The majority of accidents that take place at a construction site are often the result of unsafe acts and conditions the majority of which are preventable. The identification and elimination of such hazards in the workplace is a direct way to reduce accidents and prevent fatalities from occurring. A construction company can achieve this with a well written and implemented safety plan. It is important for a construction company to implement a widespread safety program because it gives the employees the skills needed to reduce accidents, illnesses, and deaths. Therefore, an extensive safety program should be the priority of a construction company because it prevents on-site accidents which affect not only, the employee but also the non-injured employees and the company itself through costs and lower productivity.
A safety plan is important because first and foremost, it is a guideline for the company’s employees to follow that will help them prevent illnesses, injuries, and deaths from occurring. The construction industry has the unfortunate reputation for having the third highest death rate, with one in five worker deaths in the private industry being a construction worker (“Commonly Used Statistics”) . This alarming statistic should warrant a need for a safety plan for all construction companies. Safety plans have been proven to work in reducing such safety hazards. For example, in Texas, employers who developed a safety plan saw, over a four-year period, a 63% yearly
Employers, managers and supervisors should all ensure that workplace practices reflect the risk assessment and safety statement. Behavior, the way in which everyone works, must reflect the safe working practices laid down in these documents. Supervisory checks and audits should be carried out to determine how well the aims set down are being achieved. Corrective action should be taken when required. Additionally, if a workplace is provided for use by others. The safety statement must also set out the safe work practices that are relevant to them. Hence, it is
The right to a safe and healthy workplace is one of the legal guarantees that employees in the United States have under workplace rights. Furthermore, Health and safety is one of the most important aspects in the internal environment for an organization. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an organization within the U.S. Department of Labor that created what is known as the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The mission of OSHA and its act is to prevent work related injuries, illness, and death by setting rules, regulations, and standards for workplace health and safety. Since the establishment of OSHA and its Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, workplace fatalities have been cut by forty percent, and occupational injury and illness rates have been cut by sixty percent, proving their success in improving worker safety and health (1). OSHA has been able to accomplish this by implementing training programs for the employees within many different companies, but especially for those in construction and hard labor. They create these programs because they know that some working sites are more dangerous than others. For example, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that those in the construction industries have a “4.6 in 100 chance of being injured on or getting sick from their jobs”
The Company’s goal is to have zero work-related illnesses or injuries. However, in order to attain this goal, it will require a team effort involving both the Company and the employees. Only through such a coordinated effort can this safety plan be established and sustained.
All employees of Robinson’s Excavation are valued members of the organization which is why safety must always come first. The construction industry is traditionally a hazardous work environment, but with vigilance, dedication, and training, the dangers can be significantly reduced. In order to provide the employees of Robinson’s Excavation with a safe work environment, all employees, regardless of status, are required to follow and enforce all safety procedures, which are not all inclusive. Additionally, the following protocol is in compliance with all state and federal OHSA regulations.
Safety is very important and should not be overlooked because ignoring it can cost you in the long run. It is vital to plan and test the safety procedures that are to be used in a new structure. Safety should always be a priority in the work area. You should always have a plan in place in case something was to happen unexpectedly. The Safety Plan should follow the rules that are set down by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). OSHA is the government organization that regulates the issues surrounding workplace safety. All workers should be familiar with all regulations prior to beginning a new job. Each company has their own safety guidelines to follow so
If there is 'high risk' construction works, obtaining safe work method statements for all such work. High risk work includes, but is not limited to, working at heights where the fall is greater than 2 metres, demolition,
Due to the high rate of illnesses, accidents and injuries in the industry, the organization further developed a hazard recognition program. This was greatly supported by the directives and the standards the organization drafted. The organization also set a safety and health program. This mainly depended on the credibility of management’s involvement in the program. This program provided for the inclusion of the employees in the program. The program also provided for the inclusion of the employees in the different decision making processes such as the safety and health decisions. The employees were also to be included in the decisions that involved change in the work site practices and conditions. The program addressed hazards despite failure by the government standard to regulate it (Brain Mass, 2010).
