Safety, health and working environment of Construction Projects

 Construction Industry: One of the most hazardous industry

 Every year considerable number of on construction workers are injured (serious,
fatal)
 HSE record of construction is the second worst (Egan Report, Safety Statistics
Bulletin, 1998)
 Accidents account for 4 to 6 percent of the total project costs
 95% of all workplace accidents are caused by unsafe acts, most of which are
man failures.
 Accidents occurring in India is very high compared to the foreign countries
 Lack of strong planning, effective implementation and continual training
contribute to high accidents

Construction Projects include all construction activities like:

 Erection of buildings
 Fittings and installation work
 Assembly and disassembly of prefabricated elements
 Demolition, alteration and repairs
 Redevelopment and maintenance
 General construction activities
 Excavation
 blasting and other earth work
 Other work carried out in connection with construction work.

Major risk areas in construction are:

 Lifting machinery (Collapse, overturning or failure of any load bearing parts)

 Work where risk of landslides, sinking in mud or being injured by falls or falling
objects,
 Work that puts people at risk from chemical or biological substances which may
involve a strain on the safety, health and working environment
 Work near high voltage power lines, short circuiting of electrical appliances
 Work exposing workers to the risk of drowning
 Work in wells, underground earthworks and tunnels
 Work involving use of diving equipment
 Working with closed vessel under pressure
 Work in caissons with a compressed-air atmosphere
 Work involving the use of explosives (unintentional explosion, misfire, collapse of
adjoining area, projection of material beyond boundary)
 Work involving the assembly or disassembly of heavy prefabricated element
 Working with demolition (sudden collapse)
 Working at height (Painting, pestering, erection of truss, scaffolding erecting etc)
HSE Laws in India

HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS ACT (1999)

The management of health and safety at work regulations 1999 were made under the Health and
Safety at Work Act 1974.This enforces to follow the following parameters at worksite to reduce
the possibility of accident occurrence.

Risk Assessment: All employers and self-employed persons are required to assess the risks to
both their own employees and others arising out of their undertakings. Then to identify the
measures they need to take to comply with the relevant statutory provisions. Such assessments
must be reviewed as necessary, and where thereis five or more employee’s significant findings
must be recorded.

Health and Safety Arrangements: Every employer must make arrangements for the effective
planning, organization, control; monitoring and review of the measures previously established as
necessary and record the arrangements if five or more people are employed. This may not be a
particular exercise if the risks are well known and the means of
dealing with them are well established.

Health and Safety Assistance: Every employer must have access to one or more persons to
assist him to carry out the measures identified. The traditional role of the safety officer in
contracting organizations may become a wider ranging
professional role and may design organizations will need their own specialist in this field.

The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and

Conditions of Service) Act, 1996

Handbook on Construction Safety Practices-2001 (SP 70 from BIS)

This Handbook on Construction Safety Practices has been prepared for site engineers, project
managers and engineers-in-charge of buildings and civil works projects.

Other IS Codes for Civil Engineering Construction

IS Code for Personal Protection
IS: 1179-1967 Equipment for eye and face protection
during welding
IS: 4770-1991 Rubber gloves for electrical purposes
IS: 8519-1977 Guide for selection of industrial safety
equipment for body protection
IS: 1224-1985 Safety shoes
IS: 2925-1984 Safety helmets
IS: 8940-1978 Code of practice for maintenance and care
of industrial safety

equipment eye and face protection

IS: 8990-1978 Code of practice for maintenance and care
of industrial safety

clothing
IS: 10667-1983 Guide for selection of industrial safety for
protection of foot and leg
IS: 816-1969 Code of practice for safety and health
requirements in electric

and gas welding and cutting operations

EU Legislation

Level 1 – EU Directive
Set a minimum standard for legislation at EU level with modes of implementation
framework at the discretion of national governments
Directive 89/654/ECC- Work place directive – Health and Safety requirements

Level -2 Regulations

Through parliamentary legislation by respective countries (with in EU directive)

Eg:The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994

Level -3 Decisions
Binding deliberations of European court of Justice

Level 4- Recommendations
Opinion/Recommendations of Institutions/Bodies (Advisory)

Major HSE Laws in UK

1. The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) – Duties of Employer and Employees

2. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Place (1992) – Revised 1999
(Plan, organize, Monitor, control and review of safety provisions)

3. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 – Comprehensive

Safety Plan by Contractor and ensured by Client Engineer covering design and
operation phase)
 Safety, health and working environment matters during the preparation stage
It is the duty of the project management team to ensure safe and working conditions

HS Plan

Pre-tender HS Plan (Prepared by client Engineer- Bidders do tender pricing based on

pre-tender HS Plan)

Construction HS Plan (Prepared by Principal Contractor who won the contract)

Contracting HSMS Company

Company HS Manual
(Corporate)

Policy, Risk Assessment, Health & Safety System,

Planning, Auditing Management Procedure,
Working instruction

Contracting
Company Project HS
(Project Plan
organization
)
Feed back

HS Implementation at
Input to HS file Site
Draw up plan ensuring totally satisfactory working environment for the construction site
including specific measures which may involve particular risk to life and health. The plan
for safety, health and working environment should refer to regulations and procedures
relevant for different tasks.

