The Hazardous Industry of Construction

Over the past five years, as the economy continues to improve, a growing number of workers are returning to jobs in construction. Historically, an increase in employment means that more workers are exposed to hazards that will likely result in more serious and fatal injuries. Among the top four reasons construction workers are injured, falls remain the leading cause of fatal injury (Bethancourt, 2017). Nevertheless, falls are the leading cause of death in construction. According to OSHA, all construction workers exposed to fall hazards more than 6 ft must be provided fall protection in the form of a guardrail, safety net or personal fall arrest system. OSHA (2010) has also stated that personal fall restraint, when applied correctly, is acceptable

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.

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,

It is recognized that construction has a detrimental effect on the environment. The root of this problems is commonly due to damaging designs and marginalized developments. The construction itself has also a great participation to this. To mitigate the risk of an absolute damage to the environment, legislations to protect the environment are developed. This legislations are governed by the authority and a legal administration and implementation are in-place to manage the

To appoint a recognised and competent contractor. Western Health and Social Care Trust have appointed McLaughlin and Harvey. Western Health and Social Care Trust need to appoint a recognised contractors because if they appoint someone who is not a recognised contractor and something goes wrong with either the building or someone getting hurt then it would be the client getting the blame.

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.

This paper analyses one of many hazards existing in Rusaifah Bridge and Intersection Construction Project. The intentions of this paper are to analyze and assist the risk of the hazard using different Risk Assessment Matrices. The paper demonstrates different scenarios of human and environmental factors that could contribute to the risk of the hazard. Construction accidents can be eliminated by recognizing the root causes of accidents, which could be achieved by implementing accident investigation techniques such as Human Factor Theory. The theory provides explanations why accidents happen. This paper provides a reasonable measure to reduce the risk of this hazard to a minimum level.

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,

According to a poll taken by Time Magazine (2016), construction workers have the twelfth uppermost dangerous jobs in America. (Johnson, 2016). Construction workers come to their job, with the assumption that they are safe and can perform their job with ease. They do not anticipate getting hurt on the job, but often are subject to injuries or even fatalities. The Occupational Safety and Health act states that employees have the right to a safe work environment, and must ensure that safety measures are provided for these employees. (OSHA.gov, 2016).

OSHA'S decision to issue new construction standards (1926.501) demonstrates an application of safety procedure through design. This new standard is aimed at saving or safeguarding the lives of workers working on residential construction sites. It aims at protecting the lives of those employees who are working at a height level beyond six feet from falling. Under this standard, the enforcers of the regulations expect all construction employers to adhere to three crucial steps to prevent falls. These steps include planning, providing, and training. Full compliance to these procedures will not only be in compliance with the OSHA safety procedures but will also keep the workers safe from injuries and even death (Bahr and Stallcup, 2003).

Thesis: 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.

In order for a home building project to survive its purpose, risk analysis is essential so that occurrences that may affect the projects in the end can be identified, analyzed, assessed, managed and monitored. Because of the risky processes that are involved in the projects of home building construction, risk analysis and mitigation is the most useful tool in achieving good project and planning in home buildings as well as other constructions. If good risks management procedures are well conducted, the team’s level of confidence will be boosted, and this will enable or project to run and smoothly achieve its goals while facing and tackling each risk. Risk management will also come in handy as time will be saved as well as the

The research takes a case study approach. The case study analysis dwelt on risk management by Contractors who work on energy and utility construction projects, including strategies and supporting structures for managing risks, complete with an analysis of how these strategies and structures are implemented and supported by the Contractors resources base. The researcher specifically chose utility contractors for this study as the Energy and Utilities sector play an indispensable role in the global economy and in the UK, industry employs around 2% of the UK workforce (AGCAS, 2012). Moreover, the UK government identified the Utilities companies as companies that are heavily involved in risky incidents affecting their sector thus playing a crucial role in the preparation and planning for emergencies responsibilities (UK Government, 2013). According to Yip (2003) construction is risky as it almost always certainly involves loss of time and money. Above all, any denial of service during outage result in impact on communities (Lindman, 2008) and utility services are no exception. Against this background, it could be argued that contractors working on construction projects undoubtedly play a significant role in managing risks in order to stay in business.

Bunni, N (1986). Publisher; Spoon Press, Place of Publication; London. Risk and insurance in construction. 2nd ed, p215.

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