CHAPTER 1
Introduction
1.1 General
building construction in Bangladesh has earned bad name for its poor safety records when compared with other industries. Accidents arise from different causes that can be attributed to unsafe design and site practices and can generally be classified as physical incidents posing hazardous situations, and behavioral incidents caused by unsafe acts. The building construction process itself is also seen as being poorly planned in terms of both design and building construction, with major inadequacies relating to the erection, maintenance, and demolition of buildings and structures. In Bangladesh, where the building construction industry is growing without any proper guidelines, condition in building construction sites is even worse. Unsafe building construction sites causing injuries and even death to people engaged in building construction works are not very uncommon.
With the advancement in building construction technology and growing number of building construction sites, the need for proper attention to safety aspects is becoming an important issue. Proper steps should be taken to improve safety at building construction sites so that loss of limbs and life, suffering and damage resulting from avoidable accidents is prevented. Promotion of safety measures at site will not only result in a better working environment but will also induce higher productivity and greater contentment among workers. However, there have been very few attempts to assess the building construction sites existing safety climate of building construction sites in Bangladesh.
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There is virtually no data base or records of accidents that have occurred over the years in building construction sites. The nature and type of accidents, their frequencies, fatality rate and exact causes are virtually unknown. Scarcity of data is compounded by the fact that there is a tendency at management level to conceal occurrence of accidents at their sites. As the total situation regarding safety climate is somewhat unknown, the determining factors for maintaining overall healthy safety climate and scopes for improvement are also, at present, somewhat beyond perception.
1.2 Objectives of the Work
Main objective of this thesis is to shed light into existing safety climate of building construction sites in Dhaka city and to find ways to improve the overall situation. As a reliable database is first required to identify different factors for the building construction accidents at building construction sites and their inter relationship, a large portion of this work will be devoted to collection of data from different sources sites regarding safety related issues. Once a database is established on accidents occurred at building construction sites and related matters, effort would then be given to identify different factors influencing safety climate at building construction sites and their relative importance. These eventually will help to suggest ways for better safety climate of building construction sites.
1.3 Scope of the Work
There is no available database on building construction related accidents in Dhaka city and published records are few and far between. Building construction companies are also never eager to reveal such data. Therefore, primary data source was law enforcing agencies, i.e. Dhaka Metropolitan Police from their unnatural death file. Other than that no data source was explored. While collecting data, concentration was given to fatal accidents in building construction sites. Cases of injuries were not considered extensively since such accidents are seldom put into records. Recommendations are also based on the accident data that could be extracted from different sources. As stated previously, the complete research work is subdivided into three parts:
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• Collection of building construction site related accidents data.
• Establish statistical co-relation among accidents and other parameters
• Recommendation for improving the situation.
1.4 Organization of the Thesis
In this study, the results of research carried out have been divided into different topics and presented in ten chapters.
Chapter 1 A brief introduction of the safety climate and building construction site related accidents in Dhaka city are provided in the first chapter.
Chapter 2 presents a general idea about accidents and injury. It also summarizes the elements of accidents and root causes of accidents.
Chapter 3 describes the importance of safety in construction industry and also reveals the social and economical implications of building construction site related accidents.
In chapter 4, safety management practice of Dhaka city is highlighted.
In chapter 5, overview of the data that has been collected under this project is presented.
Chapter 6 elaborates and analyses the results of field visits to several building construction sites in Dhaka city.
Chapter 7 describes the role of different entities in reducing construction related accidents.
Chapter 8 identifies responsibility of design engineers to reduce accidents.
Chapter 9 represents the various remedial measures to avoid accidents.
The conclusion of entire study and some recommendations for further research are presented in chapter 10.
CHAPTER 2
CONCEPT OF ACCIDENT AND INJURY
2.1 General
One in every six construction workers suffers an occupational injury or illness on the average of once a year. Construction work and mining compete for the worst safety record. Miners have more fatalities per thousand workers; construction workers have more injuries. The average construction worker loses about 1.2 days per year as a result of injuries, and in 1979 almost 1000 workers lost their lives only in America.(James B. Fullham ).
Accidents arise from different causes that can generally be classified as (kartam 1997)
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❖ Physical incidents posing hazardous situations
❖ Behavioral incidents caused by unsafe acts.
Although building construction related accidents of Dhaka have not been thoroughly studied but it has been thoroughly studied for many other places of the world. Following paragraphs state the important findings of those studies.
2.2 Recognized Hazards in Construction work
■ Gravity-Falls from elevation, Falling objects.
■ Slopes-Upset, Rollover, Unstable surfaces
■ Water- Drowning
■ Walking/working surfaces- Tripping, slipping
■ Mechanical hazards- Rotation, reciprocation, shearing, vibration, pinch points, hydraulics, pneumatics, entanglement
■ Stored energy- springs, pneumatics, hydraulics, capacitors
■ Electrical-electrostatic, current, voltage, sparks, arcs
■ Chemical-corrosive, combustion, toxic
■ Biological-allergens, carcinogens
■ Radiant Energy-sound, nuclear, X-rays, light, lasers
1 Photos courtesy of Washington Group International
Fig: 2.1 Hazards from Unprotected Edges
3. Elements of an accident
An accident can be taken apart, to find out what went wrong. Each contributing elements should be analyzed, and then reported so that the information can be used for preventing other accidents. There are five elements:
1. The agency or source of the accident (The item involved, such as a hammer, a piece of sheet metal, or a lift truck).
Also the part of the tool, material, or equipment involved, in order to pinpoint the corrective action.
2. The type of accident or the manner in which the parson was injured (such as by falling, by being struck by an object, or by getting caught in or between moving equipment).
3. The unsafe condition of the tool, material or machine (such as broken handle of a hammer, unguarded gears of a machine, or worn brakes of a lift truck).
4. The unsafe act or unsafe practice of the person (such as working near the moving parts of a machine without first stopping it and looking it out, lifting with the back muscles instead of the leg muscles, or removing a guard).
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5. The personal factor or reason for the person’s unsafe action or practice (such as lack of knowledge of the safe practice, disregard of instructions, physical handicap, or emotional upset).
During investigation of an accident, the investigator/ researcher should consider all five elements. As an example we can consider a falling case of a labor from scaffold during backing up where the ends of the scaffold were not enclosed. In this case all five elements need to be considered:
1. The scaffold was the type of equipment involved in the accident.
2. A fall was the type of the accident (the way which the labor was injured)
3. The lack of a guardrail was the unsafe condition.
4. Backing up without looking was the unsafe act that precipitated the fall.
5. The reason for the unsafe act was that the labor forgot momentarily the danger of the open end of the scaffold.
Analysis of this accident clearly shows that lack of the guardrail was the major cause of the accident, rather than the labor’s action. The man would not have fallen, if there had been guard rails and toe boards.
2.4 Types of Injury
Type of injury identifies the principal physical characteristics of the injury. Different types of injury are given in the following table.
Table 2.5 Types of Injury (T. Michael Toole 2002)
|TYPE |REASON |
|Burn |Due to explosions or chemicals. |
|Contusions |Abrasion, crushing, bruises, and friction burns. |
|Electrocution |Includes electric shocks. |
|Foreign body |Object in eye or embedded splinter. |
|Laceration |Includes cut or puncture. |
|Poisoning |Systematic effects due to toxic materials. |
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|Radiation |Includes sunburn, microwave, x-ray, and welder’s flash. |
|Spring/ Strain |Includes injuries due to overexertion. hernias, and ruptures. |
|Temperature |Includes heat stroke, sun stroke, heat exhaustion, freezing, and frostbite. Occupancy |
| |related. |
|Other injuries |Injuries not listed. |
|Multiple injuries |Several injuries of equal severity. |
|Illness |Occupationally related. |
2.5 Root Causes of Accidents
2.5.1 poor Attitude toward Safety
There is a lack of concern about the safety of both the workers and the common people. Everybody recognizes that there are special safety problems in the construction industry, but people can solve problems when they put their minds on it. It is just a matter of priorities. People do want safety, but they just forget to keep on wanting it enough. Most workers have never gained a full understanding that all tasks must be performed with safety at all times. Preventing such an attitude from eventually leading to an accident is difficult, but the management attempting to reduce this root cause must interact with the worker frequently and be able to improve the worker’s attitude through positive or negative influence.
2.5.2 Deficient Enforcement of Safety
For a number of reasons, workers always do not follow proper procedures for minimizing jobsite hazards. Although even the site management of safety cannot prevent all accidents, entities other than those actually performing the work do have an important role to play in enforcing proper safety standards. To effectively enforce safety on the jobsite, several factors must be in place. First, the management must be able to monitor the work on a frequent basis. Second, the management must know the relevant safety standards for the task being performed. Third, the management must be able to control behavior. In other words, the management must have the formal or informal authority to direct the actions of the workers.
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2.5.3 Lack of Proper Training
Workers are most likely to be injured during their first month on the job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of USA reported that 2528 workers were injured in Maryland in 1976, and 23.89% of the cases involved people who had been on the job one month or less. Young workers in industries are more apt to be injured shortly after they are employed than their elders. To ensure that a worker is properly trained, several factors are necessary. The individual(s) responsible for a worker’s training must have expertise in the task being performed. Also the responsible individual(s) must have access to the employee’s training records (if they exists) to identify what formal training the employee has had in the past. The management must be able to interview, test, or observe the employee in performance of the task (or a similar task) to confirm the employee’s current state of competence in safety performing the task.
2.5.4 Unsafe Site Condition
A site condition can be called unsafe if it is inherently more hazardous than are typical building construction sites. Poor housekeeping, a broken ladder, or a structurally deficient work platform are the examples of unsafe site condition. The responsible individual(s) must be able to observe actual site conditions and also able to control and improve site conditions. We must have to remember that working under improper site conditions dramatically increases the chances that an accident will occur.
