Construction of the Eight-Storey JB Building - Essay Example

Health and Safety Roll No: Teacher: 23rd March Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Health and Safety 2 Introduction 3 Statutory Requirements 4 Safe Systems of Work for Daily Operation 6 Smoke Detector 7 Call Point 7 Heat Detector 8 Alarm sounder 8 Beam Detector 8 Hazards and Risks Involved 8 Control Methods 10 Conclusion 12 References 12 Health and Safety Introduction The number of staff members and the students at the School of Forensic and Investigative Science has increased to a significant extent due to which, the administration has decided to construct a new eight-storey JB building. There are many health and safety concerns in the construction of the new building, which should not be overlooked. While constructing a building, the building regulations should be given full consideration as they help in preventing the risky situations. All the risks and hazards that can be there should be identified in order to safeguard people working at a place (HSE 2006). In this situation, the building is an educational institution with students, teachers and administrative staff. While constructing the new building, the aspect of health and safety of the people present in the old building and future health and safety concerns for the new building and its users should not be neglected. There are many chances of accidents and hazardous situations for which, there should be preventive measures and safety precautions that can be adopted by the people. There should be safe escape passages for the people, suitable equipment to control the situation and a professional security force to handle any hazardous situation (Managing health and safety in construction 2007). The major concern in constructing a new eight-storey is the closing of escape route that is opposite to the Leighton building. During construction, there can be a fire outbreak that cannot be handled if the fire escape route is closed. This report contains a detailed overview of the risks and hazards involved in constructing the new building, statutory requirements, safe systems of work for daily operations, control measures that should be adopted to reduce the risks and hazards involved. Statutory Requirements In case of a good structure, the building will offer lesser chances of damage to people present in it while in the opposite case, people’s lives will be endangered because of their presence in that building (Derek 1986). In this situation, the old building that is already there contains an escape route that is closed for the construction of new building. Huge machinery that is luffing tower crane will be operative outside an educational institution and the escape passage in case of any hazardous situation will be closed. This can create a problem and it should be considered in legal terms. Building regulations demand the inclusion of a safe passage in case of some disastrous situation (HSE 2006). The administration of School of Forensic and Investigative Science should not disregard the building regulations, as it is the building regulations that enable constructions to design and construct buildings with proper safety measures. It is the legal right of the students, staff members and other people visiting the educational institution that they must be provided with a safe environment along with safe passage in case of any risky circumstances. The new building should be constructed by following the building regulations while the old building should be taken care of fully while constructing the new one as it is accommodating many people in it. The role of building regulations in preventing a fire spread within a building and to other buildings cannot be negated as it plays an important role in setting rules for new constructed buildings. It has been considered that the buildings that are three storied are at a grand risk as compared to other buildings such as one storey or two storeys in terms of fire outbreak (Langdon-Thomas 1972). The new building that is going to be constructed will have eight storeys. If the constructor of a building takes into consideration all the building regulations and during construction follows them, there are fewer problems in terms of fire outbreak (Read and Morris 1983). Building regulations include implementation of smoke detectors, constructing escape routes and methods for escaping, interior configuration in terms of spreading of fire and exterior configuration in terms of spreading of fire (Langdon-Thomas 1972). Building regulations take into consideration proper strategies and rules for doorways, windows, ceilings, walls, staircases, corridors and other places (Fire Safety Engineering 1995). If a builder follows all the rules and regulations, the chance of fire spreading is reduced to a greater extent. Fire safety is the most important aspect that should be considered while constructing a building. The probable risks and hazards regarding the fire outbreak in a workplace such as in this case is the educational institution should be identified completely. Workplace is more in need of fire safety because more people are accommodated there. There should be proper escape routes for the people in a building so that in case of outbreak of fire, they can get out of the building safely (Managing health and safety in construction 2007). Smoke and heat