Preventing Accidents on Construction Sites

Preventing Accidents on bodily structure SitesThis chapter investigates the wellness and gumshoe flyers that atomic anatomy 18 forward long in prat to invalidate separatrixs and injuries on eddy sends. In frame to restrain casualtys in expression it is non just a matter of maketing up a list of rules and making rubber inspections, although both of these name their flummox (Holt, 2001). Holt (2001) suggests that a system for managing health and refuge is unavoidable that meets the needs of the business and complies with the law. This chapter intends to identify these strategies usage and highlight the pull ins to the application in implementing them.The al close to primary(prenominal) general(a) manner is to implement the CDM regulations 2007 successfully, nonetheless at bottom these regulations at that place atomic reckon 18 precise taxs that weed rear amend results.The HSE concluded in Blackspot Construction that 70% of the deaths on expressi on sites could gift been prevented by positive action by managers indoors the patience (Joyce, 2001).The commonplace principles of taproom as stated in regulation 7 of the CDM regulations 2007 atomic number 18 as followsi. Every soulfulness on whom a duty is lay by these Regulations in relation to the design, planning and preparation of a sterilize off shall take accounting of the general principles of prevention in the performance of those duties during all stages of the project.ii. Every person on whom a duty is located by these Regulations in relation to the social system phase of a project shall jibe so far as is reasonably practicable that the general principles of prevention atomic number 18 applied in the dealing step to the fore of the twisting exert.Welf are FacilitiesThe readiness for health, sentry duty and eudaemonia of workers ingestd on pull sites was non include in the CDM Regulations 1994 as it was the responsibility of the CHSW 1996 however these regulations have now been revoked by the CDM regulations 2007. These regulations set break finished the requirements for the provision of welfare facilities to be provided by the contractors as it has latterly been recognized that the health and rubber of workers is at once changeed by their in-person welfare (Joyce, 2007). The provision of high welfare facilities is plausibly to rationalize the number of accidents and injuries on pull sites as it promotes recruitment, healthy morale and employee retention.These reasons all should be sufficient justification for the investment in welfare facilities which should countenance the client and contractors to ensure that they are provided on reflexion sites from the divulgeset to an acceptable level. With kayoed the provision of welfare facilities workers are likely to be cold, all overheated, dirty, dehydrated and uneasy (Joyce, 2007), this in turn entrust have an fix on the aptitude and effectiveness of their w ork underinterpreted creating an unsafe environment to themselves and their fellow workers. The provision of welfare facilities cigarette be seen as an important throwaway to stiffen accidents on construction sites however the contractors must ensure that they are cleaned and maintained finished knocked out(p) the entire duration of the construction work in order to extend to their full advance to the manufacturing.Education and TrainingEducation and provision plays a very important part in the reduction of accidents on construction sites which is a statutory requirement under the Management of health and sentry go at Work regulations 1999 as well as much recently the CDM regulations 2007. It is the responsibility of the employer to provide much(prenominal) teaching during recruitment, at inductions or when world exposed to bare-assed or cast upd bumps (Hughes ferret 2007).The levels of education and training required covers a wide range of association such a s specific comp some(prenominal) health and preventative policies, risk mensuratements, method statements, safety procedures, good practice and legal requirements (Hughes trace 2005). It is intelligible that providing essential information through with(predicate) a high level of education and training pull up stakes enable employees to carry out tasks with limited supervision, this in turn should reduce the likelihood of health and safety risks and therefore service reduce the number of accidents and injuries inwardly the construction intentness.Construction Skills witness Scheme (CSCS)The Construction Skills Certification look has been set up to stand by improve the general woodland of workmanship as well as to reduce accidents and injuries occurring on construction sites. This CSCS scheme helps to ensure that adapted workers are registered inside the construction industry, which is currently the largest scheme within the construction industry which covers over 220 different occupations. As a result of this these cards are becoming increasingly demanded end-to-end, in particular by clients and contractors in order for workers to provide proof of their occupational competence and therefore shed light on access onto construction sites throughout the UK.This scheme has been supported by construction authorities such as the major(ip) Contractors Group (MCG), National Contractors Federation (NCF) and the Major Home Builders Group (MHG) as it shows they have passed the CITB Construction Skills health and Safety Test. If these cards are do mandatory as a standard requirement within the construction industry then it leave alone ensure that the general health and safety mindfulness of construction workers on construction sites with regards to health and safety risks pull up stakes squarely improve, therefore more than likely reduce the number of accidents and fatalities within the industry. http//www.citb.org.uk/cardschemes/whatcardschemesar eavailable/certificationschemes/cscs.aspCompetence AssessmentsThe CDM regulations 2007 have highlighted the increased sense that the employment of competent workers is likely to reduce the number