2.5..5 Lack of Proper Safety Equipment
Some building construction accidents result, in part, because safety equipment necessary to perform the job safety is not present at the location of the work. To control this root cause, a management must first know what safety equipment is required for the task. Second, the management must be able to provide the needed equipment and to enforce its use. Third, the management must know the inspection ad maintenance history of the equipment to ensure it is in sound operating order.
2.5.6 Unsafe Methods and Task Sequencing
Accidents occasionally are associated with a task being performed at a point in time in the sequence of building construction that is not safe. While building construction is an inherently dangerous process, tradespersons have developed means and methods to minimize the hazards for their task that depend on having certain activities completed before the task is started. Deviation from the save sequence of tasks can make a task inherently more dangerous because the means and methods do not match well with the actual site condition at the time. To control this root cause, a management must first know the safe method and sequencing for a task. Second, the management must be able to determine whether the actual sequencing on a project is safe. Finally, the management must be able to control the methods used to perform the task if the sequencing is not safe.
2.5.7 The “Accident-prone” Individual
When a person is said to be “accident prone”, it is generally meant that some psychological characteristics he has predisposes him toward having accidents. Too often the term is loosely applied to anyone who has more accidents than others who do the same type of work. A person could, however, have more than his share of accidents because he never was trained properly, or because he is working in cramped quarters or where he can be jostled. Unless it can be proved that accident-repeaters have certain characteristics, consistently linked to their accident repeating, it will be impossible to tell who is accident prone.
2.5.8 Isolated ‘Freak’ Accident
Even extremely well trained and safety-conscious individuals can be involved in an occasional accident. Perhaps the simplest example is a seasoned carpenter striking his thumb while hammering a nail. Unless a worker is obviously impaired emotional or physical condition contributed to an accident, it is not possible for any management to predict or prevent such accidents.
2.6 Conclusion
Building construction related accidents have been thoroughly studied in other places of the world. Despite the many hazards and risks inherent to the construction process, a vast majority of projects are completed without accident or injury. There are no more rewarding careers than those found in the construction industry. Awareness of the hazards and diligent management of the risks can enhance the safety and the profitability of these achievements.
CHAPTER 3
IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
3.1 General
Safety in construction is a prime requisite. With the advancement of construction technology, the need for proper attention to safety aspects has become essential for human, economic and other considerations. The wide range of construction and building activities involving complex techniques have led to many new problems of safety. Proper steps should be taken to improve safety on construction sites so that loss of limb and life, suffering and damage resulting from avoidable accidents is prevented.
All accidents reduce efficiency and effectiveness. A bad accident makes everyone nervous, sometimes fearful. Repeated accidents make employees feel their company does not care about them, or feel that their supervisor is not on top of his job. On the other hand, an outstanding safety record contributes to real pride and enthusiasm, just like an outstanding production record does. Therefore, the management’s responsibility to effectively supervise for safety takes on greater importance.
3.2 Cost of an Accident
The Stanford University, Department of Civil Engineering, under contract to the business roundtable, has done extensive research and analysis of the cost of accidents. Their findings are in that department’s Technical report #260, “Improving construction safety Performance: The User’s Role.” In 1979, accidents cost about $8.6 billion, or about 6.5% of the $137 billion spent for industrial, utility, and commercial construction. The researchers concluded that it would be reasonable to expect that good safety programs of the type being used by certain construction firms could reduce annual accidents by about $2.75 billion. The probable cost of such programs would be about $.86 billion, making them cost effective by a ratio of 3.2 to 1.(James B. Fullham ).
Total losses that occur due to accidents are discussed below-
1. Production losses come from partial or complete shutdown due to:
a) Damage of material, machines, or production area.
b) Emotional upset and lowered employee morale which tends to lower production.
c) Increased tension resulting in an increase of materials spoiled and pieces rejected.
d) Replacement employee(s) who produce less while being trained to fill injured worker’s job.
2. Time lost by supervisors due to:
a) Assisting injured employee.
b) Investigating the accident.
c) Preparing accident report.
d) Hiring and training new employee(s).
e) Attending hearings conducted by the court.
3. Time lost by co-workers of injured employees:
a) In aiding injured person(s).
b) Because of curiosity.
c) Because of sympathy.
4. Losses from damaged material or machines due to:
a) Cost of repair of building, machines or tools.
b) Cost of damaged or spoiled pieces.
c) Losses in wages paid to injured employee when he returned, even though his services for a time are restricted.
5. Other losses:
a) Loss of business because of late deliveries.
b) Loss of goodwill and prestige.
c) Grievances cost of impairment of employer-employee relationship.
3.2.1. Economic Implications
Having physical disability a worker faces tough time to find a job. They loose their effectiveness to large extent. Even if they manage to get a job they are paid a lower wage. In other word, the loss of an expert worker in his field also causes loss to the whole industry.
Other economic cost includes-
• Loss of experience.
• Insurance cost.
• Delay in completion of work.
• Increase in cost of work.
In the worst case scenario, a worker may become paralyzed as consequence of the accident. In that case, he may not be able to work any more. The responsible authority usually provides a very little one time compensation, which is inadequate to save him from future economic hardship. He may have little option but turn to begging.
3.2.2 Social Implications
In Bangladesh, any kind of physical disability alters a person’s life in a very negative way. People perception about him changes dramatically. He is often considered a burden to the society. With a very flawed health care system, they often loose even the partial use of their limbs. With him, his family also faces a very uncertain future. The family has to find other means of earning. The education of children is compromised. They have to leave school and become beggars or child laborers. The building construction industry is also one of the least organized and as a result there is scope for the exploitation of labor. In our country safety is all the more important because of lack of social security to the family left behind.
3.2.3 Loss Of Limbs
Many of the accidents in building construction sites result in loss of limbs. Any kind of loss has a tremendous implication on the person’s life as Bangladesh still has a very discriminatory attitude towards physically handicapped people. Moreover, the medical services of Bangladesh are not easily available to the poor.
The different kinds of injuries occurred are:
• Severed or crushed fingers.
• Severed or crushed hands.
• Severed or crushed foot.
• Burning.
• Complete or partial loss of eyesight.
3.2.4 Deterioration of Working Environment
Any accident leaves a psychological effect long after it occurs in the mind of the workers. They become tentative regarding performing that work. As a result, the productivity decreases dramatically. Again if the workers are treated unfairly, hey feel humiliated and think the authority does not care about them. The relationship between the owner and the employees deteriorates. So they feel they also do not have any responsibility towards the owner and in effect towards the project. They loose their initiative and become unprofessional. This leads to reduce production. As a consequence, the project is delayed and the total cost increases.
3.3 Conclusion
From this chapter, it is clear that building construction related accidents, be it fatal or non fatal causing serious injuries or loss of limbs, create negative impact both in terms of social and economic considerations. Therefore, efforts should be taken to minimize these accidents to avoid those sufferings.
CHAPTER 4
SAFETY MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IN DHAKA CITY
1. General
Safety in construction is a prime requisite, but often it gets neglected on the working site. With the increased volume of construction work in Dhaka City, the need for proper attention in safety aspect has become essential from human, economic and other considerations. Proper steps should be taken to improve the safety at the construction sites. Promotion of safety measures at the working site results in a better working environment, higher productivity and greater contentment among the workers.
The following table which shows the number of fatalities for different causes clearly speaks of the poor condition of construction industry of Dhaka City:
|Causes |Number of Fatal Accidents |
|Falling Persons |75 |
|Electric Shock |62 |
|Falling of Materials |4 |
|Excavation |6 |
|Collaping of Suttering |23 |
|Collaping of Wall |9 |
|Other Causes |5 |
To identify the major safety violations and to bring out relevant remedial measures a deliberate survey has been carried out at different construction sites of Dhaka city. The outcome and findings are discussed in subsequent paragraphs.
4.2 Malpractices in Safety Aspect
While carrying out survey at numerous construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been observed, especially regarding the safety issues in building construction. Some of the gross violations or malpractices found in various construction sites are discussed below.
1 Shuttering (Formwork) Condition.
In most of the sites it has been found that the shuttering conditions are not very proper. Often wooden planks are not placed correctly horizontal because of the inequality of supports. This results sag and deflection in the slab. In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering. Use of steel frames may help in avoiding sag and deflection. Necessary lubricants should be used over the frame; otherwise removal of the shuttering becomes complicated. This results in increasing the possibility of accidents. Many of the accidents in the construction sites occur due to the faulty shuttering practice. Accidents resulting from this are frequently fatal. Use of improper shuttering does not only cause structural damage but also may result in the collapse of whole roofing system. The most alarming scene found in many of the sites is improper props of shuttering. The bamboo trunks used for the purpose are of varying size and they are adjusted by temporary means. Even in some cases few of the supporting bamboos are found to be hanging from the top without any contact with the base. This is just because of carelessness in placing any supporting item beneath those bamboos.
Fig: 4.1 Hazards from Shuttering (Formwork) Condition
Fig: 4.2 A labor Working at Unprotected Edge
7 Electric Wires.
Electric wires used for various purposes are often found to be laid haphazardly in the construction sites. In many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity, which may result in short circuit and dangerous accident may take place. After placement of the steel bars over the shuttering, electric wires for using vibration machine or generator or any other electric machine are laid over the exposed steel. Any direct contact between them may lead to a serious accident. This can be prevented by the use of insulating materials such as PVC pipe, wooden channels etc. Such precautionary measures by using insulating materials are hardly seen.
Fig: 4.3 Poorly Maintained Electric Weir
10 Safety Net
In case of construction of high rise buildings, use of safety net is very important. Safety net may be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the construction and plastering or painting works are going on over the outer walls. This is not practiced in many cases.
Fig: 4.4 Poor Safety Net
It is found that in some cases Hessian cloths are used as safety net, which may provide safety to the passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not sufficient to provide safety to any worker if he/she slips downward accidentally. The safety nets used can hardly withstand the load of large debris.
4.2.4 Safety Helmet, Boot and Hand Gloves
Only in few places it is found that the workers are wearing boots while laying concrete on the floor. In most of the cases workers use ordinary sandals or slippers instead of boot. Workers using hand gloves are hardly found. As a result they have direct contact with sand, cement, painting material, bricks, rusty iron etc. which are harmful for human skin. Because of not using the boots and hand gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick and in capable to perform any work.