detectors can be used for alarming people about outbreak of fire. Building regulations play an important role in prevention of fire spread and they should be acted upon to reduce the risks from fire outbreak. The old building should be provided with another escape route as the old one is closed. There should be a substitute for people to get out of the building in case of any explosion, fire outbreak or any other hazardous condition. Maudland building should be provided with another escape route and there should be substituted back entrance to the building. Management should inform the people working in the building about escape routes and other strategies that should be adopted for escaping from a building in case of outbreak of fire (Fire Safety Engineering 1995). Safe Systems of Work for Daily Operation While constructing the new building, safety procedures should be adopted in order to continue daily operations. The main concern for the area is that it contains buildings that are used as workplaces. The educational building is going to be constructed in a busy area and there can be chances of fire outbreak mainly due to many problems such as short circuit, gas leakage, due to presence of heat sources, hot weather, due to presence of flammable liquids or other combustible materials, explosion and much more. For handling these kinds of risks, it should be made sure that the Maudland building and Leighton building must have the safe systems for controlling fire outbreak and should provide safe passages for escape in case of any hazardous situation. As heavy machinery is hired for construction so precautionary measures should be taken while using this machinery. People should be restricted not to use the area so that they do not face any health and safety dangers. For warning people about the outbreak of fire, various warning methods can be employed. In case of absence of any warning methods, people will have to face the risks and hazards of fire outbreak in the area, which can be disadvantageous in case of their health and safety. Warning methods include arrangement and configuration of smoke detectors, call points, heat detectors, alarm sounders and beam detectors in buildings where there are risks in terms of outbreak of fire. Smoke Detector There are various kinds of smoke detectors such as optical smoke detectors, ionization smoke detectors, aspirating smoke detectors and combined smoke detectors. Nowadays, the smoke detector that is used most commonly as it is capable to detect even small combustions with more smoke (Butcher and Parnell 1983). As far as ionization smoke detectors are concerned, they detect largely set fires that spread within no time and give less smoke and increased heat. Aspirating smoke detectors are used in buildings, which keep the capability of sensing small amount of smoke and fire. It is a highly responsive smoke detector and is present in form of a piped network (Derek 1986). For areas, which contain electronics and other networked equipment, aspirating smoke detectors are the most appropriate. Combined smoke detectors are capable of sensing both high temperature and smoke. It works similar to ionization smoke detector as ionization smoke detector also senses both heat and smoke like the combined smoke detector (Shields and Silcock 1987). Call Point Call point is the red box that is placed on the wall for warning in case of outbreak of fire. It is a well-known method adopted for a long time in terms of outbreak of fire. This red box contains an alarm button that can be pushed in case of outbreak of fire (Butcher and Parnell 1983). This call point is located near all the outlets of a building. Heat Detector Heat detectors are also used for warning people in a workplace as well as in a residential area about the outbreak of fire. They are mostly probably arranged and configured in places such as boiler rooms, contaminated places and kitchens (Butcher and Parnell 1983). They are placed to sense an increase in temperature in the particular areas where they are fixed. They activate and start an alarm as soon as they detect an increase in normal heat in the location (The Aqua Group 1984). Alarm sounder Alarm sounders are usually used for making enough sound as a means of alarming people about an unusual condition such as outbreak of fire. They are used in places where there are enough other voices. Red lights are also used to indicate towards some alarming fire outbreak (Derek 1986). Sometimes, the alarm sounder is assimilated and incorporated with heat detectors and heat detectors in order to help the systems in terms of creating an alarm that is audible enough for everyone to listen. Beam Detector Beam detectors are also employed for alarming people about the outset of fire. They are sensitive detectors that can detect and sense smoke and can cause the fire alarm to start beeping (Derek 1986). The beam detector keeps the capacity of sensing smoke from a large distance due to which, it is considered very effective in terms of alarming people about the outbreak of fire. Hazards and Risks Involved The hazards and risks involved in constructing a new building near Maudland building and Leighton building, are many in number considering the busy schedule of the area. The area is visited by many people everyday due to its being a workplace. Heavy machinery will be placed here for help in