Health and Safety in Construction - Term Paper Example

Health and Safety Name Institution Date Health and Safety in Construction Construction and redevelopment of structures is one of the riskiest works one can engage in. Therefore, there has been a need to institute health and safety regulations to ensure that standards are adhered to and procedures followed as required in order minimizing exposure of employees and contractors at work to risky situations. The health and safety does not only cover the internal worker but also the public. Employees should ensure that their operations do not compromise the health and safety of third parties. Construction appears to be the most hazardous occupation and is associated with risks such as falling of people from high roofs, falling of materials and collapse of structures, (Helander, 1991, p205). In an effort to counter the risks associated with construction, a couple of researches have been conducted to identify appropriate means of minimizing such risks. Construction workers have been undergoing on the job occupational training and development processes at work site and other skills regarding accident prevention and first aid, (Laukkanen, 1999, p53). The health and safety at work has been boosted by the UK health and safety regulations. Health and safety of employees remains to be important because it is a ways of sustaining the available workforce and also a means to achieving competitive advantage through attracting and retaining workers. Health and safety of workers can be sued to benchmark organizational strengths and weaknesses through a SWOT analysis, which means organizations can use in setting strategic goals to modify the organizational behavior that will guarantee its success. In this essay we shall identify various risks employees and contractors are exposed to at construction sites and the provisions of health and safety regulations that need to be followed to minimize accidents, injuries and mortality. Risks associated with construction Fall at work height Construction of high structures would expose employees to very risky positions. Employees may fall down form when doing work at height. This might be caused by various factors such as vibration of equipments, use of poor standard equipments and collisions at work at height. Fall at height has been among common cases in the construction industry. Many people have lost their lives and other turning to be disabled due to severe injuries. The Management of Health and safety Act 199944 stipulates the procedure requirements for risk assessment. Before undertaking any construction work, risk assessment should be conducted to assess the extent of future potential risks, (Fung, et al, 2010, p593). The Control of Vibration at work Regulation 200529 requires employees or clients to engage experts to provide their expertise in controlling vibration at work sites. Vibration may be caused by heavy machines such as drilling machines. Vibration at work has an effect of causing collapse of structures and persons working at height. The provision and use of equipment Act 199846 requires clients and contractors use standardized equipments that use modern technology which has capabilities of reducing pollution especially noise pollution. To control fall from height at work, designers, contractors and surveyors are required by Construction (Design and management) regulation 2007 to properly and critical contribute towards designing the construction structure. The surveyor should provide relevant geographical information to designer and contractors. This is to help the designer come up with appropriate structures that appear to be realistic. Fall from work at height does not only affect the workers, but the fall might also affect third parties thus leading to third party liability. Other efforts undertaken to reduce fall from height through proper analysis of compensation records, work-related injuries, (Lipscomb, et al, 2014, p69). Violence/ Dispute at work Violence is a common activity experienced at work. It can occur due to conflict of interest, discrimination, bullying and even harassment. Health and Safety Executive provided statistical data from CSEW concerning cases of violence at work. It was estimated that 1.0% of women and 1.2% of men appeared to be victims of violence at work. 72% of violence resulted to physical injuries and the remaining percentage constituted minor injuries. Internal disputes and violence are a major concern of clients in construction industry. Employees institute strategic measures to control internal disputes and violence. This is through facilitating good communication network and empowering workers at work place. Dispute resolution mechanisms are also put in place to control and handle disputes that may result to violence. Executive staff and employees with high ranks are also forced to practice due diligence and care as they carry out their work. Employees also adopt IT to detect and prevent any form of violence at work. For instance, they can use CCTVs, alarms and controlling access to some facilities. A study reveals that a statically analysis of accidents related to violence at workplace due to commotions and physical fight, (Hintikka, 2010, p517). Welfare Welfare is necessary in any working environment. Employees need to be treated well while in their line of duty. However, the quality of welfare provided at work may affect the health and safety of employees at workplace. In UK, the welfare of employees is regulated by the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulation 1999. This regulation requires employees and owners of construction projects to provide better welfare facilities to employees. Provision of clean water and quality food to employees is very vital as it will assist in creating a strong and healthy workforce, hence increasing their productivity, (Gallie et al, 2012, p23). Being part of employee motivational step, employee welfare has stand to be very important and a contributing factor to success of many businesses, (Iverson, 2011, p29). Environmental Risks The working environment is very