INTRODUCTION
Health and Safety is a key factor in built environment. This is due to the increasing levels of accidents. With the modern complexity in its built environment, the modern buildings become more sophisticated to be built. In order to build these structures the workers get exposed to many hazards. In modern construction the Health and Safety measures are critical in order to reduce the risk levels and to offer a safe environment for the workers to work upon.
Construction work always includes heavy machinery and the handling of hazardous materials, tools and the trade is traditionally plagued with high accident rates. International statistics are no better, and governments around the world have implemented health and safety measures for the protection of the workers.
In this report I will describe facts of working at heights and working with excavation and trenches that the company has been reported most of the accidents in the last year. I strongly believe that this will help to build a risk low working space for the workers at our construction sites as we are responsible for our employees.
• WORKING AT HEIGHTS
Work at height means workers may work in a place where he or she will be injured if they fell from the existing level to another level. This could happen above or below ground level. Most of them are reported when they work above ground level.
Data from a long-term study indicates the types of falls that are causing workers a serious injury or death.
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
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”
Contractors are responsible for the safety of their employees and the people near or at the work place. Part of their job is to ensure that equipment, materials, and the work environment is safe as well as make sure that the guidelines are being followed. In a construction site, it is important to be cautious around heavy equipment and power tools. When operating equipment while working at a construction site, protecting your body is very necessary. Creating a good work environment is also very important. This means all of the construction workers work together and looks out for one another to make sure the job is done right. These topics will be further explained.
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,
When employers carry out risk assessments, employers must consider the risk to employees of being struck by falling objects.
Hutter captures workplaces where workers are restricted to working in small spaces (30). In such a scenario, safety standards should be designed to ensure that workers are not trapped in small spaces or fall prey of serious safety hazards especially chemical-related injuries (Hutter 30). This calls for integration of proper equipment and tools to ensure that workers are protected (Rockstrom and Karlberg 259). Rescue procedures should remain sound to ensure fast rescue operations with proper follow-up procedures to improve safety standards whenever flaws are identified. Whenever possible, regular safety trainings and drills should be conducted to ensure that individuals
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.
[1]. Goetsch, D. L. (2010). Construction Safety and the OSHA Standards. New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Education
In the article “ As New York’s Construction Industry Booms, Workers’ Lives Are Being Put on the Line” which points out the risky occupation of the construction due to the employer provide the defective facilities to workers. Employers are concentrated on earning the money and irresponsible to the workers compensation-occupational safety and health.
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,
.Working at Height- The Working at Height Regulations 2005 states a place is a height if a person could be injured falling from it, even if it is below ground level. If employees are working at height the condition/age and construction of the building need to be assessed to ensure that the building can withstand the weight of workmen, if this is not properly assessed there is a danger of employees falling through roofs and other sections of the building. Whilst working at height scaffolding is of a concern, it is vital that only suitable specialist scaffolding contractors are employed to ensure it is properly erected. With regards to falling objects it is important that site managers establish exclusion
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).
The worksite of many companies can become an area of danger, and an important task for the Safety and Health professional is to develop a plan that will decrease the number of work related injuries. More than 16 percent of all disabling work-related injuries are the results of falls. (Gortsch, 2011) The best prevention of falls is to figure out what causes the falls, and to develop a guard system that will increase safety awareness and lower the number of injuries.
In the United States, construction has always been one of the most dangerous industries to work in. The number of fatalities that occur in this industry year after year demonstrate this. In 2014, 19.6% of worker fatalities, in private industry, were in construction (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015) despite the industry comprising only 6.8% of the total work force. This epidemic is not unique to the United States. Essentially every country faces similar problems regarding construction safety. For example, in 2004 the Australian construction industry employed approximately 8% of the countries workforce. However, workers compensation statistics indicated that the industry’s incidence rate was 28.6 per 1000 employees,