1

Chapter I

Introduction

Rationale
Due to the Build Build Build Program under Duterte Administration, there is an

increase in construction, redevelopment, and infrastructure projects in the Philippines

(Zoleta, 2018); one of which is the road construction projects, such as widening and

reconstruction. With the increase of road construction projects, several road

construction sites are exposed to the general public, thus compromising the safety and

health of the people. This will increase the likelihood of accidents and casualties that will

harm both the people working in the project and the general public (Dullana, 2015).

In order to reduce the vulnerability of the people involved and the general public

affected by the road construction sites, proper safety mitigation and control should be

instituted. Hence the study of identifying hazards and risks, and efficiency of mitigation

through risk assessment will help in decreasing the vulnerability and likelihood of

casualties.

The purpose of this study is to identify the hazards and risks that will most likely

compromise the safety of the people within the vicinity of the road construction site.
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The Problem

Statement of the Problem

With the surge of road improvement projects, there are several issues that arise

and threaten the safety of the people. This study aims to identify the hazards and risks

in road construction sites that may harm the people through risk assessment. The

following are the specific questions:

1. What are the hazards and risks in road construction sites?

2. How efficient are the mitigation for the identified hazards?

3. What are the casualties caused by the identified hazards?

Statement of Objectives

This study aims to:

a. identify and asses the hazards and risks in a road construction site,

b. know the efficiency of mitigation for the identified hazard;

c. determine if there are casualties caused by the identified hazards.

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Statement of Hypotheses

Alternative Hypotheses:

a. There are hazards and risks in a road construction site.

b. The mitigation is efficient to reduce the risk.

c. There are casualties caused by the identified hazards.

Null Hypotheses

a. There are no hazards and risks in a road construction site.

b. The mitigation is not efficient to reduce the risk.

c. There are no casualties caused by the identified hazards.

Significance of the study

The study involves the concerns of the general public. The findings of this study

will provide information regarding to the hazards, risks, and mitigation of the identified

road construction sites in Cebu. It gives awareness to the general public of the

mitigation plan of the hazards that could lead to potential harm. In addition, this will

provide as a reference for improvement of the road construction, especially in the

mitigation plans, to the project contactors.

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Definition of Terms

Environmental Hazards – factors that have the potential to cause harm to its

surrounding area.

Physical Hazards – type of environmental hazards that will physically harm the

people.

Safety Evaluator – a person who is credited to evaluate and assess the safety

procedures of a project.
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Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Hazard is a “source of potential harm or adverse damage or effect” (Canadian

Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2017, para. 1). It is also defined as a danger

or risk. Many sources often similarly describe hazards and risk. In most cases, these two

words are used interchangeably. Although closely related, hazards and risk are different

from one another. Hazard is considered as the source of the risk, whereas, risk is defined

as “the likelihood of that a person may be harmed or suffered adverse effects” (Hazard

and Risk, para. 2). In otherwords, risk is most likely a specific variable, factors, or event

that would likely happen when a person is exposed in that certain hazard.

In addition, it could also be called as environmental hazards, which refers to the

events, state, or things that threaten the safety of the surrounding area or environment

(Al-Sharaqi, 2017). This could refer to anything and everything that will disrupt the

variables in the vicinity, people, and flow of the tasks or job. Hazards are categorized

mainly into two: acute and chronic hazard (Types of Hazards, 2018, para. 2). First, acute

hazards are which that has immediate and obvious impact. These hazards are short term

but leave a serious effect or harm. Second, chronic hazards have cumulative and long-

term impact. It could leave severe and irreparable damage, such as trauma or disability.
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Moreover, hazards can be identified into six groups: physical, chemical, ergonomic,

radiation, psychological, and biological. In a study conducted by (Abdul et al., 2003, para.

1), there are two major hazards common in construction sites: physical and chemical

hazards. Physical hazards often caused injuries from equipment used such as machinery,

scaffolding, electricity, and noise, etc. Noise is considered as physical hazard since,

despite the word, it is defined as factors that can harm the body without necessarily

touching it” so long as it causes disturbance and/or effect to the people and environment

(Physical Hazards, 2018, para 1). Chemical hazards are also prominent in a construction

site (Vitharana et al., 2015, pg. 36, para. 6). Some examples are dust, fumes, gas, and

harmful chemicals, which are often difficult of avoid.

