Occupational Health and Safety in Construction Industry - Coursework Example

Occupational Health and Safety in Construction Industry (Student Name) (Course No.) (Lecturer) (University) (Date) Occupational Health and Safety in Construction Industry Introduction Most accidents within the construction industry occur due to planning, inadequate organization, and poor coordination within the construction sites. As per the study undertaken by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, within the European Union, revealed that most construction works often contribute to most serious accidents within the places of work. An effective firm level Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) policies and practices often play critical role in ensuring reduction in the number of deaths, lost days, and injuries among the construction workers. OHS within the construction and building industry is important considering the very high risk and increasing number of people succumbing to fatal injuries associated with the hazards within their workplace (Health and Safety Executive, 2016). Considering the profitability of the construction sector, more firms are entering the sector but skipping the simple points concerning personal safety within the workplace. Nonetheless, the construction companies do not understand the OHS manual, which is vital and part of the workers operating with the sector. Inadequate or less effective OHS might produce dire consequences in the future if the worker succumbs to injuries. The physical nature of the construction processes often display the distinguished image of the industry and poses different safety challenges. It is from such background that the paper aims at exploring the OHS procedures implemented during the constructions and procedures adopted upon the completion of construction work. Besides, construction works often present several OHS challenges during and after the construction. OHS Procedures implemented during and after construction Although the construction industry is highly profitable, it possesses serious environmental and occupation health hazards, which require effective and efficient mitigation measures. Upon identification of the potential occupational hazards, construction firms need to establish various methods of preventing and controlling negative effects. Therefore, it is critical to ensure compliance with the OSHA Act and the environmental management systems (EMS) to ensure protection of the workers and environmental conditions. Moreover, the construction companies need to review continually their work environment and work practices to control or prevent the workplace hazards. The common methods used in preventing and controlling the construction hazards include regular and thorough maintenance of the equipment, ensuring that hazard correction procedures in place, and ensuring that both workers and construction managers properly understand how to use and maintain the personal protective equipment (PPEs) (Hudson, 2003, 827). Ensuring the safety of the workers and quality environmental condition is not only the role of construction managers but also the workers to ensure effectiveness, efficiency, and proper compliance with the established regulations. Moreover, for effectiveness, other companies make sure that every person understands and follows the safe work procedures. Traffic Management Within the construction sector, an effective traffic management system is important on the sites. Such management assist the workers from being hit by the turning, slowing, and reversing vehicles. Where appropriate, the construction managers could use the vision aids and zero tail swing machines. The law requires the construction industries to organize their sites so that the vehicles and pedestrians using similar routes could move around safely. Managing the construction site vehicle incidents is critical and needs to be prevented through effective management of transport operations throughout the construction process. The key issues while dealing with traffic management on site include keeping the pedestrians and the vehicles apart, minimizing the movements of the vehicle, manage the people on site and turning vehicles, improve visibility, and proper display of the signs and instructions (Health and Safety Executive, 2016). Most construction transport accidents often result from the inadequate separation of separation of the pedestrians and vehicles, which is avoidable through careful planning especially on the design stage and controlling the operations of the vehicle during construction work. The actions that would keep the pedestrians and the vehicles apart include provision of clear and separate entrances and exits, walkways for the pedestrians; areas where the walkways cross the roadways. The construction sites need to provide crossings, and ensuring adequate visibility of both the roads and walkways by the drivers (Health and Safety Executive, 2016). Moreover, construction managers need to prevent any form of obstruction to prevent the pedestrians from using the vehicles’ routes and installation of the barriers between the roadways and the walkways. Protection To minimize the negative impacts associated with poor compliance with occupational health and safety, construction managers need to ensure adequate protection measures. Such measures need to manage construction sites across defined boundaries and steps of excluding the unauthorized people. While the number of people killed or injured within the construction sites reduced significantly, there is no room for the existence of the complacency. Moreover, increased accessibility to the construction sites by the unauthorized personnel is the major reason behind increased increasing occupational hazards (Hudson, 2003, 830). Other members of the susceptible to injuries through the materials and tools falling outside the boundary of the construction site, falling into the trenches, and being stuck by the moving plants and vehicles. Therefore, it is critical that constructors have clear information on the project boundaries, adjacent land use, accessibility, and measures of excluding unauthorized people. The construction managers could protect the workers through effective management of the sites. Therefore, it is critical to define the site boundaries physically and preferably through suitable fencing which reflect the nature of the sites and its environments. Determination of the boundary is important in managing the public risk and it requires planning on the form of perimeter, provision, and maintenance of fencing. Critical factors to consider are the nature and type of the construction, the nature of environmental pollution, site features such as the existence of site boundaries, proximity to the other buildings, and if the site would attract the children. With the populated areas, such factors would require a two-metre high small mesh fence or proper hoarding around the site. With reference to authorization, the constructors need to have reasonable steps of preventing unauthorized access to the site. There are several potential hazards that injure both the public and visitors. The construction managers need to consider the falling objects, which must never fall outside the site boundary. On the scaffolds, the constructors could prevent the injuries associated with the falling objects the using the toe boards, netting, and brick guards (Hudson, 2003, 820). Moreover, scaffolding and other access equipment could prevent those outside the boundary from being struck while erecting and dismantling. While considering reducing the risks from storing and stacking materials, the facilities need to be situated preferably with secure environment and away from perimeter fencing. The two point adjustable suspension scaffolds, swing stage scaffolds, play important role in the high-rise construction. However, there is need for the highly trained personal. It is important to consider safety factors while using swing stage especially the weight as the anchorage could break. Safe use of the suspended scaffold commences with efficient, effective, and secure anchorage, the weight of the occupants and scaffold need support from both the structure it is attached to and all the components of the scaffold-forming the anchorage system. Suspension scaffolds are adjustable and designed for raising and lowering with the workers and materials; therefore, the scaffold needs to be capable of bearing the load irrespective of whether in stationary and motion mode. Although the workers could access the swing stage through the ladder, the preferred industrial practice requires accessibility from the top or ground then raise or lower the swing stage to the required working location. There are several cases that workers fall from the scaffolds. In such cases, for occupational health and safety, it is critical to focus on fall protection, which consists of either the personal fall arrest systems or the guardrail systems, which needs to be provided 10 feet above the lower level. Moreover, the swing stage requires both the PFAS and the guardrail systems, which is important for the suspended scaffold considering they are often operated at the extreme elevation. Although the assembled swing stage might comply with the required standard, the construction managers and workers need to continue exercising caution and ensuring usage of sound work practices in assuring their safety. Besides, the excessive loads, extreme weather conditions, and damages to various structural components could affect the stability of the scaffolds. References Health and Safety Executive. 2016. Construction - Traffic management on construction sites. Retrieved May 20, 2016, from http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/vehiclestrafficmanagement.htm Health and Safety Executive. 2016. Construction - Public Protection Construction Industry Health & Safety. Retrieved May 20, 2016, from http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/publicprotection.htm Hudson, R. 2003. Safety on construction sites. Safety At Work, 4(1), 819-849. Read More