Fig: 4.5 Workers Without Boots, Gloves, Helmets.
6. Safety Belt.
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work in the outer walls of a high rise building. Use of safety belt by the workers is a must to prevent any fatal accident caused due to falling from height. This can save someone against slipping or falling down words. But during the survey none of the workers were found using the safety belt, which may cause someone’s life.
Fig: 4.6 Workers Without Safety Belt.
4.2.6 Provision for First Aid.
In most of the construction sites the first aid provision found was of very poor standard. The first aid appliances as per different sections of basic labor law ( Attached as Annexure-1) were not found in any of the sites visited. Some of the site engineers opine that in case of any accident they may take the worker or casualty to the nearest hospitals, which is the reason for absence of standard first aid provision.
8. Miscellaneous.
The working environment of the construction site in regards of health and hygiene, safety and welfare as prescribed in “The Factories Act, 1965” ( Attached as Annexure-1) is absent in most of the cases. It is found that the lack of awareness in regards to safety, health and hygiene is very common to the management and the workers. In many cases it is seen that the workers have the desire to use the safety items like boots, hand gloves, safety helmet, safety belt etc. but they are not provided with those. Again at some places the management provided many safety equipments but the workers are found not to be interested and show negligence in using them.
Fig :4.7 Unprotected Lift Core
Fig :4.8 Unprotected Stair Case
4.3 Malpractices in Tabulated Form.
Basing on the survey to various construction sites and the opinion of personnel related to construction, the malpractices and deviations observed are tabulated below in percentage form
Table: 4.1 Malpractices at Construction Sites in Dhaka City ( Suranjit Kumar Chanda and Mahfuz Ahmed 2008)
|Safety Devices/ Issues |Standard |Moderate |Poor/ Nil |
|Shuttering Condition |30% |40% |30% |
|Electric Wire |10% |10% |80% |
|Safety Net |10% |30% |60% |
|Safety Helmet, Boot and |20% |10% |70% |
|Hand Gloves | | | |
|Safety Belt |0% |15% |85% |
|First Aid |10% |30% |60% |
2. Conclusion
Safety of building construction is great concern to all as safety is related to other social issues described earlier. There is lots of scope to develop the safety related matters in building construction sites. In 1952 there was an act for building construction but no specific rules were provided in there regarding to safety of building construction. In Bangladesh, the building construction industry is growing without any proper guidelines of BNBC. The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers, public property and others, which are summarized at BNBC 1993. Now it is proper time to take steps to resolve safety related issues.
CHAPTER 5
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION RELATED ACCIDENTS
IN DHAKA CITY
5.1 General
Dhaka city is experiencing a building construction boom at present. There is a culture of high rise buildings, foot over bridges, building construction and placing of utility services etc. It seems the city is in building construction frenzy. Although, it indicates the continuous development of the country, unfortunately, it is done in a very careless and unprofessional manner. There is a lack of concern about the safety of both the workers and the common people.
In the wake of this tendency, there has been a mushrooming growth of building construction companies which have also created an extensive scope of engagement of numerous workers engineers and executives. With the overshadowed flourishment of building construction companies and their widespread activities, the concern of safety for the workmanship, public and adjacent property to building construction sites has become a burning issue. The BNBC (1993) code provided safely rules and guidelines for the protection of workers engaged in building construction work, public, property, plant and equipment. This code provisions are mandatory to be implemented during the performance of any building construction related activities. The authorities of various building construction companies seem to be aware of different safety codes set by BNBC (1993) for the safety of workers. Sometimes their smooth marketing strategy and mass advertisement suggests that this safety rules for the prevention of adjacent properties and workmanship are being adopted properly at the respective building construction sites. But from close observation and investigation it was found gulf difference between the assurance given by building construction companies and their practice adopted at the site. The investigation performed- revealed that almost all of the safety rules are neglected at the site which could lead to catastrophic disaster for workers engaged at the site and adjacent property, lives, plant and equipment.
5.2. Data Collection
Among the police stations of DMA, about 32 police stations were surveyed regarding the fatalities of building construction related accidents. List of the Police Stations which has been surveyed are following:
1. Dhanmondi, 2. Mohammadpur, 3. Gulshan, 4. Mirpur, 5. Motijeel, 6. Ramna, 7. Tejgaon, 8. Lalbagh, 9. Uttara, 1O. Sabujbag, 11. Cantonment, 12. Khilgaon, 13.Shampur, 14. Kotoali, 15. Jatrabari, 16. Demra, 17. Hazari Bagh, 18. Pallabi, 19. Kafrul, 20. Badda, 21. Khilkhet, 22. Sutrapur, 23. Adabar 24. New market. 25.Turag. 26. Uttar Khan 27. Dakhin Khan 28. Kamrangirchar 29. Shah Ali 30. Airport 31. Tejgao Silpanchal 32. Palton
Data was collected from the UD case file of police stations from January 2004-December 2007. All types of unnatural death compiled in UD case file. It was trouble some to find out the fatalities of building construction related accidents.
5.3 Collected Data: Attached as Appendix-2.
5.4 Overview of Collected Data
From different sources about 184 death cases were found from January 2004-December 2007.at building construction sites. This signifies the extreme poor condition that is prevailing in the building construction sites of Dhaka city. It also shows the importance of the safety in building construction sites. With compared to other types of accidents, accidents at building construction sites are not negligible. But no emphasis was given against safety measures for building construction sites. Following are the different causes that were associated with 184 fatal cases in building construction sites of Dhaka city:
• Falling persons
• Electricity
• Formwork Failure
• Excavation
• Pile Driving
• Fatigue
• Falling objects from height
• Mechanical Hazard
• Miscellanious Reason
5.5 Conclusion
Every year a lot of workers are giving life in building construction related business. With compared to other types of accidents, accidents at building construction sites are not negligible. But proper steps have not been taken yet to improve the condition. As a result of continuous neglect the condition is becoming worse day by day.
CHAPTER 6
AnalysEs Of Accidents DURING BUILDING Construction
6.1 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous locations in terms of safety sees many accidents causing both injury and death which has been confirmed from the data that we have collected. These data is then tabulated and organized according to different factors that become apparent from the surveyed data. This eventually will help us to understand the characteristics of safety climate in building construction sites in Dhaka city.
6.2 Area Wise Distribution of Accidents
Following table shows the area -wise distribution of fatal accidents
Table 6.1 Fatality distribution during building construction at Different areas of DMA
| Area |Number of Fatalities |
|Pallabi |09 |
|Mirpur |11 |
|Kafrul |07 |
|Tejgaon |09 |
|Dhanmondi |10 |
|Mohammadpur |18 |
|Adabor |01 |
|Khilgaon |11 |
|Sabujbag |06 |
|Motijheel |10 |
|Ramna |10 |
|Hajaribag |05 |
|Lalbagh |05 |
|Uttara |12 |
|Badda |16 |
|Daskhin Khan |04 |
|Shampur |02 |
|Turag |02 |
|Sutrapur |11 |
|Gulshan |13 |
|Polton |09 |
|Demra |01 |
|Jatrabari |01 |
|Newmarket |01 |
Table 6.1 shows distribution of accidents among different areas of Dhaka city. Mohammadpur, Badda and Gulshan area have the highest cases of deaths from building construction activities with Jatrabari, Adabar and Demra area with lower death cases. This is understandable since apartment boom has created lots of building construction activities in Mohammadpur, Gulshan and Dhanmondi area. Other areas with high building construction activities which includes Badda, Motijheel and Tejgaon are also on the higher side. Areas with very little building construction activities include Lalbagh, Turag and Newmarket etc. That’s why fatal accidents in these areas are also very low. Some up of the above table is higher the building construction activities higher the death rate and vice versa. A mentionable portions of death cases are due to falling. High rise building construction say above 10 storied have little tendency of falling fatalities due to better protection (Motijheel, Cantonment).
Low rise building construction say below 3 storied have high tendency of falling for poor or no protection but injury cases are high enough than fatal cases (Lalbag, Tejgaon)
6.3 Year wise Distribution of Fatalities vs. Number of Construction
From RAJUK updated report of last five years on building design approval which is included here, gives testimony to the current trend of rapid building construction which ranges from low rise to high rise buildings.
Table 6.2 Building Design Approval from RAJUK (January 2004 – December 2006)
|Year |No. of Low Rise |No. of High Rise |Total Approval |No of Fatalities |Ratio of Construction per |
| |building |Building | | |Fatalities |
|2004 |3204 |27 |3231 |37 |82 |
|2005 |3343 |31 |3374 |38 |89 |
|2006 |3605 |75 |3680 |51 |72 |
From Table 6.2 it can be summarized that in an average for every 80 constructions one death case occurs. This statistics is very threatful to construction industry in Dhaka City. The data of 2007 could not be collected due to time constrain.
6.4 Category Wise Distribution of Fatal Accidents
By analyzing the collected data from police station, visiting building construction sites both in private and public sector at Dhaka Metropolitan Area following mentionable types of accident were found in case of fatal and injury cases.
* Falling persons from roof and floor.
* Electric shock.
* Formwork/Shuttering failure.
* Wall/Earth Collapsing.
* Falling objects from roof and floor.
* Mechanical Hazard
* Miscellanious
Fig. 6.1 Deaths from Different Causes in Dhaka city Building Construction Sites
From fig. 6.1 we can see falling persons is accountable for 75 deaths out of 184 data that we could collect. From fig. we can see that falling accounts for about 40.8% of all deaths from building construction activities of Dhaka City. Next biggest cause of fatal accidents being from electric shock which is accountable for 33.7% of all deaths. Another distinctive cause of death is Falling material, and we have examined all these elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of deaths
6.5 Analysis of Construction Workers Fall Accidents
6.5.1 Introduction
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous locations in terms of safety. It includes many accidents causing both injury and death which has been confirmed from the data we have collected. Among all categories of accidents death due to falling occurs highest number of times. It is 40.8% of all accidents. Falls have been the cause of the highest number of injuries
and fatalities. These data is then tabulated and organized according to different factors that become apparent from the surveyed data. This data will help us to understand the characteristics of safety climate
Fig: 6.2 Category Wise Distribution of Fatal Accidents
6.5.2 Research Methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction fall accidents and to identify any particular safety measures regarding fall accidents in Bangladesh. It has come from the study that, identifying the accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention.
