Health and Safety

in Construction

Emma Akmalah, Ph.D.

 Introduction
• Construction is a high hazard industry that comprises a
wide range of activities involving construction, alteration,
and/or repair.
• Construction sites have the potential for serious
accidents as there are many people work close together,
many activities are unpredictable and the tolerance
towards risk is traditionally quite high, making the
frequency and impact of unplanned activities very high.
• Examples include residential construction, bridge
erection, roadway paving, excavations, demolitions, and
large scale painting jobs.
• Construction workers engage in many activities that may
expose them to serious hazards, such as falling from
rooftops, unguarded machinery, being struck by heavy
construction equipment, electrocutions, silica dust, and
asbestos.
 Introduction
• The problem is not that the hazards and risks are
unknown, it is that they are very difficult to control in a
constantly changing work environment.
• Accident prevention, good health and safety and
environmental management is the key to improving
conditions and reducing accidents that occur.
• Adequate safety measures have a marked effect on
productivity in the building industry, because accidents
are the cause of a large proportion of unproductive time.
• There are numerous regulations governing safety
measures on construction sites but, without the whole-
hearted support of management and positive efforts to
educate and discipline the supervisor staff and
operatives, they can be ineffective.
 Introduction
• Poor quality and poor safety performance are serious
issues that no construction firm can survive — at least not
for very long.
• It is the ultimate responsibility of site management to
ensure the enforcement of all safety educate and advise
site management on the implementation of safety policy.
• Poor quality and accidents cost the construction industry
a lot of money. These costs cut into profits and affect a
contractor’s ability to compete.
• Once a contractor gets a reputation for poor quality, it is
very difficult to turn that perception around. Likewise, a
reputation for high quality will bring work to the
contractor without their even soliciting it.
 Introduction
• Construction sites are noisy, dirty, and dusty places to
work, and the likelihood of being struck, crushed, or
injured in some other way by falling materials, moving
equipment, or hazardous materials is quite high.
• Poor safety performance in construction is very costly as
accidents or serious safety violations result in delayed
schedules or even job shutdowns. It means lost time,
and lost time means increased overhead and lost profits.
• It is very important that the construction manager make
every effort to prevent such accidents from happening
and protect all workers and the public from these
potential hazards.
• Job site safety must be the number-one priority when it
comes to managing construction operations.
 Job Site Management
• After setting up the temporary field office, the
superintendent sets out to organize the job site in a
systematic, logical fashion so that it provides the greatest
efficiency for getting the work done as quickly and as
safely as possible.
• The superintendent must figure out the best way to
manage, control, and coordinate all of the subcontractors,
labor, materials, tools, equipment, deliveries, inspections,
noise, dust, security, safety, quality, cleanup, and even
visitors to the site—all the while trying to keep the project
within budget and on schedule.
• Some construction sites are way out in the middle of
nowhere; others may be right in the middle of a major
urban area. Either way, the superintendent must have a
strategy for directing and organizing all of the aspects that
will be congregating on the site on a daily basis.
 Site Layout
 In carrying out site activities, the works must not produce
excessive environmental effects and all works must be
conducted safely with respect to those on and around
the site.
 In setting out the site, the key aspects that need to be
considered are:
● access and traffic control
● storage
● communications and site control
● administrative and general site facilities/office
● site enclosure – fencing and hoarding
● quality control
● safety and security
● signposting
● effect of design on equipment and layout.
 Site Layout
 Every aspect of getting the job done must be considered
when trying to prepare the site for construction
operations.
 The site logistics plan should take into account a number
of factors, such as the following:
• Material storage and handling
• Job site security
• Site access
• Employee parking
• Traffic control
• Pedestrian safety
• Crane location
• Miscellaneous facilities
Site Layout

