Health and Safety Management of a New Build Construction Site - Essay Example

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT OF A NEW BUILD CONSTRUCTION SITE Student’s Name Code & Course Professor’s Name University City Date Contents 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Site layout Design For Project 4 3.0 Materials In Bulks: Layout Areas 6 4.0 Traffic management 7 5.0 Offices and welfare facilities 8 6.0 Environmental Issues 9 7.0Organization At the Site 10 8.0 Conclusion 11 1.0 Introduction Health and safety is an integral and important part for any organization. In this respect, organizational safety and health systems are designed to identify and minimize any risks on site. Maintaining the health standards of the people involved in site of construction should be the priority of any given firm or individual undertaking the construction, working conditions that are not safe may cause injuries and even deaths and to an extent may impact negatively on the schedule of completion and also financial loss for the owners (Ismail & Harun 2012: 418). As such, it is the goal of any firm or individual engaged in construction to plan and manage their operations to completion without any interference that could possibly pose a challenge towards the project. The responsibilities therefore lies in the hands of the contractors and their subordinates to ensure a good plan is put into place to help guide the program to completion without any problems (Cobb 2014: 17). Such systems ensures that workers engaged in various activities that could possibly endanger the safety of other people are liable for any laxity. The plan laid down as to incorporate all the necessary precautionary measures that should followed by the construction participants to avoid unnecessary injuries in the process of delivering their duties. In starting a new construction, an effective safety system has to be identified to achieve the necessary health standards. The system should address the practical measures that can be taken to prevent occurrence of accidents on the site, it should emphasize most on the management responsibility for healthy and safety standards during the operations (Cobb 2014: 20 2014). It is a requirement therefore for all project participants to undertake their work seriously and with caution using their best skills of management and expertise to achieve the desired goals without any injury or accidents that may lead to failure of the project being undertaken. All safety and healthy precautions and measures in the site should be well coordinated by the management, the workers health standards have to be considered first as a means of good direction towards achieving the purpose of the construction (Aminbakhsh & Sonmez pp 99 2013). 2.0 Site layout Design For Project While it is the responsibility of everyone involved in the site to maintain safety, it is the prime responsibility of the management to ensure the safety standards are followed. The overall layout of the project and the site of location is vital to the success of the project, the consideration of factors such as where to place the buildings, the infrastructure around the area of interest, and the amenities in the region (Slack et al Pg 22 2013). The site of the project should bear in mind the healthy and safety standards of the individuals, the property, and the operations to be undertaken by the construction site. The decision making in support of the laid down layout should be based on comprehensive assessment of the possible threats and hazards so that the design countermeasures the possible occurrence of risks and effective reduction of such risks (Cobb Pg 23 2014). This design may include among others things as the location of the operation machines. The machines have to be located in places where they can easily be availed for work at the appropriate time to avoid inconvenience (Ismail & Harun pg pp 418. 2012). Good location of machines also prevents risks such as people being injured accidentally by the machines or theft from the people that may disrupt the activities to be undertaken at the site. Another consideration in the site layout is the site offices, for the new build construction site, there has to be clear location of the offices of the site (Slack et al Pg 26 2013). The offices represent the nerve center of the entire operations on the site, they should therefore be allocated at a place where there is minimum disturbance from the activities but also maintain the touch of the entire operations at the site. Below is table highlighting the imperative elements and description of the site plan Element Description 1. Safety Fire Pretension Protective Equipment Environmental Conservation Medical Service 2. Site Accessibility Ease of Accessibility to amenities and safety equipments 3. Security Lighting Entrance Barricading 4. Information Sign Traffic Site Map Emergency Routes Labor’s relations policies display 5. Office and Accommodation Effective office location 6. Storage and Site cleaning Planned of reserve storage 7. Fabrication shops and batch Plants Creation of aggregate storage piles, Layout Plan 3.0 Materials In Bulks: Layout Areas The effective handling of materials and storage is a crucial activity for the successful operations at the site. The handling of bulk materials at the construction site in most cases pose a challenge as it seems to be expensive for the new build construction site (Fruchtbaum 2013). The work area inside the offices should be well organized with materials kept at their easy reach by the staff members. On the site materials have to be arranged according to their frequency of being used and be arranged systematically according to the plan (Woodcock & Masons 2013). Materials should be handled well and there should time breaks for the use of some materials for the employees to avoid the risk of developing illness associated with the excess use of such materials. Storage facilities at the site are the beginning of adequate operations. The bulk materials should load at the storage and then transported to their points of destination in bulk, there should therefore be an appropriate facilities for handling such materials. The technical loading and offloading equipments should be provided to help in handling and the equipments should be designed in a way that they are able to handle specific products and be able to adjust to the assembly conditions (O'Connor & Smart pg 42 2013). During the designing process, the various features of the products should be well considered like in terms of temperature of the materials, density, and the flow behavior of the materials should be put into consideration. The safety operation of the materials should be well considered, the equipment handling the materials should be safe enough to avoid any risk of loss. The storage should also be adequate to hold the materials in bulk and should the necessary storage facilities for the materials. 4.0 Traffic management It is presumed that on average, about 7 people die at the construction site due to accidents and like 93 others are injured annually. This therefore calls for the need for improvement in safety standards at the site (Hughes & Ferres Pg 45 2015). Accidents at the site occurs to the ground work people, managers, and even the public are at risk of being involved in accidents at the site, the management need to focus more on being control of the traffic at the site. The roads in the site should be well demarcated and maintained for the vehicles coming in and those leaving the site, there should be separation between the roads for the heavy trucks, for pedestrians and the one for small vehicles to avoid congestions at the site. There should be barriers put against the demarcated roads to avoid entrance to the wrong lanes which most cases is the cause of the many accidents experienced in the sites (Hughes & Ferres Pg 47 2015. Such accidents at most cases affect the operations of the site and lead to both human loss and financial loss in the site. The planning at the site should be appropriate in reducing the accidents that occur at the site. It is important to reduce the number of vehicles entering the site; this can be through; providing the parking places for the vehicles belonging to the workers on the site and away from the working place to minimize congestion (Forster Pg 19. 