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information about fall accidents in the construction industry. Initially data was taken from the respective police station of the Dhaka city by a thorough field work. After that broad analysis was carried out by using Microsoft Word, Excel and SPSS etc.
6.5.3 Age Wise Distribution of Accidents
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 18-30 involve more accidents than other age group during construction. Young workers have higher tendency to take risky works such as painting, plastering, exterior ornamental works etc. Without protection like safety helmet, belt etc. As a result higher tendency of falling accidents lies at this group. This high frequency prevails between 18 to 30 years. However experience in construction for more years may not necessarily lead to a decrease in fall accidents, rather young workers tend to be more alert and flexible when fall hazards occur.
Fig 6.3 Age Wise Distribution of Fall Accidents
|AGE |FREQUENCY |PERCENT |
|0-18 Years |13 |17.3 |
|18-30 Years |44 |58.7 |
|30-40 Years |10 |13.3 |
|40-50 Years |5 |6.7 |
|60-70 Years |2 |2.7 |
|Above 60 Years |1 |1.3 |
6.5.4 Time of Fall Occurrence
This study examined the timing of accidents. As shown in the fig in June, with 11 accidents is clearly the month when the occurrence of accidents reaches a peak (constituting 14.66% of all accidents),while February,July and October with 3 accidents each are the months with the least accidents (constituting 4% of the all accidents).
Fig 6.4 Month Wise Distribution of Fall Accidents
Heavy building construction activity observed from March to June. That is why more accidents found at those months. On the other hand in our country financial year starts with the month of July. So this month is utilized for bidding and other official formalities. Besides heavy monsoon causes less activity, less building construction, less accidents. As a result fewer accidents recorded during this month.
This might suggest that the cold weather in winter and spring tends to cause more falls than mild weather in summer and autumn because the movements and reaction of workers are slower and the working surfaces on sites tend to be more slippery in the winter.
6.5.5 Fall Height
Most building constructed in Dhaka City is 4 to 6 storey. In height it will be 40 to 60 feet. Therefore falling from these stories are more in numbers. It is almost 26.67%. High-rise structure normally has higher protections against falling accidents. Awareness against falling is greater with higher elevations. Therefore number of fatal cases reduces with higher floors. Alternatively workers tend to act unsafe more in lower elevations. In these lower stories workers have more confidence which ultimately brings fatal accidents.
Fig 6.5 Hight wise distribution of fall accidents
6.5.6 Year Wise Distribution of Falling
It is observed that number of falls in recent years has been significantly decreased. This might because of the improved safety awareness within the workers, subcontractors contractors and designers.
Fig 6.6 Year Wise Distribution of Fall Accidents
6.5.7 Conclusion and Recommendations
Falls are the most frequent accidents on construction jobsites. From the analysis of fall accidents in the construction industry it is obvious that falls are the cause of many serious injuries and fatalities. At the same time, analysis of data shows that falls have certain properties that may be of help in devising preventive approaches.
Hazards on sites that may cause falls should be detected through rigorous examinations of construction sites and eliminated through effective preventive approaches. Operation susceptible to falls includes roofing, erecting structural steel, and exterior carpentry should have to be done with adequate safety.
Occupation such as construction laborers, roofers, carpenters and structural steel workers are commonly involved with falls and should be specifically addressed through fall prevention efforts. Providing fall preventive equipments to workers, including full body harnesses, along
with the proper training should reduce the number of falls. The lack of safety training is often a contributing factor for many falls.
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective equipment. Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses, because they felt it troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage. More flexible personal fall arrest systems and different type of new technology that can help prevent falls might be able to save more lives.
6.6 Analysys of Accidents Due to Electric Shock
Deaths from electric shock occur due to following reasons
* Falling due to electric shock
* Short circuit during:
i. Painting
ii. Rod gets connected to main line
iii. GI pipe gets connected to main line
iv. Wood gets connected to main line
v. Working in Lift/Motor/AC
Table 6.3 Type of electric shock
|Type of electric shock |Number of cases |
|Falling due to Electric Shock |4 |
|Short Circuit |35 |
|Electric Shock While Painting |6 |
|Rod Gets Connected to Main Line |7 |
|Wet Wood/Bamboo Gets Connected to Main Line |5 |
|Working in Lift/Motor/AC |3 |
|Electric Shock while Plumbing |2 |
6.7 Conclusion
Safety in building construction of building is a prime requisite in our country. Proper steps should be taken to improve safety on building construction sites. Most of the accidents in building construction industry are caused due to lack of proper education and training regarding safety measures and also because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both.
CHAPTER 7
ROLE OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES IN CONSTRUCTION SAFETY MANAGEMENT
7.1 Introduction
Although the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed 30 years ago, the respective roles of the various parties involved in construction projects for site safety are far from settled. This is particularly true for architects and engineers (A/Es), i.e. design professionals. One of the salient texts on construction site safety (Levitt and Samuelson 1987) does not even mention the role of the A/Es. Yet in recent years, industry professionals have been following several high-profile lawsuits and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rulings in which A/Es have been held responsible for accidents suffered on the job site by construction workers.
7.2 Empirical Investigation
To investigate whether there is a common understanding of site safety responsibilities among A/Es, General Contractor (GCs), and subcontractors, a telephone and written survey was taken of a sample of firms located throughout Dhaka city in August and September of 2008. Firms were randomly selected. Firms were contacted by telephone and asked if the employee or manager most knowledgeable about safety management within the firm would participate in a brief, confidential survey. Most respondents participated through a 10 question telephone questionnaire. A small portion of respondents preferred to complete the questionnaire in writing via facsimile machine. The participation rates were approximately 30% for GCs and subcontractors, and over 50% for designers. A total of 25 firms participated in the survey. Of the 10 firms that offered civil engineering design services, 32% of these firms also reported that they at least occasionally participated in design/build project.
As part of the survey, participants were asked which entity (owner, A/E, general contractor or subcontractor) should have primary responsibility for each of five areas determining safe means and methods, setting a safe pace of construction, determining what safety equipment will be used, and monitoring for unsafe conditions and for unsafe acts. The results are summarized in Table 1. Participants were also asked which group actually had primary responsibility for each of these five areas related to site safety. The percentages reported were not substantially different.
As shown by the percentages in the row labeled GCs, the highest percentage of respondents in all three groups ascribed primary responsibility for site safety to GCs. Few respondents ascribed primary responsibility to A/Es or owners. Interestingly, both A/Es and subcontractors had substantially higher percentages of respondents who attributed primary safety responsibility to their own group. That is, the percentages of A/Es who believe that A/Es should have primary responsibility for site safety is higher than the percentages of GCs and subcontractors who believe that A/Es should have primary responsibility.
From table 1 the result can be summarized as, only 4% recommended the primary responsibility on owners and respectively 11% and 22% to A/Es and subcontractors. The highest 63% recommendation goes to GCs. The data indicate there are mixed opinions on site safety responsibilities within the entire sample and within each group,
Table7.1. Percentages of Respondents Who Stated that Specified Group Should Have Primary Responsibility for Site Safety
|Group that should have primary responsibility |Group surveyed |
|for site safety | |
| |A/Es |GCs |Subcontractors |
|Owners |1 |0 |0 |
|A/Es |1 |1 |1 |
|GCs |6 |3 |8 |
|Subcontractors |2 |1 |3 |
After discussing possible explanations for these mixed opinions, this paper attempts to clarify the respective roles each group should assume by analyzing how much each entity can control the factors that lead to construction accidents. This analysis can then be used to establish fair and practical expectations on site safety roles based on the assumption that have limited abilities to prevent construction accidents should also have limited responsibility for site safety.
7.3 Causes of Uncertainty about Safety Roles
This section of the paper discusses four factors that may explain why there is not widespread agreement about the respective roles that the entities typically involved in construction projects should play regarding site safety. The first factor is that detailed expectations about safety roles are not written in project contracts, governmental standards, or anywhere else. The only portion of project contracts that typically even mentions site safety is the general conditions. These document explicitly state that the responsibility for site safety rests with the general contractor and do not mention the roles, however small, that designers and owners, or subcontractors could or should assume regarding safety.
The third factor contributing to uncertainty about safety roles has been the recent literature arguing for increasing design professionals safety obligations. Several construction researchers have published a stream of articles that argue that designers should proactively consider site safety during the design stage. These researchers have identified ways that A/Es can influence site safety during construction by making better decisions during the design stage. These researchers have done a service to the industry by articulating two fundamental points. First, for moral reasons (and perhaps practical risk management reasons), construction safety should be the concern of all individuals and organizations involved in construction projects. Second, it is important that all parties involved in specific projects communicate expectations regarding site safety roles throughout the project.
While not denying the specific contributions this literature has made, it is the opinion of the writer that this stream of literature has increased the uncertainty among the design, construction, and regulatory communities. Although the articles address the role of A/Es in safety during design, it is natural extension to infer that A/Es should play a role in safety during construction. Further more; it should be pointed out that to increase A/Es’ sensitivity to site safety, these researchers advocate dramatic and costly shifts in the training, design process, and attitude of designer professionals. Before pursuing these shifts, it seems it would be prudent to first increase our understanding of the extent to which design professionals can influence site safety. Ultimately, the investigation into this issue should be empirical. In the meantime, a theoretical framework for assigning safety roles is needed.