important in increasing productivity. Employees’ productivity depends on the environmental conditions at the workplace. For instance, temperature and humidity can greatly influence the ability of an employee to work effectively. In his article Zheng, (2012, p228) he articulates that unfavourable temperature and humidity levels can cause heat-related disorders. The external temperature should provide a conducive working environment for worker; otherwise, excessive exposure to high temperatures can be very critical to their health, causing heat-stress. Several measures have been adopted to help regulate the amount of external temperatures for workers at construction sites. This has been achieved through providing shadings and light working clothes and other technological devices that are designed to control temperature and humidity. The construction nature of building can be used as a modifier of temperature requirements and climatic effect on health outcome, (Anderson, 2013, p158). Internal temperatures and humidity can be influenced by ventilation of construction site. The ventilation should be adequate to allow for exchange of external air and internal air. Low ventilation can make employees at construction site to lose concentration and cause accidents. This is because in construction sites there are gases that are always emitted by machines used and these if not properly regulated can cause respiratory defects. Chemical and industrial emissions Construction is one of the riskiest occupations as its also characterized with emission of gases and certain chemicals that may compromise the health of employees. Hazardous substances are substances such as chemicals and gases that are harmful to the health of individuals. The control of substances hazardous to health regulation 200216 requires employees or clients to use expertise in conducting a risk assessment on the nature of their operations so as to strategically analyses the control and preventive measures that need to be put in place in order to minimize the impact to the surrounding environment and workers too. Risk assessment is defined by Rausand, (2013) as the process of analysing potential hazards. The client is expected to ensure that the health and safety of employees is at constant surveillance so as to keep track on any physical changes in them. Aneziris, (2012, p36) articulates that employers should engage experts in assessing potential hazardous substances and take corrective and preventive measures. The construction Regulation 2007 pertains to design and management of construction of work. Designing construction work depends on the risk assessment evaluation. Therefore, thorough risk assessment should be conducted to provide designers with adequate information to help them design the construction structures. Chemical risks include use of substances at construction sites that have been made from chemicals which when inhaled or consumed or penetrate through human skin can cause respiratory and other defects associated with skins due to exposure. These chemical substances cab be carcinogenic, toxic or even corrosive. Therefore, to minimize exposure of individuals to risks associated with chemicals, the EU requires that manufactures that risk-phase appear in their labels and even the safety data sheet of hazardous substances. The client should also make sure that the products they are using at construction sites do not harm the health of the third parties or interfere in any way with their normal operations. Otherwise, this may cause contingent liability which is an incremental cost. Collapse of Structures Some structures fail to meet the required standards thereby ending up collapsing even before completion. ISO 9000 provides guidance to effective management of construction project based on the principles of construction. It further provides the application of standard equipments and proper procedures of acquiring and disseminating information. Failure to follow the underlying provisions of standards provided by legal bodies, result to collapses as observed in various instances. Collapse of buildings tends to even lower the company’s reputation together with their suppliers. The use of poor standard equipments, incompetent workers and low quality materials are just a few factors that contribute to collapse of buildings, (Allen, 2011). For instance, In central London, Holborn building collapsed some few days ago. Conclusion Employees are always at great risks when doing their normal tasks at workplace. They find themselves subjected to a couple of risky positions. Health and safety of the employees policies and regulations are therefore, meant to assist curb incidents of physical and internal harms to employees while doing their work. In construction industry, the occupation is a risky one per se. Employees are exposed to a couple of risks such as chemicals, collapses, exposure to high temperatures, industrial emissions among other risks. A risk assessment is always recommended to be conducted to help evaluate the potential and extent of future risks. The Health and Safety Regulations of UK are usually adhered to by constructors and employers to ensure their safety at work site. It is the responsibility of each employer to ensure that employees are working in safer position and that their health is well. This is because employers owe employees a duty of care while at work. References Allen, E., & Iano, J. (2011). Fundamentals of building construction: materials and methods. John Wiley & Sons. Anderson, M., Carmichael, C., Murray, V., Dengel, A., & Swainson, M. (2013). Defining indoor heat thresholds for health in the UK. Perspectives in public health, 133(3), 158-164. Aneziris, O. N., Topali, E., & Papazoglou, I. A. (2012). Occupational risk of building construction. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 105, 36-46. Fung, I. W., Tam, V. W., Lo, T. Y., & Lu, L. L. (2010). Developing a risk assessment model for construction safety. International Journal of Project Management, 28(6), 593-600. Helander, M. G. (1991). 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