CONSTRUCTION & Built

Environment Level 3

Unit 1. Health , Safety and welfare

in construction and the Built
Environment
 Definitions
Health - state of being
free from illness or
injuries.

Safety - condition of being

protected from danger,
risk or injury.

Welfare is a state of doing

well especially in respect
of good fortune ,
happiness and well being.
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.
Consequences of an Unsafe and
Unhealthy Work Environment
Injury and Disease
Back injuries are most
prevalent
Exposure to Chemicals Mental Health
Undetected effects, Psychological symptoms
possible long-term risk can affect productivity
and life away from work
Deaths and Violence
Economic Costs
What you need to know as a busy
builder welfare facilities
What does this mean in
reality?
 R es p on sib ili t y

Safety is everyones responsibility.

It is a moral and legal obligation of employers to

provide a safe working place and of employees to
work safely.

Employers 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.
 People involved in the H, S & W in
construction and built environment
Client Principal (main
Employer contractor)
Designer Construction design
Architects and management
coordinators
Directors
Sub contract
Managers
Health and Safety
Employees
Executives (HSE)
Local authorities
 Employers
Responsibilities
Toilets

Make sure
visitors and
members have
necessary PPC Resting area
on.

Give you PPE free of Provide

charge adequate first aid
 All line managers
All line managers have a responsibility to incorporate
Health and Safety management within all aspects of their
work and are responsible for ensuring the implementation
of this Strategy by:
Demonstrating personal involvement and support for the
promotion of Health and Safety.
Ensuring staff under their management are aware of
their responsibilities in relation to this strategy.
Setting personal objectives for Health and Safety and
monitoring their achievement.
Ensuring risks relating to Health and Safety are identified
and managed and that mitigating actions are
implemented in functions for which they are accountable.
 Employees

Be aware of their responsibilities around Health and

Safety in line with this Strategy.

Have a duty under the legislation to take reasonable

care of their own safety and the safety of co-workers.

Identify and report Health and Safety risks to their line

manager in line with this Strategy.

Ensure incidents are reported using the appropriate

procedures and systems.
 Employees Responsibilities

Report unsafe Use PPE

machinery

Cooperate

Act sensibly
towards yourself
and others Follow training
Direct costs

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 workers medical treatment, investigation,
completing forms, disseminating information, visiting the
worker, planning to prevent recurrence, appearance in
court

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
Impact of overall performance
Time
Budget
Accident statistics
Absentism
Low morale
Reasons and benefits to improve
health and safety in construction
Responsibility;

Economic reasons;

Impact of safety on overall performance;

Contractors performance;

Control of accident causes.

 Read these pairs of sentences. Only one is true.
Choose the one that is true.
1. a. Health and safety should be a high priority for
everyone at work.
b. Health and safety should be a high priority for
employers only.
2. a. Moral means something is good and right.
b. Moral means something is preventable.
3. a. There is no penalty for companies who break
health and safety laws.
b. If a company breaks health and safety laws, it faces
penalties.
4. a. Looking after health and safety is good for
business.
b. Looking after health and safety costs too much
money.
Creating a Safe Work
Environment
Safety Safety
Motivation Awareness
and Knowledge Programs

Elements in Creating a
Safe Work Environment

Accident
Enforcement of
Investigations
Safety Rules
and Records
 Strategic Importance of
Workplace Safety and Health
Benefits of a Safe and Healthy Workforce:
Higher productivity
Increased efficiency and quality
Reduced medical and insurance costs
Lower workers compensation rates and payments
Improved reputation as an employer of choice
Working safely
You may have seen some of these safety signs:
The different colours and shapes are
important.

Do you know what the different colours

and shapes mean?
Working safely
You may have seen some of these UK safety signs:
The different colours and shapes are
important.

Red and white

crossed through
circle:
Prohibition signs
Working safely
You may have seen some of these UK safety signs:
The different colours and shapes are
important.

Blue and white

circle:
Mandatory action
signs
Working safely
You may have seen some of these UK safety signs:
The different colours and shapes are
important.

Yellow triangle:
Hazard signs
Working safely
You may have seen some of these UK safety signs:
The different colours and shapes are
important.

Red and white

rectangle or
square: Fire
equipment signs
Working safely
You may have seen some of these UK safety signs:
The different colours and shapes are
important.

Green and white

rectangle or
square: Safety
equipment signs
Emergency!
In an emergency, such as a fire, important actions
must be carried out:
In what order should you do these things?

Follow
your
company
s
evacuatio
n
Tell a procedure
Activate
colleague
the alarm
or
button
manager
Extra help
Wherever you work, you can get more help about
Health and Safety from:

Your supervisor
or line manager

Your human
resources team
Extra help
Externally there are many organisations that offer
more help, such as:

Health and Safety

Executive (HSE)

Environmental
Health Officer

Trade Union