7.4 Analyzing Ability of Each Entity to Control Root Causes
Having identified the factors necessary to influence root causes and therefore reduce construction accidents, each factor will now be briefly analyzed as to how it applies to the entities typically involved in construction projects. In other words, this section discusses each entity’s ability to control root causes by analyzing how much the associated factors apply to each entity on a typical project. The analysis will first assume the traditional contractual structure, where the owner hires a general contractor to oversee the construction after he or she has hired an A/E to design the project and to perform traditional construction services. MIST Tower Building -2 was taken as model for this project. Bangladesh army gave contract to Navana construction ltd. as a general contractor and they have employed a number of sub contractor. Specifically, it is assumed that the A/E’s construction services include reviewing submittals, responding to requests for clarification, and making occasional inspections to ensure that construction is in conformance with contract documents and that requests for progress payments are reasonable. It is also assumed that the A/E is not responsible for ensuring that construction progress is acceptable, that the A/E does not direct the means and methods, and that the A/E cannot stop the work for any purposes other than conformance with contract documents. How the analysis applies to alternative project arrangements such as design/build is discussed later in the paper.
As is true of all frameworks and models, the analysis performed here simplifies reality in order to better understand it. The analysis requires making generalizations about each entity, which is dangerous because changes in the construction industry over the past 30 years have somewhat blurred the traditional roles of each player. Furthermore, many companies play different roles on different projects. A company actually performing the work can be a subcontractor on one project and a prime contractor on another. A contractor can be a general contractor performing some of the work on one project and a pure construction manager on another. An engineer can be a pure design engineer with no field observation responsibilities on one project and part of a design/build team on another.
The results of the analysis are therefore appropriately applied to a company for an individual project, not all of the projects a company is involved in. That is, the analysis indicates the safety roles a firm should play on a specific project, given the specific operational role it is playing of that project. A firm can therefore be expected to play different site safety roles from one project to the next, depending on its operational activities.
7.4.1 Task Expertise
On the majority of construction tasks performed today, expertise in a task resides only within the subcontractor actually performing the task. One of the most fundamental trends in construction over the past
Table 7.2. Typical Ability to Affect Root Causes for Each Entity
|Factor necessary to affect root causes | | | | |
| |Subcontractor |GC/CM |A/E |Owner |
|Task expertise |High |Moderate |Mixed |Low |
|Safety expertise |High |Moderate |Low |Low |
|Worker I reaction and control |High |Moderate |Low |Low |
|Control site |Moderate |High |Mixed |Mixed |
|Evaluate site conditions |Mixed |Mixed |Mixed |Low |
|[Aggregate ability to Influence root causes] |High |Moderate |Mixed |Low |
50 years has been increased task specialization. Increased levels of competition within regional markets have mandated that construction crews be as efficient as possible. As a result, most construction workers no longer perform the range of tasks associated with their trade; rather, they specialize in a narrow range of tasks using the most efficient tools, materials, and methods. For example, a carpenter might specialize in installing roof sheathing and will rarely be asked to perform all rough carpentry tasks, much less any finish carpentry work. A journey-level cement finisher will specialize in operating a motorized trowel and rarely participate in placing, screeding, or floating concrete. Construction trades persons and their foremen therefore possess deep tacit knowledge about their specific tasks that others on the site lack.
GCs can typically be expected to have a moderate level of task expertise. Twenty or more years age, the GC’s superintendent usually had fairly deep knowledge of nearly all construction tasks because he/she typically had worked his/her way up from a construction trade. Also, because GCs often self-performed all phases of the work except for the utilities, the superintendent played an active role in directing the hour-by-hour field operations. Currently most GCs subcontract out all of the 20-50 phases of construction except for two or three, and GC field engineers are often recent engineering graduates who possess little tacit construction knowledge.
Most A/Es have less construction task expertise than GCs because they have spent considerably less time on construction jobsites. They may be in a position to analyze one portion of certain construction tasks-such as designing falsework or scaffolding but they lack the tacit knowledge of how the false work or scaffolding is used on a minute-by-minute basis to accomplish the work. Similarly, A/Es may better understand the basis for concreate mix designs and the deleterious effects of a high water-cement ratio, but they know little about deploying a crew to execute the placement and finishing of a concrete slab. The vast majority of owners have even less expertise than A/Es because they neither spend much time on a jobsite nor have received the technical training that design professionals receive.
This brief and crude analysis is summarized in Table 4. In short, subcontractors are ascribed to have high task expertise, GCs are ascribed moderate task expertise, A/Es are shown to have mixed expertise (moderate on some tasks and low on others), and owners are ascribed to have low task expertise.
7.4.2 Safety Expertise
Subcontractors are ascribed a high level of safety expertise because it is their employees who are most exposed to hazards on the jobsite, and safety responsibility requires them to train their employees on recognizing and avoiding hazards. GCs are ascribed a moderate level of safety expertise for three reasons. First, they usually have some employees continually on-site who may be exposed to hazards as part of their oversight function. Second, GC employees may potentially be in a position to recognize a hazard and prevent an accident, again associated with their oversight function. A third and practical reason is that GCs want to prevent all accidents because they often slow project progress.
The expected level of safety expertise for A/Es is mixed. On one hand, they have no employees exposed to hazards except during short and infrequent inspections to monitor that the construction conforms to the project documents. On the other hand, A/Es typically possess knowledge of engineering that provides insight into site safety matters such as excavation cave-in protection, bearing capacity of soils and structures, and scaffolding and false work design.
The expected level of safety expertise for owners is low. As is true of A/Es, they have no employees exposed to hazards except perhaps while monitoring progres, and they do not receive any safety training. The expectations concerning safety expertise are summarized in Table 7.2.
7.4.3 Evaluation of Site Conditions
Subcontractors’ ability to evaluate site conditions for unacceptable hazards varies with the type of hazardous condition. Subcontractors can be expected to observe the work and the jobsite at all times because it is their employees performing all of the actual construction work. Also, subcontractors foremen and other managers observe the work regularly to ensure that the work is accomplished within productivity and quality goals. Subcontractors therefore have a high ability to identify visible unsafe conditions such as broken ladders and slippery surfaces. On the other hand, subcontractors may have a low ability to identify hidden unsafe conditions, such as structurally deficient work platforms or hazardous electrical or atmospheric conditions, unless these conditions are routinely faced in their work.
The ability of GCs to evaluate potentially unsafe conditions is similarly mixed. GCs have a high ability to evaluate visible unsafe conditions because it is custom and practice that a GC representative be responsible for the overall jobsite when several subcontractors are working on-site (furthermore, many construction contracts explicitly require that the GC be present when any work is being accomplished, even if only one subcontractor is working).
GCs are also expected to observe the jobsite on a frequent basis to ensure that progress and conformance with specifications are satisfactory. On the other hand, GCs also typically have a low ability to evaluate hidden unsafe conditions such as structurally deficient work platforms or hazardous electrical or atmospheric conditions.
The ability of A/Es to evaluate unsafe site conditions also depends on the type of conditions, but the reasoning is different from that for GCs and subcontractors. A/Es’ ability to identify visible unsafe conditions is low because they are on-site so infrequently. A/Es’ ability to identify and prevent some hidden unsafe conditions, on the other hand, may be higher than the abilities of subcontractors or GCs. Specifically, A/Es are in the best position to implement the specific safe design recommendations reported by Gambatese et al. (1997), thereby preventing the need for some less safe conditions to be present on the site. Also, A/Es may be best able to identify questionable structural situations such as temporary loadings on the permanent structure or temporary work platforms, provided they are explicitly requested to do so and possess all of the data necessary to perform the analysis. Safety liability associated with shop drawing review is a salient issue within the A/E community, and is likely to be addressed in future revisions to the ASCE Policy Statement 350. The ability of owners to evaluate unsafe conditions is low because they typically lack the site presence and expertise to identify both visible and hidden unsafe conditions.
7.4.4 Worker Interaction and Control
Because it is subcontractor employees who are performing the work, it is clear that subcontractors have the highest level of worker interaction and ability to control behavior. Frequent interaction between foremen, other managers, and site employees is necessary to ensure that productivity and quality are maximized. Particularly for open-shop tradespersons, their continued employment, wages. and bonuses depend on their obeying company policies and the direction given by their supervisors.
The levels of worker interaction and ability to control behavior by GCs are moderate. On one hand, GCs typically monitor quality and progress through occasional cursory inspections and discussions with foremen rather than through interacting directly with the workers. Indeed, a subcontractor would likely complain if a GC were interacting frequently with workers during the performance of the work because it would likely lead to conflicting directions and hamper productivity. On the other hand, it is custom and practice and in most subcontracts that the GC can direct a subcontractor foreman to remove specific workers from the site due to unacceptable work or behavior.
For A/Es, the level of worker interactions is low. Their interest in ensuring construction quality is best served by occasional cursory monitoring of the work in progress and discussions with the GC or occasionally with a subcontractor foreman, not with the workers themselves. Again, a subcontractor would complain if an AE were substantially interacting with the workers because it would hamper productivity.
The level of owner interaction with subcontractor workers depends on the type of owner. As is true for A/Es, most owners only perform cursory monitoring of the work and interact with the GC or subcontractor foreman, not with the workers themselves. Some owners, however, have special sanitary or operational procedures (such as the military and processors of food or hazardous materials) that are strictly enforced by trained in-house representatives, occasionally through direction given to the workers themselves.
7.4.5 Control Over Site
The level of subcontractors control over jobsite conditions such as layout, temporary utilities, housekeeping, and operations depends on the subcontractors trade. Subcontractors performing excavation, or foundation work have a high level of site control because they often work along on the jobsite, without other subcontractors or even the GC present. The level of site control for most subcontractors, however, is low because they work mostly when other subcontractors and the GC are also on the jobsite. It could be argued that even these subcontractors have some control over the site conditions because they could refuse to perform their work until the site was cleaned up, better shared equipment such as rams and ladders were provided, or a fewer number of trades were working in the same place. The practical reality, however, is that most subcontractors do not want to refuse the directions of the GC, and will compromise their site conditions standards if necessary.