The main sections of such a plan may, for example, contain:

 Relevant data for the construction site’s organization (responsibility and
distribution of tasks).
 A drawing showing the physical arrangement of the construction site, with
particular emphasis on the factors mentioned in section 13 of the Regulations,
e.g. construction cleanliness and materials handling).
 A schedule showing in detail where and when the different tasks are to be carried
out, and how much time has been allocated to each of them.
 Information on where and when the various employers and self-employed
persons are at work on the construction site, and on how much time has been
allocated to them
 Information on where and during what periods hazardous work will take place
 Description of dangerous tasks and how they shall be carried out.
 Descriptions of how factors covered by the Regulations concerning workplaces
and work premises shall be organized and solved (e.g. personnel rooms, access
and transport roads, lighting).
 Requirements regarding the contractors that are to carry out construction work.
 Information routines.
 Routines for dealing with deviation.

When executing a project, special attention shall be paid to the following considerations:

 Ensuring good order and fully satisfactory conditions of cleanliness at the

construction site
 Placement of work stations with regard to access and roads or areas for passage
or movement
 Conditions under which various materials are handled
 Maintenance, pre-commissioning checks, and checks on installations and
equipment with a view to correction of faults that may affect the workers’ safety,
health and working environment,
 Demarcation and laying out of areas for storage and conservation of various
materials, particularly hazardous materials or substances,
 Conditions regarding removal of hazardous materials used,
 Storage and disposal or removal of waste and scrap,
 Adaptation, on the basis of progress made, of the actual period to be allocated
for the various types of work or stages of work,
 Cooperation between employers and self-employed persons, and
  Coordination of the project with other activities on or in the vicinity of the
construction site.

Neglect will result in -Human Suffering

-Costs
-Loss of Production
-Loss of Materials
-Damage to Materials and Plant
-Prosecution
-Loss of Reputation
-Legal Costs
- Increased Insurance Premiums

A Culture of Safety should be fostered from commencement of the Project with the work
force. This can be done by:
 Induction at Commencement of the Work .
 Tool Box Talks on General Safety Awareness, on site hazards, risks etc. – on a
weekly basis.
 Interactive Videos on safety.
 Distribution of a Company Safety Booklet with Rules and Guidelines and proof of
acceptance.

Others means

 Selecting and experienced work force

 Achieve involvement of top management
 Safety Audits by Internal Site Staff weekly
 Safety Audits by External Staff – Randomly
 Internal Audits should be carried out by all staff members on a rota basis.
 Site Safety Weekly Competitions – Rewards for exemplary practice by a worker
on a weekly basis.
 Published Safety Policy for all to observe
 Safety File.

Barricades
The use of barricades and signs is an important part of any job. Barricades should act
as physical barriers, preventing contact by passers-by with the hazards created by
construction or maintenance activities, while signs should be used to direct traffic, both
vehicular and pedestrian, safely through or around the work site.

Barricades are recommended at:

 Wherever construction debris is dropped without the use of an enclosed chute.
  Areas with temporary wiring operating at more than 600 volts.
 Work areas for electrical equipment with exposed, energized parts.
 The swing radius of the rotating superstructure of cranes or other equipment.
 Wherever equipment is left unattended near a roadway at night.
 Excavations.
 Areas used for the preparation of explosive charges or blasting operations.
 Street openings, such as manholes.
 Construction areas in energized electrical substations.

Excavation
Excavating is one of the most hazardous jobs in the construction industry. Most
excavation accidents are the result of cave-ins or collapsing excavation walls. There are,
however, a number of procedures and protective systems designed to protect workers
in or around an excavation.

Prior to excavation, the location of underground installations (e.g., sewer, telephone,

electrical, fuel, natural gas, water and other lines, and underground tanks) must be
identified and marked out.

A daily inspection of the excavation, adjacent areas for identifying existing and
predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions that are hazardous to
employees.

Sloping of the excavation walls must be adequate for the type of soil.

Ramps, runways, ladders, or stairs used as access must be within reach of a work area
if the trench is greater than four feet deep.

Any material or equipment that could fall or roll into an excavation must be placed at
least two (2) feet from the edge of the excavation

A warning system for pedestrian and vehicular traffic must be in place around all
excavations

Adequate protection from hazards associated with water accumulation must be in place
before working in excavations

Scaffolding
The footing of scaffolding must be sound and rigid, capable of supporting the weight.
Any damaged or weakened component of a scaffold must be repaired or replaced
immediately
Cross-braces of the proper length must be used to ensure that the scaffold will remain
plumb and rigid
Scaffolds must be erected, dismantled, or moved only by properly trained workers
Environment
Hazardous chemicals or materials are disposed as per the disposal regulations
Oil, cleaning fluids, fuel, solvents, biocides, herbicides, etc. In addition, drains not
connected and disposed to the sanitary sewer system
All necessary precautions should be taken to control or contain fugitive emissions from
the job site,

The assessment of safety provisions of a construction project site can be carried

out by evaluation of following issues

1. Extent of safety provisions related to site conditions of following aspects

 Overall site layout (Access, Traffic routes/control, Confined space,

Security)
 Control of falling objects
 Work at height
 Excavation
 Site housekeeping
 Sanitary and welfare facilities
 Lifting appliance and lifting operations
 Use of machinery
 Electricity
 Scaffolding safety
 Use of load shifting machinery
 Use of dangerous substances and chemicals
 Fire preventive measures
 Manual handling operations
 Personal protective equipment
 First aid facilities

2. Adequacy of Safety Management System available and

implemented in project organization with respect to:

 Safety policy
 Safety organization
 Safety committee
 Safety training
 Safety promotion
 In-house safety rules
 Evaluation of job hazards
 Personal protective equipment programme
 Emergency preparedness
 Occupational health assurance programme
 Evaluation, selection and monitoring of sub-contractors
 Accident control and hazards elimination programme
 Inspection programme for hazardous conditions
 Investigation of accidents and incidents
 Review of the safety management syste