In order to secure the safety and anticipate any threats and/or risks, a risk

assessment is conducted in a workplace. SGS (n.d.), states that a risk assessment allows

any corrective measure and control to increase success of the project. In a risk

assessment, the risks and hazards are identified, mitigations are planned, and an actions

plan is implemented. It aims to reduce the harm that might befall to a certain worker or

environment. In addition, risk assessments help to create awareness of hazards and risk,

and identify who may be at risk (CCOHS, 2017, para. 4). A risk assessment can be done

in any place where hazards and threat of a risk may stem. It could be for occupational

setting, assess health and safety in an institution, or an assessment of an instrument,

materials, and paraphernalia, to give a few. It is vital to perform a risk assessment before

an activity or testing an instrument to intercept any possible errors that might occur during

operation. In some cases, risk assessment is performed during operation, especially after
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an unprecedented accident had occurred. According to Canadian Centre for Occupational

Health and Safety ( 2017, para 5), as much as possible, assessing the environment for

hazards and risks should be done frequently. Changes are inevitable in a workplace,

especially in construction sites, therefore the risks nad hazards are constantly changing.

Thus, risk assessment should be updated as they form an integral part in health and

safety management plans.

There are 5 steps to risk hazard (Seton, 2016, para. 4). First, identify the hazards.

; second, decide who might be harmed and how; third, evaluate the risks and decide on

precautions; fourth, record your findings and implement it; lastly, review your assessment

and update if necessary. Risk assessment is systematic and objective at fault, in order to

ensure the accuracy and devise an effective safety management plan. One of the vital

information needed for a risk assessment is hazard identification. Health and Safety

Services (n.d.) describes hazard identification as “the process used to evaluate if any

particular situation, item, thing, etc. that may have the potential to cause harm”. The basis

of hazard identification would be the standard procedures of basic safety partitions. In

Philippine setting, the basis would be the Guidelines for Occupation Health and Safety as

amended by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which states that “the

objective of the issuance is to protect the working man against the danger of injury,

sickness, and death, through safe and healthy working conditions” (2016).The issuance

covers the guidelines for safety environment in general, however, there were sections in

which safety in construction sites were specified. Some of which includes correct and

standard personal protective equipment (PPE), appropriate signage, etc.

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After hazard identification, a tool called risk matrix is often used in order to

determine the level of risk that the certain hazard poses and accurately prioritize the risks

(Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2017). Risk level can be presented

in different ways depending on how the data was gathered. For example, in a study

entitled “Hazards and Risk in Highway Maintenance Works”, risk level was calculated by

multiplying the frequency of hazard likelihood and frequency of the severity of hazards

(Ahmad, Mohd, Rosli, Ab Wahid, and Kamar, 2016, pg. 3, para. 3). Here is a sample

simple risk matrix that shows relationship between probability and severity (Canadian

Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2017).

The risk matrix is a suggested rating for the evaluation of the impact of the hazard.

(H) High risk is the level if which causes fatality possible to one or more individuals

however infrequent, major injury to few individuals occurring frequently, and likelihood of

long- term muscular-skeletal problems affecting significant numbers of staff. (M) Medium

risk is the level which causes major injury to one/few individuals occurring infrequently,

and likelihood of long term muscular-skeletal problems affecting significant numbers if

staff. Lastly, (L) Low risk level causes minor injury occurring infrequently to few staff.
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Once the risk level assessment has been completed, hazard control becomes vital

in safety management. Choosing the most appropriate action and treatment will help

establish a good management plan. According to Canadian Centre for Occupational

Health and Safety ( 2017), hazard controls are often group into fours categories:

elimination, engineeing controls, administrative controls,and presonal protective

equipment.

Furthermore, risk assessment is often used in any working environment, especially

those of which with high exposure to hazards and unsafe environment. According to a

study entitled “Risk Management in Road Construction Works”, stated that construction

projects are characterized by its hazardous and uncertain environment throughout the

different stages of its process. In addition, it is stated that these kinds of environment and

workplace should be properly assessed in order to guarantee the success of the project

and developments carried out by the project heads (Silva, n.d. pg. 1, para. 1).