(Jackson, 2010)
 Applicable Laws
 Under European Union Law, there are European Union
Directives in place to protect workers. This legislation is
transposed into the Member States and places
requirements on employers (and others) to assess and
protect workers health and safety.
 In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) sets and enforces standards
concerning workplace safety and health.
 In the United Kingdom, the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) is responsible for standards enforcement.
 In Indonesia, the current laws applied are as follow:
• Undang-Undang No. 1 tahun 1970 tentang
Keselamatan Kerja
• Undang-Undang No. 13 tahun 2003 tentang
Ketenagakerjaan
Death and injury impacts (Lambeck & Eschemuller, 2009)
 Accident Prevention
In order to maintain a safe environment on the job site, the
following critical elements must be established:
• Review the drawings for potential safety concerns.
• Upper management must be totally committed to safety.
• Learn to communicate safety to all workers on the job
site.
• Provide a safety manager and/or director on the job site.
• Make sure that the site is clean with no debris scattered
around.
• The safety manager and PM must constantly walk the
job site.
• Enforce OSHA standards.
 Accident Prevention
• Have weekly toolbox meetings with all trade foremen.
– Review any current problems.
– Request ways to improve safety on the job site.
– The meeting should be of short duration but cover critical
issues.
• Make sure all trades are using safety equipment
prescribed by OSHA.
• Listen to all the workers and make safety modifications as
suggested.
• Have special safety meetings with all “new” workers.
(Approximately 25% of the accidents occur with workers
working less than one month on the job site.)
• Review all building codes to make sure all safety
requirements are being met.
 Accident Prevention
• Listen to weather reports to make sure all equipment and
material will be secured in case of high winds.
• Make sure that certain trades do not work during
inclement weather (i.e., iron workers).
• Have strong language in the subcontractor’s contract
regarding safety issues. This should include the use of
hard hats, safety harness, safety nets, attending safety
meetings, etc. Disciplinary action for subcontractor trades
people who do not conform to the safety standards must
be established.
• A safety plan has to be prepared which would include
location of first aid stations, evacuation plan in case of an
emergency, communications set up, and safety horns.
 Accident Prevention
• Install safety signs around the site.
• Prepare a safety manual that will be handed out to all
subcontractors.
• Invite insurance safety groups to visit the site and make
recommendations.
• Do not rush jobs and overwork the trades people.
• Drugs and alcohol must be prohibited from the job site.
• Smoking must be prohibited from the job site to eliminate
potential fires.
 Personal Protection
• Personal safety for the individual worker is a fundamental
objective for any safety management plan.
• The superintendent must set strict rules regarding the
requirements for personal protection equipment and
furnish every worker with the equipment that is needed. If
the work is being subcontracted, then the superintendent
has to make sure that the subcontractor is providing this
equipment for their own workers.
• Every person who comes on the job site must be made
aware of the rules and be expected to follow them — even
visitors.
 Personal Protection
Protection Equipment Example
• Body protection Special suits or coveralls
• Head protection Hard hats
• Respiratory protection Respirators
• Face protection Face shields, masks
• Eye protection Safety glasses or goggles
• Hearing protection Ear plugs, ear protectors
• Hand protection Gloves
• Foot protection Steel-toed shoes or boots
• Fall protection Safety harnesses
 When an Accident Occurs
on the Job Site
• In the event that a major accident does occur on the job
site, the CM/GC must be prepared to act immediately.
• Depending on the seriousness of the injury, the proper
people must be contacted. Any delays could cause
catastrophic results.
• The CM/GC should also develop an on-site SWAT
team that will be trained to act in an emergency
situation. Their responsibility would be to give
directions to all the trades people so that they would be
out of harm’s way. In addition, they would comfort any
of the accident victims until the professionals arrive at
the site.
Hazards to Construction Workers
• The leading safety hazards on site are falls from height,
motor vehicle crashes, excavation accidents,
electrocution, machines, and being struck by falling
objects.
• Some of the main health hazards on site are asbestos,
solvents, noise, and manual handling activities.
• Falls from heights are the leading cause of injury in the
construction industry. Fall protection can be provided by
guardrail systems, safety net systems, personal fall
arrest systems, positioning device systems, and warning
line systems.
• All employees should be trained to understand the
proper way to use these systems and to identify hazards.
The employee or employer will be responsible for
providing fall protection systems and to ensure the use
of these systems.
Hazards to Construction Workers
• Equipment on the job site must have light and
reflectors if intended for night use. The glass in the cab
of the equipment must be safety glass. The equipment
must be used for their intended task at all times on the
job site.
• Before any excavation has taken place, the contractor
is responsible for notification of all applicable
companies that excavation work is being performed.
Location of utilities is a must before breaking ground.
During excavation, the contractor is responsible for
providing a safe work environment for employees and
pedestrians.
 Hazards to Non-Workers
• Many construction sites cannot completely exclude
non-workers. Road construction sites must often allow
traffic to pass through. This places non-workers at
some degree of risk.
• Road construction sites should be blocked-off and
traffic would be redirected. The sites and vehicles must
be protected by signs and barricades.
• The majority of death in construction are caused by
hazards relating to construction activity. However,
many deaths are also caused by non construction
activities, such as electrical hazards.
 Safety Improvement Efforts
• Although construction is one of the worst industries in
Europe in terms of safety, there have been, and are,
various groups working towards improving construction
conditions and safety.
• Construction conditions have improved ten-fold from 15
years ago, and as technology increases, so does the
safety and working conditions of construction jobs.
• In the United States, efforts have been made in the first
decade of the 21st century to improve safety for both
road workers and drivers in construction zone.
 References
• Fewings, Peter (2005), Construction Project
Management: An Integrated Approach, Taylor &
Francis, New York, USA
• Jackson, Barbara J. (2010), Construction
Management Jump Start, 2nd edition, Wiley Publishing
Inc., Indiana, USA.
• Lambeck, Richard and John Eschemuller (2009),
Urban Construction Project Management, McGraw-
Hill Co., NY, USA.
• Levy, Sidney M. (2010), Construction Process
Planning and Management, Elsevier inc., Oxford, UK.