The level of site control for GCs is very high because they are explicitly tasked with monitoring and coordinating the work of the subcontractors. GCs along can direct the overall work of the subcontractors, including site layout, housekeeping, and the pace of construction (not withstanding the fact that direction that conflicts with the subcontract or with custom and practice can result in change orders or claims).
Furthermore, GCS frequently provide equipment and facilities that are shared by subcontractors, such as ladders, scaffolding, ramps etc.
The practical ability of A/Es to exercise control over the job site is mixed. On one hand, A/Es typically lack the authority (based on typical General Conditions), expertise, and continuous site presence to control the site. They rarely become involved in decisions involving site layout, scheduling the trades, or housekeeping.
As is true for worker interaction, owners’ level of site control depends on the type of owner. Most owners lack the knowledge and staffing to exercise any control over the job-site. Some large owners have special sanitary or operational procedures that result in trained in-house construction representative frequently becoming involved in site control matters.
7.5. Conclusions and Applications
The project has attempted to reduce the uncertainty among design and construction professionals about site safety roles by theoretically analyzing their respective abilities to influence the root causes of accidents. The analysis indicates that under the traditional design-bid-construct project arrangement, subcontractors have a high ability to influence root causes, general contractors have moderate ability to influence root causes, A/Es have mixed ability to influence root causes, and owners have a low ability to influence root causes.
It is hoped that the analysis will serve several purpose. One purpose is to stimulate discussion that may lead to permanent changes in the industry, such that all future construction projects will have detailed expectations on respective safety roles clearly articulated before the site work begins. Such expectations should be in writing (probably in the supplemental conditions) and reflect the same level of exacting detail found in technical specifications and in general conditions clauses on progress payments, submittals, and likewise.
Site safety expectations should also be practical. That is, they must reflect the actual abilities of each company to prevent the root causes of accidents discussed in this analysis. For example, it would not be appropriate to assign substantial safety responsibility to an A/E who is being paid to be on-site during construction only for occasional quality inspections because such a company would have little control over any of the factors needed to prevent accidents.
Finally, site safety expectations should be project and company specific. For example, an engineering firm might team up with a general contractor on a design/build contract. Absent specific contract language, a design engineer could be assumed to have the same ability to control the work when he/she in on-site that the general contractor has. Yet it is highly likely that the engineer possesses nowhere near the same understanding of the construction process or safety standards that a general contractor’s seasoned superintendent possesses. The limited role that design engineers can typically ply in site safety should be specifically acknowledged in the joint venture agreement between the engineering firm and the general contractor, and perhaps in the contract between the owner and the joint venture.
A second purpose of this paper is to facilitate fair post event analysis by entities, outside of the construction industry. The thesis suggests that-absent clear and detailed discussion in the contract documents-the level of site safety responsibility ascribed to each entity should reflect their actual ability to influence root causes. The analysis points to the need to consider the specific root causes involved in an accident, and who could have influenced those root causes. For example an A/E performing traditional construction services typically has little real influence on the root causes of any site accidents, even if the contract vaguely allows him or her to stop the work. Even a seasoned GC superintendent can do little to prevent an accident when influencing the root cause requires task and safety expertise that the superintendent cannot reasonably be expected to have.
All organizations and individuals involved in construction projects should be actively concerned with the safety of the workers performing the actual construction on-site. Establishing realistic, shared expectations about the safety role that each entity can play will reduce the current uncertainty within the design and construction community, allowing entities to better focus on the roles they can realistically assume. Ultimately, share expectations will help prevent some accidents from occurring and improve the overall level of safety on construction site.
CHAPTER 8
ROLE OF DESIGNER TO REDUCE SITE ACCIDENTS
8.1 Introduction
Building construction industry in Bangladesh is notorious for its poor safety records compared with other industries. Accidents arise from different causes that can be attributed to unsafe design and site practices. With the advancements in building construction technology and growing number of building construction sites, the need for proper attention to safety aspects is becoming an important issue. Proper steps should be taken to improve safety at building construction sites so that loss of limbs and life, suffering and damage resulting from avoidable accidents is prevented. Engineers, being a very important part of building construction industry, may contribute to a great extent to ensure the safety of workers. In this chapter, we will discuss how both design engineers and project/site engineers can play their part to reduce the construction site related accidents.
8.2 Design Engineer’s Responsibility to Reduce Accidents
An intervention identified as a breakthrough idea for improving construction site safety (Korman 2001) and which is gaining support in the construction industry is the concept of designing for construction worker safety (DFCS).
Designing for construction worker safety entails addressing the safety of construction workers in the design of the permanent features of a project. The design defines the configuration and components of a facility and thereby influences, to a large extent, how the project will be constructed and the consequent safety hazards (Gambates 2000).
8.2.1 Viability of Designing for Construction Worker Safety
The viability of designing for safety as an intervention for improving construction worker safety provides an incentive to move forward in several ways. Lacking regulatory mandate, implementation of the concept in practice will likely depend on the benefits received from design for safety compared to the effort and resources necessary for its implementation. In terms of preventing injuries and fatalities, evidence exists that its impact is positive as illustrated by the following studies:
1. The European Foundation (1991) found that 60% of the accidents it surveyed could have been eliminated, reduced or avoided with more thought during the design state.
2. Gibb et al. (2004) reviewed 100 construction accidents and found that 47% of the cases, changes in the permanent design would have reduced the likelihood of the accidents.
3. In a study of an intervention to prevent musculoskeletal injuries to construction workers, antecedents in design, planning, scheduling, and material specifications were likewise identified as probable contributors to working conditions that pose risks of such injuries during the actual construction process (Hecker et al. 2001).
4. In an effort aimed at linking the design for safety concept to construction site injuries and fatalities, Behm (2004) found that the design was linked to the accident in approximately 22% of 226 injury incidents that occurred from 2000 to 2002 in Oregon, Washington, and California and in 42% of 224 fatality incidents in the United States from 1990 to 2003.
5. 50% of the 71 general contractors responding to a survey of the construction community in South Africa identified the design as an aspect or factor that negatively affects health and safety (Smallwood 1996).
The contractors surveyed also ranked design as the highest out of all components identified that negatively affect safety.
While the merits of designing for construction safety are evident, implementation in practice is minimal to nonexistent. Studies by Whittington et al (1992) and Suraji et al (2001) reveal that a significant number of injury accidents originate from conditions upstream of the construction projects during planning, scheduling, and design. Though the impact of the design on construction safety is evident and the potential benefits of its implementation are apparent, widespread application of this intervention in the construction industry is lacking. Given its absence from standard design practice, a question arises as to the viability of designing for safety as an intervention in the construction industry. The Center to Protect Worker’s Rights (CPWR) recently funded a pilot project in USA and explore whether designing for construction safety is a viable intervention (CPWR Small Study No. 01-2-PS).
This section presents results from that pilot study and offers strategies to facilitate the concept’s implementation on construction projects throughout the industry.
Fig 8.1 DFCS Process (John Gambatese)
This graphic depicts the typical DfCS process. The key component of this process is the incorporation of site safety knowledge into design decisions. Ideally, site safety would be considered throughout the design process. It is recognized, however, that a limited number of progress reviews for safety may be more practical. The required site safety knowledge can be provided by one or more possible sources of such safety constructability expertise, including trade contractors, an in-house employee, or an outside consultant. In the future, perhaps state and federal OSHA employees may provide such expertise.
8.2.2 Research Objectives and Methods
The purpose of this research study was to investigate designing for safety as a prospective intervention for improving the safety and health of construction workers. Implementation of the concept is considered viable if : (1) he factors that impact implementation on a project do not prohibit, or substantially limit, its implementation; and (2) the outcomes of implementation are beneficial such that they provide sufficient motivation to implement the concept.
The research team contacted the 40 designers to request their participation in the survey on a voluntary basis only. Out of the list of 40 design engineers contacted, 19 architects and design engineers volunteered to be interviewed for a total response rate of 46%.
Each of the 19 designers was interviewed separately. To assure comprehensive and consistent interviews, the researchers developed an interview questionnaire for reference during the interviews that comprised of a list of questions soliciting the following information:
• General background and work experience of the designer;
• The nature and extent of their current design-for-safety efforts;
• Ideas for design changes that could be made to improve construction worker safety;
• The barriers that exist to addressing safety in the design;
• Any foreseen limitations to designing for safety as an intervention in construction; and
• An assessment of the expected impacts of the intervention on projects.
The design experience of those interviewed ranged from three to thirty three years (mean=20.7 years; median=23 years).
In addition to their design experience, the interviewees were asked how much construction experience they possessed. The construction experience of those interviewed ranged from zero to ten years with a mean of 1.7 years.
8.2.3 Results
8.2.3.1 Factors Impacting Implementation of Concept
Two factors that are crucial to implementation of designing for safety in practice are the designer’s knowledge and acceptance of the concept. Of the 19 designers interviewed, four (21%) were judged to be knowledgeable of the concept. When asked directly about their understanding of the concept, three respondents (16%) referred to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) contract documents which state that safety is the contractor’s responsibility. Four respondents (21%) indicated that they had heard of the United Kingdom’s CDM Regulations (HMSO 1994).
Acceptance of the design-for-safety concept was evaluated in several ways. One question elicited their acceptance of the concept by asking about their personal willingness to construction worker health and safety in the design phase of a project. Seven of the respondents (37%) said that they were interested and willing to implement the concept, while 47% gave a neutral response, and only three respondents (16%) expressed negative interest.
The research participants were asked, “What barriers or limitations do you see in addressing construction worker health and safety in project design?” the most cited response to this question was that it would possibly interfere with the constructor’s means and methods. Five (26%) of the designers mentioned increased liability as a barrier.
8.2.3.2 Impacts of Implementation of Concept
When implemented, designing for safety will impact a project in a variety of ways. Several of the interview questions asked about the potential impact of designing for safety, where impact was defined broadly and could be related to any aspect of a project, the design process, or the overall construction industry, including safety and other project characteristics. The impacts mentioned most often were increased project cost (74%) followed by extending the schedule due to lower productivity (47%).
