Construction Health and Safety

Source:
Radhlinah Kunju Ahmad Charles Ebbet, 1932
(Radhlinah.Kunju_Ahmad@bekon.lth.se)
 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.
 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.
 ÅRETS VILDA VÄSTERN

Området från Sälen till Hemavan har

förvandlats till rena vilda västern.
Situationen är extrem inför kommande
world cup-skidåkningen i Åre.
Arbetsmiljön är ofta direkt livsfarlig när
fritidshusen byggs. Det saknas skydd,
personalutrymmen, med mera. I
Hamra, Härjedalen, skadades två
baltiska byggnadsarbetare då de föll
åtta meter ner i ett betonggolv. De
skulle montera en byggnadsstomme
på ett timmerhus, men gavelspetsarna
gav vika. Där fanns varken ställningar
eller annan fallskyddsutrustning.

Byggnadsarbetaren, nr 18, dec 2006, sd 11

Arbetsmiljöverket har stoppat
byggjobb 135 gånger under det
senaste året. I 113 av förbuden
fanns det akut risk för
personskador då de handlade
om risk för fall från hög höjd.
Sedan slutet av 1990-talet har
antalet byggarbetsplatser som
stoppats av Arbetsmiljöverket ökat
dramatiskt. 1998 stoppades
byggverksamhet 40 gånger. I år är
siffran 135, en uppgång på 238
procent. Precis som vanligt har de
flesta stopp, 113 stycken, satts i
samband med risk för fall. Det
handlar om dåliga ställningar som
saknar skyddsräcken, om fallrisk
från tak, om personer som jobbat
utan personlig säkerhetsutrustning.

Byggnadsarbetaren, nr 18, dec 2006, sd 20

 Types of hazards
• Chemical

• Physical

• Biological

• Ergonomic
 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
chemical • cutting oil mists
• silica • xylene vapor
hazards
found in • cadmium • solvents
construction • carbon
work: monoxide
 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 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
 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)
• Legal requirements
• 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

12
Occupational fatality /1000
person
number

10

8
Occupational health fatality
6

4
Occupational health
2 fatality/1000 person
0
95 96 97 98 99 0 1 2 3 4 5
years
Causes of construction accidents 2005
Other injuries
Leackage, flood
2%
1%
Fire explosion Landslide, fall,breaking
Body injury due to 2% of material
physical lifting
14%
17%

Lost control of machine

Body injury not due to
5%
physical lifting
5%
Lost control of vehicle
6%
Fall of person not from
height
11%

Loss control of tools

15%
Fall from height
11%
Loss control of material
handling
Other form of loss of
10%
control
1%

Samuelson & Lundholm, 2006

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
 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
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
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.
 Control of accident causes
• Safety performance measurement 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.
 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: Falling off a stepladder
The unsafe act: Climbing a defective ladder
The unsafe condition: A defective ladder
The correction: Replace the ladder
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?
Answers:
– 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 137-
144.