Responsibilities of employers’ and workers’ r for a safe working environment.- Construction industry

1. 1
INTRODUCTION
TheoreticalBackground
Health
Health is the level of functional and metabolic efficiency of a living organism. The World Health
Organization (WHO) defined human health in its broader sense in its 1948 constitution as "a state
of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.
Safety
Safety is the state of being "safe “, the condition of being protected from harm or other non-
desirable outcomes. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve
an acceptable level of risk
Welfare
Availability of resources and presence of conditions required for reasonably comfortable, healthy,
and secure living.
– Temporary accommodation
– Food
– Drinking water
– Sanitary conveniences
– Facility or clothing

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How the Constructionfield related for Health & Safety.
Nearly 6.5 million people work at approximately 252,000 construction sites across the nation on
any given day. The fatal injury rate for the construction industry is higher than the national average
in this category for all industries.
Potential hazards for workers in construction include:
 Falls (from heights);
 Trench collapse;
 Scaffold collapse;
 Electric shock and arc flash/arc blast;
 Failure to use proper personal protective equipment; and
 Repetitive motion injuries.
Solutions
 Cover floor holes
 Use safety net systems or personal fall arrest systems (body harnesses)
 Be sure the load rating can support the weight of the user, including materials and tools
 Make sure that treads cover the entire step and landing
 Employees must be instructed about the hazards of using diagonal braces as fall
protection etc.
Every job is full of accidents waiting to happen. When compared with other industries, the health
safety and welfare of the construction workforce are crucial because Construction workers are
killed, injured or suffer ill-health than in any other industry

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Safety management in construction industry
The construction industry has some special features which have a direct bearing on the accident
potential. In this trade the pattern of work is ever changing.
The operations and physical circumstances change constantly unlike in the factories where the
process, the method and the operations are generally respective.
Timings and schedules vary considerably from place to place. The most important changing factor
the change of men themselves. The inherent nature of construction jobs combined with the above
factors make this industry as one with accident risks.
Safety programme
The safety program of a Construction organization is a compact package which comprises a safety
policy, safety department to implement the policy, and specially trained personnel to man it. The
general safety inspection program that has to be followed in Construction site is shown in
researchers, survey companies, government, education researchers, marketing organizations and
others.
.

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CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Case Study 01- “Warehouse Hazards”
Here mentioned the main safety hazards which explained in case study 01.
 Back injuries happened to workers by pushing a loaded handcart in to a transport truck
from the loading dock.
 The cart is difficult to move which causes different issues.
 Maintenance of the card has not been done due to the requested time.
 There are lot of items scattered around the loading dock.
 Poor housekeeping caused by the poor management done by the higher authority.
 Boxes of products are not labelled properly.
 Some products are stacked haphazardly.
 An unlabeled bulk container of cleaning agent is being used as a doorstep.
 The staff is working at a very quick pace with items being loaded.
 The loudness of noise caused to talk very loudly for others to hear what anyone is saying.
Above listed hazard can be categorized in to these categories.
1. Health Hazards
 Back injuries
 Talk loudly caused throat problems
2. Chemical
 Unlabeled bulk container of cleaning agent is being used as a doorstep
 Production boxes are not labelled properly
 Some products are stacked haphazardly
 Leave products in dangerous condition
These may cause the risk of having;
 Heart diseases
 Lung diseases
 Develop cancers

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3. Physical
 High noise
This may cause risk of having;
 Permanent hearing losses for the listeners
 Throat problems for the people who shout out loud to the workers by
giving instructions
4. Biological
 Shouting Loud
 Affect with chemicals
These may cause the risk of having;
 Lung diseases
 Throat problems
 Skin infections/ diseases
5. Ergonomic
 Repetitive work
 Heavy lifting
 Using improperly maintained tools
 Using defective equipment
 Using equipment’s in the wrong way/ for the wrong task
 Leave equipment in dangerous condition
These may cause the risk of having;
 Back pain
 Health problems

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Case Study 02
1. There was a ceiling leak and possible mold issue were identified
2. Electrical tape has been used to fix a frayed power cord
3. There were many complaints related to the new increased productivity timelines
4. Wet floors
5. He noticed a number of complaints about broken chairs.
6. Carelessness of the employees and the lower level workers
7. There were complaining’s by the employees of working long hours at their workstations in
front of their computers with little or no rest breaks
8. A maintenance person worked without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
mopped up some water with an unlabeled, strong smelling cleaning product.
1. Health Hazards
- There were complaining’s by the employees of working long hours at their workstations in
front of their computers with little or no rest breaks
2. Chemical
- A maintenance person worked without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
mopped up some water with an unlabeled, strong smelling cleaning product.
3. Physical
- Carelessness of the employees and the lower level workers
- He noticed a number of complaints about broken chairs.
- Wet floors
- Electrical tape has been used to fix a frayed power cord
4. Biological
- There was a ceiling leak and possible mold issue were identified
5. Ergonomic
- There were many complaints related to the new increased productivity timelines

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POTENTIAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE HAZARDS
Case Study 01
Immediate Factors
 The loaded handcart with several faults such as difficulties of moving, lack of maintenance,
scattered items in the warehouse,
 Poor working conditions due to the loudness created by the hand carts which disturbs the
staff, are considered as poor physical conditions.
 Unlabeled bulk containers prove the fact of neglecting a basic safety measure, are reflected
as imperfect acts.
 The unlabeled bulk container, used as the doorstop is an Improper equipment usage done
by the warehouse is also considered as an imperfect act.
Fundamental Factors
 Physical factors such as back injuries due to working with loaded handcarts, throat
problems due to loud communication occurs under personal influences.
 The delaying of maintenance of handcarts can be deliberated as a management’s blunder
which comes under job factors.
Case study 02
Immediate Factors
 The ceiling leak and possible mold issue which was identified in the working site, considers
under poor physical conditions.
 Use of electrical tape to fix a frayed power cord is an improper act which is to be
considered as an imperfect act.
 A maintenance person without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) mopping
up some water with an unlabeled, strong smelling cleaning product. This implies the
workers are poor in proper equipment usage. Using PPE and labeling while wetting the
grounds are some basic safety measures. Therefore, this proves the poor physical
condition.

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Fundamental Factors
 Complaints related to the new increased productivity timelines belongs under job factor,
where the project management is liable on the accidents in construction.
 Working long hours at their workstations in front of their computers with little or no rest
breaks is another complain which has been done by the workers in this bank. This could be
directly affects for the physical and mental conditions of the people. Therefore, this is based
under personal factors.
 A number of complaints about broken chairs are deliberated under the factors related to
the site management. The management should have to properly taken care of the facilities
for the workers of the company – job factor.

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CONCLUSION
The health and safety are the one of the important factor which affects the most of the Industries
in the world, under that that the impact of this HSW in construction industry also unavoidable
factor. We discussed the important factors which are affect the construction industry through the
two case studies in this report. The main requirements of an effective health and safety policy,
hazard and risk identification in design and construction also the risk assessments are the most
important knowledge for the construction industry students to face this issue sucessfully.