According to an article about Build Build Build program, there will be an increase of

7.3 percent infrastructure investments for the reconstruction and building of new roads,

bridges, highways, etc (Zoleta, 2018, para. 1). One of the highlights of the program is the

reconstruction and expansion of roads, which entails the increase of road construction

projects in urban and rural areas. As such, this increases the exposure of not only the

people involved in the project, but also the general public. In fact, in year 2015, the

province of Isabela threatened to sue the Department of Public Works and Highways

(DPWH) due to the 1,406 road accidents that occurred within half a year; 44 of which

were caused by road widening projects (Dullana, 2015, para.1). All the more reason that

a risk assessment should be done in order to eliminate such accidents.

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Road construction site are increasing in Cebu and it is hazardous in nature. Hazard

and risks threatens the safety of the public within the vicinity of the site. One of the ways

to lessen the threat is to conduct a risk assessment of the hazard. However, there are

only limited assessments conducted to road construction sites. Hence, it is appropriate

and applicable to conduct a risk assessment to road construction in order to determine

the hazards, risks, and evaluate the road construction sites.

Chapter 3

Research Methodology
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Research Design

The researchers opt to use a descriptive study design for the study. The

researchers identify the hazards and risks through a set of ways in order to collect

the data. A risk assessment is conducted to the identified road construction site

through a covert structured observation.

Moreover, different angles concerning the road construction is considered

– the perception of the people and accident records. An availability sampling

method is used to gather data from the respondents. While for accident records, a

thorough inspection and analysis of contents and details is observed to provide a

sufficient result.

Research Environment

The study is conducted in public roads and highways, in which road

constructions are happening. In addition, the scope of the research is generally

north to Cebu, specifically: Tingub, Mandaue City; Tayud, Consolacion; Maslog,

Danao City; and, Macaas, Catmon.

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Figure map of the north of Cebu

Research Subject/ Participants

The subject of our research is the road construction sites. There are total of

three (3) identified road construction sites. In addition, the respondents are the

residents and the pedestrians within the vicinity of the road construction sites,

which are randomly selected, ranging from teenagers to adults. There are total of

25 respondents. Lastly, the accident records are taken from selected barangays

dating from 2018- present. The researchers analyzed the road accidents in three

(3) barangays.

Research Instruments
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In order to determine the hazards and risks in road construction, a risk

assessment is used during observation. The assessment identifies the hazards,

risks, risks level, mitigation, and people affected by the corresponding hazard.

Furthermore, an interview checklist is used to guide the researchers during

interview with a respondent. It encompasses four (4) questions, which include

questions concerning hazard identification, mitigation efficiency, and

recommendation.

Data Gathering Procedures

The data gathering procedure is done according to the following steps:

Initial Preparation

1. Collect information on different road construction projects.

2. Finalize assessment form for the observation.

3. Determine the number and target of respondents.

4. Formulate appropriate questions for the interview.

On Site Visitation

3. Secure approval from the barangay officials of the place wherein the road

construction sites are situated.

4. Consult the Safety Evaluator for road construction details and information.

5. Gather pictures of the road construction site.

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Interview

7. Prepare the finalized interview checklist and recorder.

8. Approach intended respondents and record the interview.

Analysis of Accident Records

10. Politely inquire regarding the road accident records.

11. For initial analysis, determine the entries about road accidents, specifically.

12. Take a picture or video of the identified entries of road accidents for further

analysis.

13. After collecting all entries, proceed to analyze and examine the entries to

determine the road accidents caused by road construction sites.

Treatment of Data/ Data Analysis

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After gathering all data, it will be collated and coded. In addition, the researchers

will use statistical method to interpret the data. The data is interpreted through probability

sampling and frequency. Through these methods, the researchers are able to answer the

objectives and problems of the study.

Chapter 4
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Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data

In this chapter, the data gathered in 4 selected road constructions through observation,

interview, and content analysis are collated and interpreted. The data analyzed are used

to answer the problems and objectives if this study which are identifying the hazards and

risks, determining the efficiency of the mitigation, the efficiency of mitigation, and

casualties caused by the mitigation.