construction, as eight-storey structure will be constructed. Due to heavy machinery, there can be more chances of hazardous situations such as falling weighty objects such as construction materials, breaking of pulley and ropes, fire outbreak because of some problem in the machinery and much more. All this needs to be assessed before time and the people should be provided with a safe passage to pass by and in case of any emergency, they must be provided with an escape route. Health and safety conditions should be up to the mark in the locality because of its being a busy area. In the following sketch, it can be seen that the new building named as JB Firth building that is going to be constructed will be built in an area that contains many buildings already that indicate towards the busy routine of the area. There can be hazards regarding fire outbreak that is the biggest concern. The escape route opposite to the Leighton building is closed due to which, currently, there is no escape route. The work of construction cannot proceed successfully without structuring a safe passage for the people in case of any emergency (HSE 2006). There can be explosions, short circuits, arson attack, gas leakage and much more due to which, there can be a creation of hazardous situations (Managing health and safety in construction 2007). Control Methods Many control methods can be adopted by the administration in order to prevent any hazardous situation concerning health and safety of people (Managing health and safety in construction 2007). People visiting the neighbouring buildings can be provided with substituted safe passages and escape routes. They can be notified fully about the new construction and the risks involved so that they can be informed early on. People can be informed about the heavy equipment being used for construction and the risks involved with its usage. The construction equipment can be inspected and maintained on regular basis in order to prevent any dangerous circumstances (HSE 2006). The systems that can be implemented in the buildings for alarming are also employed for shutting the doors located in the location from where the fire originated (Butcher and Parnell 1983). The doors should also be able to resist the fire. These doors make use of electromagnetic latches for letting the doors not opened (Fire Safety Engineering 1995). The gaps that are present in these doors should also be sealed before time so that the fire cannot spread in all over the building. This reduces the loss of property and other losses as the fire is blocked to a small region. In that time, the fire department staff can reach to handle and control the fire (Langdon-Thomas 1972). Automatic fire fighting systems are also very effective and can be used, as they are also able to extinguish fire to a large extent (Langdon-Thomas 1972). Fire extinguishers are used in such fire fighting systems. They are found workable in terms of many cases of outbreak of fire. They are also helpful for the fire fighting staff as they make the procedure of fire extinguishing to an adequate limit. They make use of non-combustible liquids for extinguishing fire (Read and Morris 1983). To protect the buildings from an outbreak of fire, automated and computerized sprinklers can also be used to control the spreading fire. It is a type of fire fighting system, which sprinkles water on the fireplaces automatically from its points (Derek 1986). They are slow in terms of their performance but according to fire fighters and other fire personnel, it has been suggested that these sprinkling systems are effectual in terms of their slow performance, as they fight with fire to a great extent (Read and Morris 1983). For discharging of water, suitable routes should be made, so that water may not spoil electronics and other stuff. Conclusion Therefore, it is quite clear that the new JB Firth building is going to be constructed in a busy area that contains many buildings already. Due to presence of more buildings, the chances of risks involved in terms of health and safety are many. The people visiting the buildings should be taken care of. There should be construction of safe passages and escape routes in case of any emergency, there should be adoption of proper precautionary measures in terms of handling the heavy equipment being used for construction and there should be preventive steps taken in order to control any fire outbreak in the nearby buildings or the new building. References Butcher, E.G. & Parnell, A.C 1983, Designing for Fire Safety, John Wiley, Chichester. Derek, J 1986, Fire Prevention Handbook, Butterworth & Co. Ltd., London. FSE (Fire Safety Engineering) 1995, A Research for the Fire Safety Engineering Design of Buildings, BRE Publications, Watford. HSE 2006, Health and safety in construction, HSG150 (Third edition), HSE Books. Langdon-Thomas, G.J 1972, Fire Safety in Buildings: Principles & Practice, A & C Black Limited, London. Managing health and safety in construction, 2007, Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, Approved Code of Practice L144 HSE Books. Read, R.E.H. and Morris, W.A, 1983, Aspects of Fire Precautions in Buildings, BRE Publications, Watford. Shields, T.J. and Silcock, G.W.H 1987, Buildings and Fire, Longman Scientific & Technical, New York. The Aqua Group 1984, Fire and Building, Granada Publishing Ltd., London. Read More