Health and safety for the construction industry

Health and Safety of the employees is very important in the construction industry. Many employees/workers are killed around the year while working on a construction project and quite a few suffer from ill health such as asbestosis, dermatitis etc.

Sometimes even the public, neighbors suffer the same consequences as the employees. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the employer to make sure that the employees/workers are informed about the health and safety issues or given training on the same before starting work.
Few factors that affect health and safety in construction industry

Exposure to Hazardous substances

The construction area or site could be filled with hazardous substances such as smoke, fumes, and other similar form of solids, gases that could be injurious to health. Exposure of skin, inhalation of such substances could be very bad for the health and result in diseases such as dermatitis, asthma, asbestosis etc.

Prevention

• Workers should not be exposed to such substances for an elongated period of time.


• Workers should make it a point to wear necessary and adequate clothing that covers their full body without any part of their skin being exposed to air.


• Workers must wear masks at all time they are at work.


• Type of workers who are mostly affected by hazardous substances could be Welders, Healthcare Staff, and Cleaners etc.

Risks arising out of Electrical and Wiring

Electricity is the main source of supply at any construction site. It is impossible to do away without electricity which is the main source of supply for heavy equipments such as drillers and lighting equipments etc. Anyone working around electrical equipments is prone to such dangers and injuries.

Stepping on ‘Live Wiring’ or getting in contact with and ‘Live connection’ could be fatal and result in death. Therefore, it is important that the workers are well trained about the hazards arising from electricity. Faulty lines could also ignite fire in the construction sites.

Prevention

• Try to distribute the voltage as much as possible or keep appropriate danger signs where the power voltage is high.


• Workers must be properly trained and well informed about the dangers involved in work and made fully cautious.


• Installation of Residual Current Device (RCD) which detects most of the faults in the power line could reduce electrical accidents.


• Adequate fire extinguishers supply in case of fire due to electrical faults.

Falls due to working at heights/Trips

Falls from height are the largest contribution to deaths/injuries arising from construction industry. It is estimated that up to 50% of the deaths/injuries that incur in a construction site are due to falls from height. Working from ladders, elevated construction sites, scaffolds are all prone to falls from height.

Slips, trips and falls occur due to uneven flooring, wet floors, poor lighting, improper maintenance of the site etc.

Prevention

• Avoid working from heights unless it is the last option.


• Usage of Access equipment can help to avoid climbing elevated positions.


• Usage of scaffold towers with caution.


• Try to maintain the floor as even as possible.


• Appropriate sign boards for wet floors, uneven floors to prevent slips, trips.


• Proper edge protection in case of people falling off from edges of construction sites which require working from heights.

Manual Handling

All activities that involve physical labor of workers such as lifting, pushing, carrying, and moving of heavy equipment are called as Manual Handling. One third of the reported injuries are due to manual handling and over 10% of the injuries are linked to manual handling.

In the U.K about 1 million people every year suffer from musculoskeletal disorders (MDO’s) reportedly.

Prevention

• Avoid use of hazardous manual handling operations and try using a machine to lift heavy loads.


• Practice lifting heavy loads by evenly distributing the weight of the load.


• Try and reduce the possibility of risk of injury as far as possible.

Working in Confined Spaces

Confined space could be any place that is very small in area and does not allow the worker to work with ease along with the use of hazardous substances and chemicals. This may result in reduced circulation of air which leads to lack of oxygen. The lack of oxygen can result in choking and even death in certain cases.

Average of about 15 people die every year in the U.K due to working in confined spaces.

Prevention

• Proper ventilation should be provided while working in a confined space.
• Make sure that workers are trained in case of any emergency and can face the same without panic.
• Usage of breathing aid while working in a confined space that involves working with toxic gases.

Alcohol at work policies

Alcohol consumption at or before work could lead to various concerns such as lateness and absenteeism from work, discipline issues, loss of productivity, safety of the workers as it affects their logical and reasoning decisions.

On an average about 25% of work related injuries and 5% of absences arise due to consumption of alcohol.

Prevention

• Strict procedure to make sure regular alcohol tests are conducted on workers while at work.


• Stringent punishment for all those who are found guilty.
• Other factors contributing to Health and Safety of workers in Construction industry are Fire at workplace, Contractor Safety, Public safety, and Asbestos safety etc.