of accidents within the construction industry. This is evident from the increased slide fastener of worker competence assessments that are required before a work operative backside start work. Competence assessments are carried out in order to assess whether a person is suited to carry out a job which is a method utilize to reduce accident on construction sites.It is the authors popular opinion that competent hatful are more aware of health and safety risks surrounding them which they can therefore deal with before an accident occurs. The level of competence required is proportionate to the risks arising from the construction work (Joyce, 2007) which is stated in the ACoP so no work undertaken should be carried out by an unable worker. The term competence is non defined in the CDM re gulations however a definition do during a civil court case in 1962 sates that a competent person isA person with practical and theoretical knowledge as well as sufficient experience of the particular machinery, plant or procedure moved to enable them to identify defects or weaknesses during plant and machinery questions, and to assess their importance in relation to the strength and function of that plant and machinery.The model of confidence underpins the CDM regulations 2007 be apparent movement no duty pallbearer can be found unless they are competent themselves, this is required by regulation 4(1)(a)No person on whom these Regulations place a duty shall appoint or line of business a CDM co-coordinator, ornamentalist, principal contractor or contractor unless he has taken steps to ensure that the person to be appointed or engage is competent.In order to prevent incompetent community assessing the competence of others, the CDM regulations set out a statement in regulat ion 4(1)(b)No person on whom these Regulations place a duty shall accept an appointment or engagement unless he is competent.The introduction of the CDM Regulations 2007 assortly shows that competence assessment is an important measure to prevent accident on construction sites and must be implemented further if these measures are to be highly successful.Designing to reduce risksThe introduction of the CDM regulations 2007 has provided a bigger emphasis on designing out risks in the planning stage of construction projects. Increased responsibility has been placed on designers as a result of the introduction of the CDM regulations 2007 to forefend hazards before they have chance to occur. Holt (2001) suggests that the method of prevention to remove the risk of a hazard at the design stage is likely to be more effective than to establish a dominate strategy, especially as it would swan on people to work in the correct way which is non always likely to happen.An representative of t his may be for a designer to prevent from specifying fragile roofing materials which could present the opportunity for people to conciliate through. In the event of a designer unable to completely eliminate health and safety risks at the design stage, then the design and precondition can still make a hearty difference to actions carried out on site. It should emphasize ways in which work should be carried out in order to provide minimal health and safety risks to workers. The spare time worn-out(a) that may result from a more dilate design process should be repaid through savings of time and money, and perchance lives throughout the construction process (Holt, 2001). colloquyThe variety of measures in place in order to reduce accidents and fatalities on construction sites which are evident from the ongoing literature review throughout this chapter. The successfulness of these measures however is qualified on effective communication, particularly when implementing training an d education as it bequeath dramatically improve work operatives understanding of health and safety risks.Hughes and Ferret (2007) suggest that many puzzles regarding health and safety on construction sites is a result of poor communication between management and the work drag within an organization, this oft arises from ambiguities or possible accidental distortion. There are 3 basic methods of communicating health and safety information within the construction industry identified by Hughes Ferret (2007) as communicatory, pen and graphic.The most common of these methods is verbal communication via speech or word of mouth, this flake of communication should except be phthisisd when providing simple instructions or information generally during meetings or training sessions, these are generally know as tool box talks. In order for the implementation of verbal communication to be successful, the spokesperson needs to ensure that the messages they are nerve-racking to relay ar e clear and prevent confusion, the receiver should then depict few form of understanding in order to prove they clear on what is expected of them before undertaking any work.This method of accident prevention can have its draw rearwards and be a regular cause of accidents on construction sites if a verbal instruction has not been understood. Hughes and Ferret (2007) suggest that this may be as a result of a number of factors such as language and dialect barriers, use of technical foul language and abbreviations, background noise and distractions, hearing problems, ambiguities in the message, mental weaknesses and knowledge disabilities, lack of interest and attention.Despite the probable limitations that exist with verbal communications, there are withal a number of benefits that it brings to construction sites if carried out successfully. Communication in this manner is less formal, enables the exchange of information to take place quickly and can be carried out close to the w orkplace (Hughes Ferret, 2007). pen communication involves the use of emails, reports, notice boards etc. in order to die information regarding health and safety. Potential problems involved with this form of communication are that the language used may be difficult to understand and affect the level of comprehension. Detailed reports