable expenses that may affect the corporate budget if work related injuries and ailments occur during the construction phase.
2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

For filthy-rich business owners, perhaps the extra expenses involved in the hospitalization of construction workers may not be as burdensome. But as humane philanthropists, they would not want to unnecessarily burden their consciences with the damage done on people suffering life-wrecking accidents in their building construction sites. This thought makes construction site safety a real matter of humanitarian concern more than a mere legal and technical discretion. When building owners and contractors see it from the more humane perspective then they would be doubly motivated to give the construction health and safety planning their best shot rather than doing it out of mere legal compliance. The kind of construction health and safety plan with the imprint of conscientious expertise on it would prove to be truly reliable in the implementation of its safety rules and regulations. This is because of the assurance that extensive research and on-site inspection have been done to put real competent policies and procedures into the construction site safety program. This painstaking planning matched with thorough implementation, careful evaluation and persistent improvisation of the construction phase health and safety plan would prove to be totally advantageous for the company building owner and management as they live by the principle that prevention is indeed better than cure.

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

Comprehensive Construction Safety Plan That Prevents Accidents

Perhaps next to the soldier fighting in the frontline battles, working at a construction site, especially of high rise buildings, would be the most risky job anywhere in the world. The U.S. Department of Labour and Bureau of Labour Statistics have documented construction work related accidents in their 2003 report: 155,420 workers suffered construction work related accidents. 10% of workers labouring in construction sites is expected to be injured this year The most common construction site accident involve falls 25% of construction work accidents result in back injuries with damaged legs, arms and hands ranking as second, third and fourth the majority of injured construction workers were not able to report back to work for no less than one month With this alarming report, coming up with a truly workable construction safety plan would all the more be imperative for contractors and building owners involved in construction projects. This construction health and safety plan must provide clear cut policies and procedures to avoid construction site related accidents, injuries and even illnesses One proven way to prevent unnecessary injury is by providing adequate information campaign followed by indepth orientation and training of personnel concerning construction health and safety regulations. Ignorance is one of the most common root causes of harm while knowledge, on the other hand, precludes a lot of freak accidents and injuries.

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

Comprehensive orientation and training is one of the most practical demonstrations of the working principle that prevention is better than cure. Construction site personnel should be given sufficient instruction on avoiding work hazards and possible causes of sickness and optimizing health care and safety on site. Work hazards involve defective construction tools and equipment, unstable ground or floor structures, use of fragile materials and other conditions that threaten stability and safety in the workplace. All these must be properly checked and the necessary repairs and adjustments need to be made ideally before construction work begins.

The construction safety plan implementation team spearheaded by the principal contractor must take full responsibility in the immediate correction and effective management of these work and health hazards in order to prevent unnecessary accidents and secure optimum safety and well-being of construction personnel on site.

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

Probable health hazards include the occurrence of too much noise and vibration in the workplace and the contamination of toxic chemicals and unsafe materials like asbestos. These healththreatening conditions must be immediately rectified and removed along with any rat infestation of the site that may cause leptospirosis and other unhygienic mess that make workers prone to infection and disease.

Practical And Common Sense Construction Site Safety

Like infectious germs infesting our surroundings, enormous numbers of work and health hazards pervade the construction site. Each one of these dangerous threats has the potential to bring extensive damage to human life caused by accidents and contaminations. From the physical injury caused by misuse of electrical tools and mechanical equipment to the poisoning and disease inflicted by toxic chemicals and rat infestations, the possibility of injury and illnesses abound particularly in the mismanaged and unsafe construction work environment.
2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

Construction site safety is the primary goal of the construction phase health and safety plan required by the government for building projects. Drafting and implementing this plan to ensure personnel and public safety on site is the primary responsibility of the principal contractor. In as much as the construction workers and other personnel are already responsible adults, they are capable of getting properly educated about safety and security in the construction site. A lot of these common accidents could actually be avoided by simple common sense if only each one would observe some practical steps. Simple as these may be, these tips could very well save any thinking person from falling into excavation holes, serious head bumps, painful broken bones and other preventable physical injuries and ailments.

The following are some common sense and practical tips for construction site safety: Go For Safe Fix means putting on your hard hat and other protective gears when youre on site. Consider yourself as going into battle with the construction work and health hazards as the enemys ammunition set to attack you. Gird yourself always on full battle gear, completely armoured for your utmost protection when in the construction battle ground. Glass is Breakable While you may find the sign FRAGILE: Handle with Care conveniently pasted on mailed packages, you would not see this same sign posted on glass structures in the construction site. Common sense would tell you that glass is fragile which means if you put your weight on it by leaning or stepping on it, it would break, make you fall and possibly injure you with the broken glass pieces if not totally take the life out of you if you fall through a glass window from the thirtieth floor. Ledge Means Edge This means if you place tools, equipment or brick on the ledge, they would most probably fall over the edge. More than breaking the tools or equipment chances are you would break somebodys head on whom the hard object fell. Mask Beats Dust Wear protective mask in dusty areas of the construction site especially where asbestos and other poisonous fumes are present.

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

A lot of these practical safety tips, listed here or unlisted, have been precious lessons learned from traumatic and not-so-traumatic construction site accidents. Beyond the technical tools and training that the construction health and safety plan could provide, employing the use of simple thinking and common sense could very well prevent a lot of complicated accidents, injuries and ailments in construction sites.

www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk

2012 www.ConstructionSafetyPlan.co.uk