Safety in Construction

Current
Contd.

Scenario
One out of every five persons
.
employed in construction
received injuries annually
The frequency of accidents is 6 to
8 times higher during the first 6-8
months of employment.
contd

A majority of persons injured were

unskilled workers in the age group 20-30
years employed with sub contractors

Working at height was the most hazardous

operation at construction sites.
 Why Hazards in Construction
1. Worksites are Constantly Changing
2. Several Sub contractors performing
different types of work in close proximity
to each other
3. Some of the Workers not familiar with the
Hazards involved that are not part of their
normal job
4.Work platforms, Scaffolds, Equipments etc
are regularly being moved/assembled/
disassembled or modified. Thus new
hazards are emerging.

5.Construction workers frequently change

jobs and employers. They are not trained on
new jobs
6. The work is often seasonal and sense of
urgency to quickly complete the jobs.

7.Construction Safety Rules are not widely

known to the contractors and also lack of
enforcement.
 Why do Accidents occur at
Construction sites
1. Actual Physical Hazards
2. Environmental Hazards
3. Human factors
4. Lack of or poorly Designed Safety Standards
5. Failure to communicate
 Major Legislations relating to
Safety & Health of
Construction Workers:

1. Building and Other Construction Workers
(Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Act, 1996
2. Building and Other Construction Workers
(Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Central Rules, 1998
Contd..

Major provisions under the Building and Other

Construction Workers (Regulation of
Employment and Conditions of Service) Act,
1996 and the Rules there under are: -

Registration of establishments and building

workers
Constitution of State Welfare Boards
Contd..

Constitution of Building and other

Construction Workers Welfare Fund
Constitution of Safety Committee
Appointment of Safety Officers
Responsibilities and duties of
employers, architects, project engineers
and designers, building workers etc.
Contd..

Provision of welfare facilities

General provisions regarding safety, health and
welfare facilities
Construction, installation, maintenance and
periodic testing and examination of certain
construction equipment such as lifting
appliances and gears, transport and earth moving
equipment, pressure equipment, scaffolds,
power shovels and excavators, pressure
equipment, etc.
Contd..

Provision relating to general construction

operations such as concrete work, work on
or adjacent to water, excavation and
tunneling works, construction repair and
maintenance of steep roof, structural frame
and form work, stacking and un stacking,
work in cofferdams and caissons, handling
of explosives, piling
Contd..

Periodical medical examination of construction workers

Reporting of accidents, dangerous occurrences and
occupational diseases
Provision of medical facilities
Accident prevention measures
in
construction
1. Contractor prepares all construction
sites must have safety plan before
carrying out construction works. The
2. The construction owner or principle
contractor needs to qualify the contractors/
sub-contractors and conduct pre-
construction conference to deal with the
hazards. Planning must done eliminate the
un safe conditions.
3. As the working at height was the most
hazardous activity most of the fatal accidents due
to fall from height can be prevented if employers
provided the right equipment and train employees
to use it properly. Employers must also consider
whether the existing structures providing a safe
workplace if not an extra working platform for
example scaffolding or cradle may be needed.
4. The risk of object falling can be
prevented if the working platforms are kept
clean of loose items that could be
accidentally kicked off. Other barriers such
as safety nets can be used to prevent objects
falling from working platforms.
5. Contractor and their sub agencies can
prevent excavations collapses by supporting
their sites with sheeting or by using support
system. A competent person who fully
understands the dangers should inspect the
excavations at the start of the each shift.
6. Electrical safety can be ensured if all
employees on construction sites are aware
of the importance of safety procedures and
if they immediately report any fault and
stop using tools or cables as soon as they
spot any sign of damage.
7. The employers should carry out a risk
assessment of all transport activity
including loading and unloading and
introduce control measures.
8. Although control measures that
employers introduce should minimize the
kind of risks outlined, employer may still
found that there is a remaining risk of
exposure. In this circumstances employer
should issue the required personal
protective equipment although this should
only be considered as a last resort measure.
9. Education and training of the personal
engineers, managers, supervisors and
workers in safety is essential if the
construction is to become a safe activity.
The contractor should organise the need
based training programmes to these
employees at regular intervals.
10. Safety audit and regular inspections
will help in identifying the hazardous
existing in the activities being carried out at
different phases. These audits and
inspections should be conducted by
professional agencies and team of persons
from time to time and their
recommendations should be implemented.
11. Participative Management in safety will not
only help in improving safe working place but also
create enthusiasm among the employees working at
various levels to control accidents. Safety committees
should be formed at construction sites and regular
meetings should be conducted. The recommendations
of the committee should be considered for
implementation and these recommendations to be
reviewed in the next meetings.
12. Whatever the hazard, the aim remains
the same to avoid the hazard altogether
or, if this is not reasonably practicable,
to assess the risks and introduce the
effective control measures.
THANK YOU