Construction Safety

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Definitions
 Safety is free from risk and danger.

 Accidents is defined as an unexpected and

undesirable events 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’.

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Common situations at a construction site
 Construction work is dynamic, diverse, and constantly
changing in nature.
 Constantly changing job site environments and conditions
 Multiple contractors and subcontractors
 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.

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 Types of hazards

 Chemical

 Physical

 Biological

 Ergonomic

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 Chemical Hazards

Chemicals can exist in the form of

• dusts, fumes, fibers (solids)
• liquids, mists
• gases, vapors

• welding fumes
• asbestos
• spray paints
Examples of • lead
• cutting oil mists
chemical • silica
hazards • xylene vapor
found in • cadmium • solvents
construction • carbon
work: monoxide
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Physical Hazards
Physical hazards are different types of energy which
may be hazardous to workers.

• Noise

• Vibration

• Temperature extremes

• Radiation
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Biological Hazards
Exposure may occur during demolition, renovation,
sewer work, or other construction work from contact
with contaminated or disease-carrying

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

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 Ergonomic Hazards
Ergonomic 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

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Types of accident measurements
 Death
 Fatal injury (broken leg, hips, amputation)
 Non-fatal injury (finger cut)
 Occupational accidents (MSD, hearing loss)

Results of accedents:
 Absence from work ( >1 day, > 3 days etc)
 Near misses
 Working days lost – days off work due to workplace
injuries & work-related ill health
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Other health hazards

 Living conditions and welfare facilities

o Temporary accomodation
o Food
o Drinking water
o Sanitary conveniences
o Facility for clothing
 Work related mental stresses
o Alcoholism and drug addiction

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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
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Existing health & safety legislations in
practice
ISO EU Sweden UK Malaysia

ISO Framework The Work The Health and The Health

BS8800 Directive Environment Safety at Work and Safety
Council Act Act 1974 at Work Act
Directive (1997:1160) 1994
89/391/EEC
The
Construction
(Design and
Management)
Regulations
1994

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Reasons and benefits to improve
health and safety in construction
 Responsibility;

 Economic reasons;

 Impact of safety on overall performance;

 Contractor’s performance;

 Controlling the causes of accidents

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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:
o safe system of work;
o a safe place of work;
o plant and machinery that is safe to use;
o competent supervision and/or suitable training; and
o care in the selection of fellow employees.

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Costs of accidents –
direct costs and indirect costs

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 Costs of accidents
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.
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Indirect costs
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
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Indirect costs
 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

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

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Impact of overall performance

 Time

 Budget

 Accident statistics

 Absentism

 Low morale

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Contractor’s performance

 Studies have proved that there is an adverse effect on a

contractor’s reputation and unfavourable image to the client
when the project suffers high accident rates.

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 Controlling the causes of accidents
Safety Performance Measurement
 It 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.

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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 23
Example of an accident analysis

Accident : Falling off a step ladder

The unsafe act : Climbing a defective ladder

The unsafe condition : A defective ladder

The correction : Replace the ladder

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Example of an accident analysis
Questions:
 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?
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Example of an accident analysis
Answer:
 An improved inspection procedure needed
 Improved training needed
 A better definition of responsibilities needed
 Pre-job planning by supervisors needed

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 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.
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THANKS TO ALL

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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.
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