Safety is an important function of our daily lives and requires the same attention we give other functions and processes within our daily job routines. Over the years as we continue to do our jobs and the same processes we can become less safe by using short cuts to make a process easier for ourselves. Also, the equipment we use begins to age and breakdown and cause unsafe conditions. Safety professionals use many different types of safety programs to combat safety related issues or problems one may encounter on a job site. Employee involvement is the most important part of any safety program. Without employee involvement safety programs are not as successful, because employees are sometimes not aware of the process and steps in place to protect them.
According to the Bureau of Labor, statistics indicate that more than 4.1 million people were hurt or injured on-the-job in 2006 and 5,488 were killed in 2007 (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010, p. 511). Laws and regulatory requirements are currently in place to standardize and promote workplace safety. Organizations with extensive safety programs have reduced number of accidents, decreased workers’ compensation claims and lawsuits and lesser accident-related expenditures (Gomez-Mejia, et al, 2010, p. 511). This paper discusses the effects of legal, safety and regulatory requirements in
Falls from elevated heights are the leading deaths in the construction industry. They constitute 40% of all fatalities in the construction industry. Statistics have shown that every year the number of fatalities from falls to lower level is increasing instead of decreasing, despite all of the equipment and training is out there for employers. It is a very serious issue, not just in the construction industry but in all of the work force. OSHA has strict work practice for employers to protect their employees from unsafe conditions. OSHA has a National Safety Stand Down every year that focuses on fall protection. They have been successful in the past and continue to progress to reach their goal of 5 million workers, which would be over half of the construction workforce.
Construction involves being really high off the ground, foundation trench collapses and equipment malfunctions. From building little house to building towers and skyscrapers takes hard work form hundreds of construction workers. Construction workers make sure everything will turn out perfect and try to avoid any complications by following the building plans. In the year 2016 a little more than 5,190 workers were killed on the job of construction. A estimate of ninety nine on average a week and more than fourteen deaths a day occurred on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also known as “OSHA” is a small Federal agency, that is responsible for the health and safety of employees lifes. For over four decades OSHA has come together with many organization to find different ways to have a more safe environment for workers, not only in construction but other careers that are just as dangerous. Construction involves so many tiny things that cause injury to many workers. Especially when dealing with electricity. Electricity in in the top eight percent for deaths in the United States. The highest percentage in construction is falls with thirty eight percent give or take. When individuals choose the career of construction they need to be aware of the risk that they will be experiencing; From falling objects,
Today there are multiple motives for employing a place of work hazard free mindset work culture. Ultimately the objective for a successful, productive and safe place of work should be liberated from exposure to hazards that place customers and employees at risk. There are many convincing motivations for establishing an in-work place safety plan, however the biggest motivator to companies are for reasons of conformity to directives from federal, state, and local governing agencies. Undesirable press, and penalties that inevitably happen without a safety plan, will cost business, create loss of human capital and force workers compensation insurance premiums to rise.
It is important it have a written work Health and Safety Policy for the organizations and businesses which have management systems. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 addresses Major Hazard Facilities in Regulation 558 and Schedule 17(1.2) and requires that the Safety Management System includes a Safety Policy, including the operator’s broad aims in relation to the safe operation of the major hazard facility, and that the safety policy must include and express commitment to ongoing improvement of all aspects of the safety management system. A Work Health and Safety Policy is an explicit statement of business commitment to work health and safety. It will include a statement outlining the importance which is placed on work health and safety and how it is to be implemented.
Just recently, All Weather Windows Commercial Ltd., has purchased a smaller company with a large glass manufacturing facility. This smaller company has approximately 150 employees that now work under our organization. Throughout this assignment, I will focus on basic safety initiatives to implement into the new facility. The reason I chose to focus on implementing basic safety initiatives, is based on the fact, this new facility is populated with many plant workers and has to now adopt my organization safety program.
Many times, risks faced by contractors exist at no fault of their own. That is, in some cases the contractor is bound by a design that places specific hazards on the construction site. Designers who are cognizant of and responsive to their effort on construction safety would aid in making jobsites safer for construction workers (Gambatese et al, 1997). Situations such as these led the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to create a safe design concept, prevention through design. Prevention