Four respondents (21%) felt that it would limit the design creativity and create therefore decrease overall quality. The only positive impact cited was from one respondent who mentioned an increase in productivity as a result of designing for safety.
8.2.3.3 Design-for-safety Implementation
The extent to which the designers currently implement the design for construction safety concept and address construction work safety in their projects were also examined. Nine designers (47%) indicated that they make design decisions that improve construction worker health and safety. Three of designers (16%) stated that they have worked with or hired a construction health and safety consultant in the design phase.
8.2.3 Some Examples of Design Modifications for Worker Safety
A list of examples of design modifications for the safety of worker were collected in previous studies. These examples are given below:
1. Indicate on the contract drawings the locations of existing underground utilities and mark a clear zone around the utilities. Include the source of information and the level of certainty on the location of the utility.
2. Design parapets to be 1.07 m (42 inch) tall. A parapet of this height will provide immediate guardrail protection and eliminate the need to construct a guardrail during construction or future roof maintenance.
3. Design perimeter beams and beams above floor openings to support lifelines. Design connection points along the beams for the lifelines. Note on the contract drawings which beams are designed to support lifelines, how many lifelines, and at what locations along the beams.
4. Provide permanent guardrails around the skylights.
5. Design window sills to be 1.07m (42 inch) above the floor level. Window sills at this height will act as guardrails during construction.
6. Design steel connections in a particular fashion to facilitate safe worker access to make the connections. Anchorage points might additionally be designed into the surrounding steel members to provide locations for workers to anchor fall protection devices to further ensure safe access to the connections.
8.2.4. Recommendations Regarding Designing for Construction Worker Safety in Bangladesh Perspective
Designing for safety is an intervention that is gaining interest in the construction community in developed countries, but which has not become part of standard design practice in Bangladesh. The results of the study of implementing this concept indicate that designing for safety is a viable intervention in construction. Barriers currently exists in Bangladesh which limits its implementation including: the structure of the construction contracting process; a lack of knowledge and acceptance of the concept; designer education, training, and construction experience; competing project objectives; and motivation to implement the concept. However, none of the barriers are insurmountable. With continued research and dissemination of information on designing for safety, designer knowledge of the concept will increase. Owners can motivate designers through contractual requirements and monetary incentives.
Implementation on the concept of designing for safety in practice should be promoted to increase its use in practice. Continued exposure will increase designer knowledge of the concept and initiate the development of best practices for its implementation. Most importantly, continued consideration of safety in designs will lead to fewer construction worker injuries and fatalities.
CHAPTER 9
REMEDIAL MEASURES TO AVOID ACCIDENTS
1. Safety Precautions in General.
Most of the injuries involve the hands, fingers, eyes and face. Prolonged use of noisy equipment without hearing protection can cause long-term hearing impairment as well. Followings are the general safety guidelines and procedures prior to working:
❖ Nobody should be allowed to use Power Tools that has not been properly instructed and approved in the processes of safe operation.
❖ All should be familiar with their Power Tools. When using a new tool, or one that is foreign to someone, some time should be taken to “test-run” it and get a feel for its performance.
❖ The power tools should be used for the specified job only. When not in use, tools should be stored in a dry, secured location.
❖ Eye protection is extremely important and must be applied while using Power Tools. When operations present potential eye injuries, adequate and appropriate protection must be selected. Face shield, protective goggles, or approved safety glasses may be used depending on the job performed.
❖ Hearing protection is required due to extreme noise levels generated, especially during extended operating sessions.
❖ It should be checked that the electrical circuit used is of the proper rating and the cords, plugs and fittings are intact and secure.
❖ None should try to carry such load that he/she can not sustain.
❖ When traveling up or down the ladders, safe ladder techniques should be observed. Always face the ladder, use at least one hand to grasp the ladder, and never carry loads or objects that could cause loosing the balance and fall.
❖ Different ladders should never be tied together to make them longer unless specifically designed for this purpose.
❖ Use only ladders meeting length and load limit requirements for the given application.
❖ Metal ladders should never be used near electric lines, equipment, or switch gear. Electric Arc welding must not be done from a metal ladder.
❖ A ladder should always be set up on stable, solid surfaces. Ladders should never be placed on boxes, blocks, or crates to extended reach.
❖ A ladder should always be inspected for damage or defect prior to use.
❖ Workers should be aware of the surroundings and on the lookout for hazards.
2. Safety Precautions from Engineering Point of View
To many of the site engineers the most important aspect of labor safety is the consciousness. Followings are the recommendations made by the site engineers of different sites:
9.2.1 Shuttering (Formwork) Practice.
Shuttering practice is very poor in our country. In most of the cases people use bamboo shutters. To recover the demerits of using bamboo shutters (discussed earlier) we have to use steel frames of proper shape. At present only few of the construction companies are using these types of shutters.
For the heavy initial cost most of the companies are not willing to use it. But from the future perspective, steel shutter has following advantages over the conventional bamboo and plank shuttering:
❖ They are more durable than bamboo.
❖ They are cost effective in the sense of long term use.
❖ Can be easily handled.
❖ In case of a properly shaped steel shutter there is no sag in the slab.
❖ Corrosion may occur onto the steel body, but by proper maintenance it can be avoided.
9.2.2 Electric Wire.
In most of the cases electric wires are exposed in the air and connected to the rod, which is very risky for the workers. But if we use electric wire through the PVC Pipe, then this problem can very much be overcome. The use of PVC Pipe may increase the cost but this ensures safe working of the workers.
9.2.3 Safety Net.
In many cases people use Hessian cloth as a safety net in stead of steel net or tin shed. But it doesn’t give proper safety to the workers those who are working in the site. It only provides safety for the passersby around the surroundings of the site. In order to provide safety for the labors we have to use steel net or tin shed around the working place. Moreover in the buildings where the punch exists e.g. lift core, should be properly fenced in order to avoid any unwanted accident.
9.2.4 Boot and Hand Gloves.
Labors are wearing boot and hand gloves only when they are working with the concrete. But they have to wear it when they are working with the steel, in the casting sites etc. to avoid any hazard. When they carry rod, shuttering materials, casting concrete, they should also wear it. This should be enforced by managerial staffs working at the site.
9.2.5 Helmet.
For most of the heavy construction work labors should wear helmet. But for their comfort they only wear it when they are forced. So in every site it should be enforced that every worker is wearing helmet for their personal safety.
9.2.7 First Aid.
Although the provision of first aid is a must in every construction site, but it is absent in many cases. Presence of first aid facilities should be ensured at every construction site.
9 Other Precautions.
In addition to the safety precautions mentioned above followings are recommended:
❖ Awareness is the foremost important aspect to minimize the safety hazards. Therefore employers and workers both should be aware of the safety issues.
❖ There should be adequate sign posting and safety awareness board.
❖ Every labor should have a minimum institutional background regarding safety matters. So there should be some organization to train and certify the field level workers at various stages.
❖ The safety related aspects mentioned in BNBC may be reviewed to make it more pertinent to real life scenario.
❖ Though there is provision of checking the plan or design prior to construction but there is hardly any practice of inspection during construction. Therefore the safety matters are often overlooked. So there must be some provision of inspection during construction.
9.4 Checklist of Construction Safety Hazards
In the following checklist, the main topics are in alphabetical order. But in practical, the hazards appear in random order, and so it is impossible to arrange a checklist that will correspond to the needs of the field inspector in an entirely logical manner. We strongly recommend that the management should follow the checklist to prevent the occurrence of construction site related accidents.
Cranes
1. Who is responsible for crane operations? Are defects corrected before work proceeds?
2. Is the operator fully qualified? If a license is required, is he valid for the type and size of the crane he is operating?
3. Are people kept out from under moving loads?
4. Are critical operations discussed with all concerned before work begins, so the reasons for all steps are understood?
Electricity
1. Are competent electricians available to install temporary wiring and to make any changes that are needed? Are untrained men prohibited from making changes or extensions?
2. Is electrical equipment in good condition? Are conductors large enough to carry the current without overheating?
3. Are all the connections made by using appropriate plugs, receptacles, or enclosures? Are there any makeshift connections, bare wires, or damaged cables?
4. Is an approved grounding system in use?
5. Are metallic hard hats prohibited where contact with live wires might be possible?
6. Are there any overhead electric power lines on the site? Are the lines disconnected when working close to them could be dangerous? What precautions are taken when it is necessary to work in the vicinity of the hot lines?
Excavations
1. Who decides whether the excavations should be shored? Is the cost of shoring likely to influence him to make an unwise decision?
2. Is shoring inspected daily before work is resumed? Is it installed and removed in a safe manner? Is it adequately strong?
3. Is there safe access to the excavation and do means of escape comply with regulations? Are there any insecure ladders, planks, or ramps?
4. Is there a barrier to keep people and vehicles from falling into the excavation?
5. Is the stability of the excavation being disturbed by vehicles passing too close to it? Is there always someone watching while backfilling work is in progress?
6. If an unexpected pipe, tank, foundation, or other obstruction is found, is it investigated before work proceeds?
Forms and shoring
1. Are vertical shores truly plumb? Are they in good condition?
2. Is there any sagging or deformation of forms?
3. Is the schedule for stripping forms in accordance with accepted practice, considering weather, structural design, and any guidelines from design professionals?
4. Is the foreman in charge of stripping forms experienced in the work and aware of hazards inherent in the job?
Guard Rails and Barriers
1. Are prescribed railings or wire rope barriers placed at exposed edges of floors?
2. Are open trenches and excavations protected by barriers? Are they marked with lights if there is any traffic after dark?
3. Are barriers placed to enclose the area in which workers could be struck by part of a crane as it swings?
4. Are floor openings guarded or boarded over when not in use?
5. Are public sidewalks adequately protected from falling debris? Where traffic onto the site crosses sidewalks, are there guards to direct traffic?