2014). This by itself ensures control of entry at work place especially for vehicles that are not involved in the work, also the planning of the storage areas should be done in a way that the loading and offloading vehicles do not cross the work site as it may cause unnecessary accidents at the work place. At the site, the turning of vehicles should be avoided at all cost this is because turning is the most cause of the fatal accidents on the site, instead there should be a roundabout inside the site strategically set for the benefits of the vehicles turning (Perlman & Barak pp 25. 2014). The workers should also be well trained to avoid accidents due to untrained people. 5.0 Offices and welfare facilities The offices at the site should be well placed but at a distance from the work place. Good allocated and managed are key to safe operations at the site, the equipments in the office should be well arranged to avoid any inconvenience that may result from poor management of such equipments. The office should have qualified staff to administer the necessary requirements by the construction site, the head manager should be well trained and equipped with required skills at the site (Forster Pg 15. 2014). The work relationship in the offices should be well maintained by the employees working in the offices and those working on the ground; necessary facilities needed for the job should be provided to them without much difficult. The wellbeing of the workers at the site should be well managed. This the beginning of success at the work place, by this the welfare of the workers is the responsibility of management and the contractors. The welfare facilities should exist in a good construction site, the arrangement for these facilities should be done in good time before commencing work at the site (Greeno, Pg 20 2014). Welfare facilities needed at the site include toilets, washing facilities, clean drinking water, changing rooms and lockers for those working in the offices, and the rest rooms for the workers staying at the site. 6.0 Environmental Issues Major construction projects have a significant impact on the environment, which needs to be effectively addressed by contractors and developers. Health and safety of humans and its direct environs encompasses practices that safeguard the same environment, where work stations are placed. As such, construction practices that fail to control pollution to the immediate surrounding can cause significant damage to the waterways, upset aquatic wildlife ecological systems kill fish and result to the contamination of water bodies and land. Environmental risk is particularly significant in sites situated along coastal areas, creeks and streams and along river valleys, to name a few. Constructions that are particularly in built up areas , poor practices ,may result to noise and air pollution that may result to the annoyance and influence the health of the neighboring communities. Prior to the commencement of work, , the management should be able to produce the list of all hazardous materials expected and the safety measures applied in reducing the negative effects of such materials to the people (Delatte pg 13. 2014). Integration of the environment protection measure is imperative in the planning stages which ensures that the minimization and avoidance of pollution is affected. This approach is more effective than establishing control before the project commences. The inspection of hazardous materials has to be done at least weekly to avoid release of these unwanted materials that are dangerous to the entire ecosystem. This involves necessary environmental analysis which identifies vulnerable parts of the environment. Effecting a risk assessment is imperative where three key aspects should be considered namely; i. Time Frame when the risks can be considered ii. Probability of occurrence of the stated event/incident iii. Measuring the effects of the event The packaging and disposal of the waste hazardous materials should be done by a licensed entity on behalf of the construction site. 7.0Organization At the Site Just like any other project or business, proper organization and management is the key to the success of the project. For a new construction site, there is need to adopt proper and appropriate means of management of both the staff and the facilities for efficient operations (Yahya & Saka pp 14 2014). People should well protected against any risk predicted at the site, the public and even the workers inside the site should be well protected through appropriate standards of health safety regulations laid down by the construction site (Langford et al pg 56 2014). The machines and other facilities used in the site should be well allocated and stored appropriately to prevent their loss. The management of machines should be adequate to ensure maximum utilization for the efficient operation at the site. The equipments required for use in the site like the welfare facilities should be sourced and maintained frequently by the management. Materials at the site both in bulk and specific materials should be well organized and appropriate equipments of handling the materials provided. Efficient organization of these factors ensures health and safety conditions on the new construction site. 8.0 Conclusion A new construction site has many requirements to be fulfilled for it to be successful. Consequently, there are many health hazards that are risky in construction company, there is need thus for the new construction site to outline this hazards like chemicals, harmful gasses, dirty and chemical water, and also smoke and noise pose a challenge to the people (Perlman & Barak pp 22 2014). Various Components needs to be addressed when establishing health and safety. The arrangement of bulk materials at the site is vital to the daily operations at the site; this especially prevents unnecessary incidences that might compromise the health and safety standards of individuals at the site. Secondly, traffic management is paramount as it safeguard treacherous incidents that could be fatal. Essentially, there should also be clear instruction on the site of the directions to be taken by vehicles, also the working at the site should well be made aware of the risks involved in their work which if not well managed may be fatal to their life. Planning and dispensation of these aspects necessitates for adequate on site facilitates and offices that are continuously maintained by the management. Whereas the introduction of office and welfare facilities are paramount, environmental concerns is equally important; given its eventual impact on the immediate surroundings. Lastly and most importantly, the entire site is situated in areas that need an effective layout that effectively highlights each region and work site. In this way signage, among others can showcase the functions of various locations. References Aminbakhsh, S., Gunduz, M. and Sonmez, R., 2013. Safety risk assessment using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) during planning and budgeting of construction projects. 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