Islamic republic of Afghanistan
Ministry of higher education
Kabul polytechnic university
Hydraulic department
Safety in Construction Projects
Summited to: Professor M Nasim Nasimi
Summited by: Siddiqullah Salari, M Numan Mowahid
Date: 15/12/2018
Learning outcome
• 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.
Definitions
• 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)
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.
Types of hazards
• Chemical
• Physical
• Biological
• Ergonomic
Chemical Hazards
Chemicals can exist in the form of
• dusts, fumes, fibers (solids)
• liquids, mists
• gases, vapors
• asbestos
Examples of
chemical
hazards
found in
construction
work:
• lead
• silica
• cadmium
• carbon
monoxide
•
•
•
•
•
welding fumes
spray paints
cutting oil mists
xylene vapor
solvents
Physical Hazards
Physical hazards are different types of energy which
may be hazardous to workers.
• Noise
• Vibration
• Temperature extremes
• Radiation
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 Hazards
Ergonomic hazards can cause painful and disabling
injuries till example Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) .
This following situation may cause 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)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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)
18
16
Occupational fatality
14
number
12
Occupational fatality /1000
person
10
8
Occupational health fatality
6
4
Occupational health
fatality/1000 person
2
0
95
96
97
98
99
0
years
1
2
3
4
5
Causes of construction accidents 2005
Other injuries
2%
Body injury due to
physical lifting
17%
Body injury not due to
physical lifting
5%
Leackage, flood
1%
Fire explosion
2%
Landslide, fall,breaking
of material
14%
Lost control of machine
5%
Lost control of vehicle
6%
Fall of person not from
height
11%
Fall from height
11%
Other form of loss of
control
1%
Loss control of tools
15%
Loss control of material
handling
10%
Samuelson & Lundholm, 2006
Existing health & safety legislations in practice
ISO
EU
Sweden
UK
ISO
BS8800
Framework
Directive
Council
Directive
89/391/EEC
The Work
The Health and
Environment Safety at Work
Act
Act 1974
(1997:1160)
The
Construction
(Design and
Management)
Regulations
1994
Malaysia
The Health
and Safety
at Work Act
1994
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
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.
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:
The unsafe act:
The unsafe condition:
The correction:
Questions:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Falling off a stepladder
Climbing a defective ladder
A defective ladder
Replace the ladder
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?
Improvements:
–
–
–
–
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 137144.