Safety Management in the Construction Industry - Essay Example

Safety Management in the Construction Industry Introduction In relation to the health and safety policy I must advise the management of Boiler HouseRefurbishment and Extension program i.e. Defence Estates on preventing hazards and injuries to themselves or others during this project. The administration at Defence Estate should not be ignorant of what a health a safety policy and other workplace policies are; this is why you were brought on board. DE should describe their roles and responsibilities of their employees in relation to such policies. Make management aware of the legal requirements affecting health, safety and welfare. Defence Estate's safety policy should advise methods of safe working. It should advice management to provide protective clothing and equipment for employees at all times when on site supervise the recording and analysis of information on injuries, and review overall safety performances. Assist with all training for all levels of employee. Take part, where as possible, in site management Keep up to date with all information regarding the recommended codes of practice of health, safety and welfare. Supply employees with information on the prevention of injury within the firm. Determine the cause of any accident or dangerous occurrence, and recommend ways of preventing recurrence. Site Safety policy Defence Estates should devise a safety policy during the planning stages of the Boiler project so that each and every individual should understand and follow the safety principles. The general health and safety policy is the way in which a company sets out its intention to manage health and safety. Site Inspection During the workplace inspection at the Boiler site every component of the total system should be included, e.g. safety policy, attitudes, training, process, plant layout, operating procedures, emergency plans. Audits and reviews at Defence Estate should be aimed at discovering the strengths and weakness and the main area of vulnerability or risk. Safety survey should be done at the boiler site which is a detailed, in-depth examination of narrower field of activity, e.g., major key areas revealed by safety audits, individual plants, procedures or specific problems at the site. Safety inspection at the site comes in the form of a routine scheduled inspection of the boiler unit or oil storage units at the facility. The inspection should check maintenance standards, employee involvement, working practices, and that work is carried out in accordance with the stipulated procedures. (Levitt, Samelson, 1987) Defence Estates must have a written health and safety policy when it has five or more employees. The health and safety at Defence Estate should have three distinct parts: The statement of policy Organisation Arrangements The statement of policy This is a statement of the health and safety policy, Defence Estate's intent to have high standards of the health and safety policy and their aims should be included in this policy. Organisation- the organisation for carrying out the policy, including, as necessary, reference to the management and safety representatives and safety committees, it should encompass 'who is responsible for, or going to do what' and when and how they will achieve it. Arrangements- the arrangement for the effective implementation of the general statement of health and safety policy, including technical and other procedures relating to the health and safety aspects of the work undertaken by Defence Estates. It may also contain details of the health and safety responsibilities of all the employees in the business. Principal Safety Officers Principal Safety Officers should be hired at Defence Estates whose main Objectives should be to provide a comprehensive advisory service to all Council Directorates Department Heads and their employees, on all matters affecting health and safety at work and the implementation of the Health and Safety Policy. Responsibility and Organization for Safety at the Boiler Site Accidents can be prevented at the Boiler refurbishment site if both management and employees of Defence Estates play their respective roles accordingly. There must be a clear definition of responsibility within Defence Estate and management of the site. It is generally accepted that the prime responsibility for safety rests with line management. A. Senior executives - At Defence Estate senior executives should be responsible for the general management of safety and health matters at the Boiler site. It should be treated like a managerial function and not add-on activity. There must be a clear line of responsibility and command running up to an accountable individual at the top of the organization. B. First Line Managers - the Supervisor is "on the spot" and in a position to know whether or not safety arrangements are working in practice; and his/her influence can be dramatic. The promotion of health and safety at the Boiler site is first and foremost a matter of management. C. Employees of Defence Estate- real progress in safety cannot be achieved without participation and involvement of all employees. DE (Defence Estates) should appoint safety representatives and committees are one way of increasing involvement and commitment. D. Safety Advisor - Defence Estate should recognize the need and contribution of a qualified health and safety advisor can make towards accident prevention. Where employment of a full-time practitioner is not feasible, engaging a part-time expert is deemed justifiable. (HSE website) Some key roles of the advisor at DE should include: Established and review of safety regulations to meet the organization's requirements Relevant statutory/legislative requirements Safety programs Existence of safety elements in all job instructions Review of safety content necessary in all training Regular inspection of safety and housekeeping standards in all work areas Fire fighting Equipments At the Boiler site there should be strict control and check the fire fighting equipment at oil tankers would be moving around the boiler area under the oil pipelines and it's intensely vulnerable to fire. Defence Estates should recommend, where suitable, approved types of protective clothing and equipment. Conclusion Defence Estates should monitor efficiency of the health and safety activities of all Departments and make proposals to appropriate Directors. In the event of the Principal Safety Officer becoming attentive of any acts, omissions or approach adopted by any Directorate, which in his professional opinion break or destructively affects the discharge of proper health and safety responsibilities, or could give rise to grave personal injuries, he is empowered to interfere and take suitable action to correct the situation. References Levitt, R.E. and Samelson, N.M. (1987) Construction Safety Management, McGraw-Hill, New York The homepage of the Health and Safety Executive and Health and Safety Commission website, retrieved from http://www.hse.gov.uk/ on 2nd December 2007 Bibiliography Phillips, R.A. (1992), The development of a safety performance measure for the construction industry. Unpublished MSc thesis, Department of Building Engineering, UMIST, UK Sulzer-Azaroff, B. and De Santamaria, C. (1980) Industrial safety hazard reduction through performance feedback, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 287-95 Matilla, M. and Hyodynmaa, M. (1988) Promoting job safety in building: an experiment on the behaviour analysis approach, Journal of Occupational Accidents, 9, 255-67 Read More