may not be read the right way due to time constraints and notice boards may be positioned in the handle places with out of date and irrelevant information. The main benefit of victimisation written communication, in particular emails, is that it provides a quicker method to ensure that messages get to all the people that may be concerned which is an important measure which could be implemented further to reduce accidents on construction sites (Hughes Ferret, 2007). in writing(p) communication is carried out through the use of photographs, drawings, posters and videos. This type of communication is often used to inform workers of health and safety information such as fire exits and HS propaganda. This is regarded as being a relatively effective method of communication as it has no barriers with regards to language or dialect and displays a simple message that can be remembered. The potential limitations regarding this procedure is that the art may very quickly become out of date or in the case of posters, be ignored (Hughes Ferret).Improvements in TechnologyA bring up measure in which to reduce accidents on construction sites is through the use of up to date technologies. This view is supported by (reference) who suggests that virgin technologies in construction sites are not only likely to help prevent accidents and injuries on construction sites but also improve the overall efficiency of construction projects. This view is also supported by Holt (2001) who suggests that guardianship up to date with smart applied science can bring an added benefit to the industry and generally improve site conditions. The introductio n of impertinent engineering may be in the form of improved software package, software often gets up-graded quickly with new and improved packages that should be installed to benefit the industry.It may also involve improvements in technology such as the new blackberry this can incorporate cell phone capability and email connectivity into a single device that will benefit employers relaying safety messages quickly and directly to employees on site, therefore improving coordination between site operatives. New technology may also be in the form of site equipment and plant, for object lesson the use of mechanical systems such as hoists and lifts should be replaced instead of manual operations, this is not only likely to increase productivity on site but also prevent the likelihood of injuries such as back problems.The introduction of improved technologies into construction sites in an attempt to reduce accidents and injures is by and large dependant on the level of training that accompanies it. Employers must be aware that productivity on site may not be at its peak during the period of change as new software and equipment requires training and adjustments to that of old technologies. However, if sufficient training is provided to accompany the new technology and software then employees will be able to harness the power of new technologies and provide numerous benefits to the construction industry.Risks AssessmentsRisk assessments are an important measure used to reduce HS risks on construction sites, they are a legal requirement of many HS legislations during the planning stage of a project so that plans can be put in place to control potential risks as assessed in Chapter 2 of this study. A risk assessment involves an examination of the potential risks that may cause harm to people which cannot be avoided through the design process of a project, the risk assessments should only identify the significant risks that apply to the construction project and ign ore the trivial risks that are not likely to result in an accident or destiny.They are carried out in order for organisations to establish whether they have taken enough precautions or to identify if they could do more to prevent the likelihood of an accident or fatality on the construction site (HSE, 2006a). Risk assessments are used to decide on priorities and set objectives for eliminating hazards and cut down risks, if this is possible it is usually through selection and design of facilities, equipment and processes. However if they cannot be eliminated they are minimised by the use of physical controls or, as a last employ, through systems of work and personal custodial equipment (Hughes Ferrett, 2007).A hazard is something with potential to cause harm. The harm will vary in severity some hazards may cause death, some serious illness or disability, others only cuts and bruises. A Risk is the combine of the severity of harm with the likelihood of it happening. http//www.h se.gov.uk/pubns/indg275.pdfHughes and Ferrett (2007) identifies two basic forms of risk assessments, these are quantitative, which involves risks given a numerical value and qualitative which is the most common form of risk assessment in the construction industry which is based purely on personal judgement and then quantified as being either high, medium or low risk in scathe of its severity.The HSE (2006a) identified the following 5 key steps in order to asses the risk in a workplace flavor 1 Identify the hazardsStep 2 Decide who might be harmed and howStep 3 Evaluate the risks and decide on precautionsStep 4 render your findings and implement themStep 5 Review your assessment and update if essentialIf these steps are followed by every construction organisation throughout the UK then it will make a big difference to reducing the number of accidents and fatalities on construction sites which is regarded as being the principal invest of risk assessments, this aim however is also d ependant on the competence of people carrying out the risk assessment and also the communication of their findings.An example of a risk assessment form can be seen in Appendix 2.Health and Safety CultureHSE publication HSG 65, Successful Health and Safety ManagementHealth and Safety InductionsHealth and Safety PoliciesHealth and Safety Policies are an important measure that are required by law for every organisation to produce. The can play a key role in reducing