Table 1.2 Hazards and Risk Assessment

Numb Hazard Risk Risk Mitigation Revi

-er (#) rating sed
risk
rati
ng

1 Perforated Slippery road for the driving L Inform the public, L

concrete public (i.e. two wheeled motorist about the
pavements vehicle) danger through
warning signs.
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2 Excavation Uneven road will lead to H Provide barricade or L

falling cordon off the
Working equipment during excavated area.
excavation (i.e. dumbtruck, Provide traffic
backhoe) personnel to handle
traffic.
Provide sufficient
lighting at nighttime.
Provide warning
signage informing
about the excavation.
3 Unkempt steel Tripping off H Safe keep the steel L
forms Rapturing the vehicle tires. forms outside the
roadway.
Cordon off with
caution tapes.

4 Stockpiled Vehicles ramming off stock H Remove the stock pile L

Concrete / piled concrete debris. as soon as possible.
Asphalt Debris Secure the stockpiled
area with barrier.
Provide adequate/
sufficient lighting at
night time.
Provide warming signs
before and after the
stock pile debris.
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5 Construction Vehicles ramming off H If possible, remove L

Equipment towards the stationary the equipment from
equipment the traffic and park
outside the roadway.
Secure or cordon off
the area from the
pedestrians.
Provide signage.
Provide lighting at
night time.
6 Construction Falling in the gaps M Fill the gaps with any L
gaps filling materials (e.g.
earth/soil, sand,
gravel)
77 Cordon off the area.
7 Protruding Tripping off M Cordon off the area. L
Steel bars Can cause injury. H Cover it with wood/ L
plywood.

Note: Risk Level: (H) High level – causes fatality, injury, and likelihood of long term problems. (M) Medium level – injury, and likelihood of
long term problems. (L) Low level – minor injuries. *For further explanation refer to page 9.

The assessment in table 1.2 is the hazards and risks assessed by the

researchers with the consultation of the safety practitioner. There are 7 assessed

hazards in the road construction site. Four (4) of which are deemed high risk level, one

(1) under low level risk, one (1) under the medium level risk, and one (1) hazard that is

considered a medium or high level risk, depending on the severity of the implications of

the hazards. In addition, once the hazard is mitigated, it could reduce to a low risk level.

Moreover, some of the identified hazards have similar mitigation (refer to table 2).
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Location

Hazard Catmon Danao Tingub

Perforated none None

concrete

pavements

Excavation

Unkempt None

steel forms

Stockpiled

concrete

Construction

equipment
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Construction

gaps

Protruding None

steel bars

Table 1.1 Hazards in the road construction sites

The listed hazards in the first column are the assessed hazards that are evident

in the locations. The province of Catmon has shown to be dangerous for having most of

the hazards. Meanwhile, the road construction hazards in Maslog, Danao City is one

less than the province of Catmon. Lastly, the road construction in Tingub, Mandaue City

lacks three of the listed hazards. This indicates that among the three locations, the road

construction in Brgy. Tingub, Mandaue City is the least hazardous. Furthermore, there

are hazards that are not evident to other road construction sites.
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80.00%

70.00%

60.00%
Warning Signage
50.00%
Barricade /Codon

40.00% Traffic Personnel

Lighting at Night
30.00%
Filling gaps
20.00% Removal of Hazard

10.00%

0.00%
Mitigation of the Hazard

Table 2.1 Mitigation of hazard in percentage

The table shows that the barricade / cordon is the highest used mitigation of the

hazard for 71.43% of the hazards use it to mitigate the hazards and risks; second is the

warning signage is use in 57.14% of the hazards; third is the lighting at night which is

use to mitigate 42.86% of the hazards; fourth is the removal of hazard which mitigates

28.57% of the hazard; and lastly, the traffic personnel and removal of hazards mitigates

14.29% of the identifies hazards.

The widely used mitigation is the barricade or cordon of the hazard, followed by

warning signage, lighting at night, removal of hazard, and traffic personnel and filling of

gaps. There are mitigation of the hazards that are used to warn the pedestrians and

driving public of the hazard, such as warning signage and lighting at night. There are

also mitigation, like barricade / cordon and traffic personnel, that are used to guide the

pedestrians and driving personnel away from the hazard. Lastly, mitigation, such as
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removal of hazard and filling of gaps, are used to completely or attempt to lessen the

exposure of the hazard to the pedestrians and driving public.