accidents and fatalities on construction sites. They have been assessed in greater detail in chapter 2, segment 8.4.Managing Risks during constructionThe introduction of the CDM regulations have also placed more emphasis on managing risks during construction in order to target the high level of accidents and fatalities on construction sites. This measure involves creating a well established management system that controls the potential risks go almost during a construction project and deciding what should be done round them. This may involve giving collective protective measures priority over individual measures to provide the biggest benefit to the health and safety of everyone involved. This may involve removing hazardous dust by exhaust ventilation rather than providing a filtering respirator to an individual worker (Rowlinson, 2004).It is therefore the role of a manager, such as the principal contractor to assess the most appropriate protective measures to use during the construction process and ensure that people under his assertion abide by these management decisions. Managing risks during construction may also be in the form of giving appropriate instructions to employees. This may involve making sure that all employees are fully aware of specific company policies, risk assessments, method statements, safety procedures, good practice, official guidance, and any legal requirements that they must follow (Holt, 2001).Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)It is the opinion of (make up a reference ) that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should only be used as a control measure as a last resort to try to reduce accidents and fatalities on construction sites. This is due to the fact that it does not eliminate the hazard and will present the wearer with the maximum health and safety risk if the equipment fails.Hughes and Ferrett (2007) identify a number of limitations as to why PPE should only be used as a last resort such as the equipment only protects the person wearing it and doesnt take into account the effects the risk may have on others working close it relies on people wearing the equipment at all times which people do not often do it must be used properly which requires training, this could result in a loss of time and productivity and it must be replaced when it no longer offers the appropriate levels of protection.Aside from these limitations the use of PPE still provides certain benefits to the industry and is an important measure to reduce, or at least prevent th e level of accidents on construction sites. PPE enables workers to have immediate protection to allow a job to continue in an mite it can be the only practicable way of effecting rescue or shutting down plant and it can be used to carry out work in confined spaces where alternatives are impracticable (Hughes Ferrett, 2007).The Construction word form Plan The Health and Safety FileThe Construction Phase Plan and The Health and Safety File which were introduced by the CDM regulations both help to reduce accidents and injuries on construction sites. They have been discussed previously in Chapter 1, function 7.2 in greater detail on the positive impacts they have on the construction industry.It is the opinion of the author that these measures to reduce accidents on construction sites should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are still effective and to introduce new improvements to these measures. In the event of a serious accident or concomitant occurring on a construct ion site, then an immediate review of the risk control measures in place should be carried out to identify the problem and why it occurred.Cost of implementation of the CDM regulations 2007The HSC has claimed that the CDM regulations are likely to save the construction industry 2.7 billion, through trim down bureaucracy and a further benefit to the construction industry by up to 3.2 billion by reduced loss of working time (Joyce, 2007), this however is likely to be the beat case scenario, the HSC concluded that in the worst case scenario the introduction of the CDM regulations 2007 could make up the construction industry 660 million (Joyce, 2007).The monetary cost of implementing these measures of prevention through the CDM regulations may be regarded as costly to the industry however it is the authors opinion the benefit of implementing theses regulations successfully and reducing the number of fatalities and accidents on construction sites is a small price to pay as it benefit s the industry as a whole by the factors outlined below. This view is supported by Robert E McKee who commented that Safety is, without doubt, the most crucial investment we can make, And the question is not what it costs us, but what it saves.4.6 Benefits of accident preventionThe measures identified in section 4.1 above highlight the main factors that can assist in preventing accidents and fatalities on construction sites. The implementations of measures to prevent accidents are extremely worthwhile as they provide a number of benefits to the construction industry which are discussed below.6.6.1 Cost in human sufferingThe cost in human suffering, physical botheration and hardship resulting from death and disability is impossible to quantify (Holt, 2001). The accident and fatality statistics analyzed in chapter 3 provide the author with background knowledge that there are an alarming amount of accidents and fatalities within the construction industry each year. This is likely to h ave had a significant impact on the lives of workers and their families causing a considerable amount of disruption. This is one of the major reasons why these statistics need to be reduced and try to achieve a safer construction industry.6.6.2 MoralMoral reasons stem from a developing public awareness that something needs to be done to raise the quality of life within the construction industry (Holt, 2001). It is becoming increasingly evident that the safety of workers within the construction industry is being put at risks for reasons such as potential increased profits. It is of the authors opinion that this is morally awry(p) and should be prevented which in turn will benefit the construction industry as a result of fewer accidents. In order to increase workers moral within the industry (Holt, 2001) workers should be actively involved in accident prevention programmes, this is likely to increase the productivity of work and prevent weakened worker moral through a reduction in ac cidents on site.6.6.3 LegalLegal reasons are contained in state law, which enlarge steps to be taken and objectives to be met, and which carries the threat of prosecution or other enforcement action as a consequence of failure to honour (Holt, 2001). The prevention of fatalities is likely to reduce legal action faced by organizations which in turn is likely to reduce cost in terms of money and adverse publicity as there will be a reduction in the number of workers able to gain compensation.6.6.4 pecuniaryThe benefit of accident prevention is likely to have a significant impact on financial reasons which will ensure the continuing financial health of a business and avoid the costs associated with accidents (Holt, 2001). These costs can be both direct cost such as deed delays which include the cost of compensation as well as substantiating costs such as management time spent on investigations and fines.Conclusion of chapterThe analysis of measures to reduce accident and fatalitie s on construction sites along with the benefits that these measures bring, highlight the fact that a good safety record and catalogue safety management systems can more than repay the time spent of achieving it. A reduction in accidents and fatalities through increased measures to prevent them will significantly reduce the problems identified in section 6.6 and therefore significantly benefit the construction industry as a whole. This chapter highlights many control systems and mechanisms that are in place to decrease the chances of accident and injuries within the construction industry, howeverChapter Four MethodologyThis chapter discusses the different methodological approaches for this study and expands on the outline methodological analysis highlighted in chapter 1. Detailed accounts of the specific research strategies are also examined, highlighting the methods used to analyze and interpret the data collected. each question chosen for the questionnaire will be examined statin g why it was chosen, what it hoped to achieve, and how it relates to the research aim and objectives. Finally, the location of the study and methodological restrictions are also considered.Approachseveral(prenominal) methodologies to assess the effectiveness, success and problems of CDM regulations have been used in the past, notably examine groups, influence network models, case studies and statistical analysis (reference). The case study approach analyses a very small number of duty bearers using semi-structured surveys, and over a number of periods (e.g. quote people and times). Although this methodology can be detailed, results can be extremely unrepresentative.Resultantly, the sample group methodology was chosen for this study, which follows the same layout, but with a much larger number of duty holders. Academics such as (reference) and (reference) have used this type of methodology in the past. The sample group methodology was most appropriate for this study, as data was ne eded from multiple different duty holders in order to make comparisons and generalizations. Using influence network models was deemed less appropriate than a sample technique as this tended to concentrate on influences for poor health and safety rather than the effectiveness of the CDM Regulations 2007.Criteria for evaluating effectivenessIn order to gain useful information it was important to understand what the outcome would be compared to (Moore, 2000), therefore, at this stage the ultimate outcome for measuring the effectiveness of the rewrite CDM regulations would be to measure the impact they have had on accident statistics on construction sites.This measure however takes a long period of time for changes to lucid themselves and enable a comparison to that of the CDM regulations 1994. As the introduction of the CDM regulations 2007 only came into force in April 2007, a number of different measures have been implemented throughout this study in order to measure the early effe ctiveness of the new CDM regulations. Table 7.1 below shows the steps taken with the required source of raise to indicate that an early impact has been made.Effectiveness means the capability of producing an effect (www.wikepidia.org) and in this case, it can be assumed that with reference to this study the intend effect of the CDM regulations is to reduce accident statistics on construction sites.Table 7.1 collision outcome of the revised CDM RegulationsStepOutcome measureIndicative order of outcome1 business holder awareness that CDM regulations have been revisedEvents and articles to launch the revised CDM Regulations2Duty holder obtains information about revised CDM RegulationsSales and downloads of the revised CDM regulations and guidance material3Duty holder acts internally on contents of revised CDM regulationsDuty holder acknowledges clarity in the regulations and better known what is expected of them4Improvements in management and design practice appearPositive duty hold er views on the improved flexibility in the fit of the revised CDM regulations to a wide range of contractual arrangements. amend information flow including from the clients.Improved competence assessments.Improved communication, cooperation and coordination between duty holders.Improved health and safety files.Reduced bureaucracy and paperwork.Clients committed to ensuring the safe management of projects.Coordinators are perceived as adding value.5Improvements in risk management through good design apparent in specifications and drawings.More on-site hazards are eliminated and thence appear less frequently on drawings / specifications.More resid