Table 3 Road Accidents

Location Number of Event / Effects Connected Connected

Accidents Caused Hazard Mitigation
Caused by
Road
Construction
Tayud, 1 A motorist Minor Perforated Warning
Consolacion got into an Injuries concrete, signage
accident in excavation,
the sidewalk stockpiled
of the road concrete/
construction. asphalt
debris, and
construction
equipment.
Tingub, No recorded -------- ------- -------- --------
Mandaue accident in
City connection
with road
construction
site
Maslog, No recorded -------- ------- -------- --------
Danao City accident in
connection
with road
construction
site
Macaas, 1 Vehicle A of Damage Perforated Warning
Catmon the accident of concrete, signage
applied a full property excavation,
brake due to stockpiled
the said concrete/
road was asphalt
under debris, and
construction
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and construction
suddenly hit equipment.
and bumped
by the tailing
of Vehicle B.

Table 3 shows the analyzed data through content analysis of the road accident

records. There are 2 recorded accidents that is connected to the road construction sites,

one from each of Tayud, Consolacion and Macaas, Catmon. Meanwhile, there is no

recorded accident in Maslog, Danao City and Tingub, Mandaue City. The 2 analyzed

records shows similarity in the connected hazard and mitigation. Both recorded accidents

are connected to suggestively perforated concrete, excavation, stockpiled concrete/

asphalt debris, and construction equipment since it is not specified in the records.

However, the cause of the accident is due to the insufficient/ lack thereof of warning

signage. The accidents had caused damage of property and minor injuries.

In addition, from the interviewed respondents, many have stated that there are

accidents that occurred in the road construction. According to respondents A (coded

name of the respondents), there are cases in which motorist have fallen into the

excavated road. In addition, respondent B hinted that a motorist went straight into the

road construction because it wasn’t finished.

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Chapter 5

Summary of Findings, Conclusion, and Recommendation

Summary of Findings

Base from the data gathered, the following are the findings of the study:

 There are 7 hazards that can be observed in road construction, namely; perforated
concrete pavements, excavation, unkempt steel forms, stockpiled concrete/

asphalt debris, construction equipment, construction gaps, and protruding steel

bars.

 Base on the analyzed accident records, only the warning signage was deemed
inefficient because there were reported accidents concerning its hazard. There

were no reported accidents that involve the hazard mitigated by removal of hazard,

filling of gaps, barricade / cordon, traffic personnel, and lighting at night.

 The casualties caused by the accidents were minor injury and damage of
properties. The accident that involved the motorist resulted to minor injuries

towards the driver. Moreover, the accident involving the two vehicles resulted in

damage of the vehicle.

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Conclusion

 Base from the gathered data, hazards in road construction has high risk level, such
as excavations, unkempt steel forms, stockpiled concrete/ asphalt debris, among

others. However, one properly mitigated, it could reduce the risk level.

 The mitigation identified are warning signage, barricade/ cordon, traffic personnel,
lighting at night, filling gaps, removal of hazard. The frequently used mitigation is

the barricade/ cordon, warning signage, then lighting at night, removal of hazards,

and lastly, filling gaps and traffic personnel.

 The most of the mitigations are efficient and reduce risk from the hazard.

 Although it is an extremely hazardous workplace and environment, there are less

than expected reported accidents or casualties caused by road construction sites.

Recommendation

The researchers recommend this study to the project contractors so that there

could be actions done to lessen the hazards in the road constructions sites. In addition,

the project contractors are the ones highly responsible for the construction site.

This study is also recommended to other researchers to explore different angles

concerning road construction sites. The researchers suggest conducting another study
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focusing on south cities and provinces of Cebu as the scope of the research. It is

discovered that there are more road construction occurring in the South of Ce
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APPENDICES
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Appendix A
Transmittal Letter
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32
33
34
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Appendix B
Research Instruments
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37
38
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Appendix C
Related Literature
Articles
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Appendix D
Documentary
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Appendix E
Liquidation of Expenses
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Things Expenses

Paper 30

Print 78

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