Housekeeping
1. Are all materials piled so they cannot fall or blown about?
2. Are nails removed from scrap lumber or bent over?
3. Are all spills cleaned up promptly?
4. Are unused slings, hoses, and pallets stored to prevent them from obstructing traffic or becoming a tripping hazard?
5. Is glass taped or otherwise marked to make it visible to workers?
Ladders
1. Are all ladders free from split rails, loose rungs, or other obvious defects? Are ropes and metal parts of extension ladders in good condition?
2. Are ladders tied off near the top even when used for only a short time? Are workers careful to secure the bottom of the ladder against slippage whenever it is moved?
3. When ladders are used to gain access to scaffolding or floors, do they extend at least three feet above the working level?
4. Are damaged ladders that are to be discarded cut up immediately to prevent their being used? Are those that are to be repaired properly tagged and set aside to assure that they will not be used?
5. Are folding stepladders properly used? Do workers recognize the danger of using them in the folded position instead of a straight ladder? Do they avoid standing on the top of two steps?
6. Are ladders set up at the proper slope of about 1:4?
Machine Tools
1. Are dangerous parts such as saw blades, gears, belts, and shaft couplings adequately guarded?
2. What precautions are used when tools create harmful dusts? Do workers recognize the dangers associated with silica and asbestos?
3. Are motors grounded?
4. Would it be possible for an unauthorized worker or trespasser to use the equipment? Who is responsible for securing it at the end of the day and whenever it is unattended?
Manual Handling
1. Is work planned to minimize manual lifting?
2. Do workmen know how to lift properly in order to avoid injuries? Do they recognize the dangers of improper lifting? Have there been safety meetings on the subjects? Has any pre-employment screening been done to determine whether applicants have had bad injuries or hernias?
3. Are rollers, conveyors, dollies, and hand trucks used whenever possible to minimize the need to carry heavy loads?
4. Are materials ever tossed from man to man? Could misses endanger others? Would it be better to use a bucket and hand line or some other method of moving the material?
5. Do workers wear safety belts or substantial support whenever they must work close to an unguarded opening?
Protective Clothing
1. Are hard hats required? If so, have suitable ones been obtained? Are they being worn?
2. What type of gloves should be used for each operation? Are men using suitable ones? Are they in good condition?
3. Do workers have suitable footwear? Should they be wearing safety shoes for toe protection, guards over their shoes, insulating soles, spark-proof shoes, or cold weather boots? Are soles badly worn, slippery, or unsuitable for the job?
4. Are safety belts, harnesses, and life lines provided and used where needed? Are workers aware of the danger of impalement when working even a few feet above projecting reinforcing rods?
Roofing
1. On slopping roofs, are crawling boards, life lines, and edge protection provided where needed?
2. Are regulations governing work on flat roofs being obeyed?
3. Are there weak spots, skylights, or deteriorated asbestos-cement boards through which a worker might fall?
4. Are safe methods being used to melt and handle bituminous materials?
5. Are foremen alert to the possibility that a worker may be reaching his physical tolerance for heat or exertion? Do they anticipate problems rather than wait for trouble?
Sanitation and First Aid
1. Are approved toilet facilities are available? Are washbasins and clean water available? Are workers required to wash after using chemicals or other exposure to sewage or other possibly contaminated materials?
3. Is there an adequate supply of safe drinking water? Is it kept safe from contamination on the job?
4. Has a first aid kit been obtained and approved by a doctor or other qualified person? Is it kept supplied? Is someone always available to render first aid? Do workers know who he is?
5. Have harmful materials been identified? Have the necessary precautions for their safe use been determined? Are they being followed?
Scaffolds
1. Are all scaffolds designed and erected by competent persons? When the regulations require that the services of a professional engineer be provided, is this done?
2. How was the required loading limit determined? Are loads distributed as uniformly as contemplated by the designer?
3. Are scaffolds inspected every day before work begins? Does the inspector check to be sure no braces or other essential parts have been disturbed?
4. Has proper access been provided to the working levels? Are ladders securely clamped or lashed in place? Do they extend at least three feet above the working level, or are handholds provided?
5. Is the scaffold secured to the building at enough points to assure stability?
6. Are planks in good condition? Are they sufficient to cover the whole width of the work area, out to the toe board, without leaving space for material to fall or for a worker’s foot to pass? Are boards properly supported to prevent displacements?
Security
1. When any unidentified person walks onto the site, is he required to wait until the person he wants to see arranges to meet him?
2. Is the site enclosed? Is the fence inspected before work begins and at the end of the day? Are gates locked? Is there a watchman or security system? Would it be possible to anyone to remain after work without being detected?
3. Could vandals, children, or inquisitive people get onto the site? Could they get onto the scaffolds or tamper with machines?
4. Are petty thefts investigated? Have there been any serious incidents of vandalism, disappearance of materials, or fores of suspicious irogin?
5. Is a log kept of all visitors, showing names, business, who they saw, when they arrived, and when they left? Are badges given to visitors, and returned when they leave?
6. Have there been any demonstrations or threats of violence? Have plans been made to cope with attempts to stop work?
Weather
1. If there is an exceptionally severe rainstorm, is flooding likely? Will additional shoring of excavations be needed if rain continues? Will pumps be needed? Is emergency power available to operate them?
2. Is the structure adequately guyed to withstand winds that have been forecast, with due allowance for sudden gusts in excess of predictions? Are there any loose materials that should be secured?
3. Are cranes left in a secured position? Are machines parked where they would be safe in case of a mud slide or similar shifting of the earth?
4. Who determines when work must be stopped because weather changes have made it unsafe to continue?
5. In hot weather, are first aid people prepared to treat cases of heat exhaustion and sunstroke? Are preventive measures taken in anticipation of these illnesses
CHAPTER 10
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
10.1 Conclusion
The main objective of this project work was to shed light on safety related issues of building construction sites in Dhaka city. For this, three approaches were taken. Firstly, data was collected on accidents that have occurred over last four years from law enforcing agencies. Secondly, several building construction sites were visited to get a first hand view of the safety related situation that is prevailing in the building construction sites. Thirdly, tried to understand what management i.e. owners/contractors of building construction sites think about whole issue and what approach they are taking to minimize such accidents in their sites. The whole findings of these three approaches may be summarized as below:
▪ Death from building construction sites related accidents are significant in number. In 2004, the total number of deaths from building construction site related accidents were 37. In comparison, in 2002, deaths from road accidents in Dhaka city were 400 in number. Furthermore, since building construction activities are only going to increase coming years, it is understandable that building construction site related fatal cases will only increase in future unless appropriate steps are taken to curb it down.
▪ From the deaths record that we have collected, it can be seen that falling accounts for major portion (40.5%) of all building construction site related deaths. Among different types of falling accidents, it is also seen that falling through unprotected stair case and lift core, and falling during rod binding near periphery of the roof or floor accounts for major portion of the falling fatalities. Therefore, lift core and stair cases are properly protected with appropriate fencing and cover in under building construction building, falling related death will be reduced dramatically. Furthermore, if proper fencing is provided along the periphery of the building, failing fatalities will be reduced. It may be mentioned that Bangladesh National Building Code specifically asks for providing obstruction against falling in under building construction buildings.
▪ Electric shock is the second biggest cause of building construction site related deaths. The building construction sites that were visited for this project invariably had electrical haphazardly lain in the floors intermingling with other service pipes like water. In many cases, it touched the reinforcing bar which is good conductor of electricity and can cause accidents. Among different types of deaths from electric shock, short circuit accounts for 33.7% of the share. Regarding age of workers facings fatal accidents, we found that average age of fatalities is within 18-30. The average age is on the higher side which indicates experience of workers alone is not enough to prevent fatal accidents. More is required to prevent that.
▪ June being the busiest month in terms of building construction activities as because of the ending of financial year, sees the highest number of deaths from building construction sites.
▪ Building construction sites in Dhaka don’t at all follow safety rules and regulations. Many sites that were investigated, show that workers don’t use safety measures like boots, helmets etc. Overall condition is also appropriate for accidents to occur. Electrical wires are left haphazardly in the building construction floors. Safety nets are not always provided. Sometimes, nets are not strong enough to prevent falling accidents. First aid attendants are not always present and the attendant is not always a trained professional in this area. Staircases and lift core, which are one of the main places for falling type accidents, are left unprotected in most of the sites. Cleanness is ignored in every building construction site. Debris, rod, wood, bamboo, brick, stone pieces etc. are laid down haphazardly here and there and those make the environment unhygienic. Mosquito and other insects may spread disease with ease.
▪ Managements overall view is not cooperative to prevent accidents in their building construction sites. They take minimal measure to prevent accidents. In many cases, they are even not aware of the existing laws regarding building construction safety. Management’s tendency always is to hide any sort of accidents that have occurred in their sites. Therefore, many such accidents remain unpublished. Compensation for a victim of accidents also varies from case to case and does not follow existing labor laws.
10.2 Recommendations
• People should be aware of the fact that building construction site accidents is a problem in our society and should be dealt with more seriously and objectively. Falls are the most frequent accidents on building construction sites. Creating awareness about safety both among workers and managers will reduce falling. Proper protection of lift core and stair cases is of very high importance. Mandatory use of safety nets and personal arrest systems such as belts will prevent fatal falling. Fatalities against electricity also important. Electrical wire should properly insulated, switch board and others should properly install.
• Creating awareness among both parties through training, public media etc.
• Rules and regulations should be formulated considering present situation in this regard.
• Incorporating health and safety requirement in the tender specifications.
• Educate and aware management about the necessity of maintaining safe environment in the site.
• Enacting laws that will force management to abide by the rules and regulations regarding safety.
3. Scope for Future Study
• Collected data form third party sources. – Police station, visiting building construction sites, interviewing both workers and managers. Data collected in this project is limited in extent. Only death records could be gathered. Injury record can be collected to get a better building construction site’s safety related situations.
• Only Dhaka city was considered in this project. It can be extended to include whole Bangladesh.
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Unprotected Edges
Design Kickoff
Design
Internal Review
Issue for Construction
External Review
Trade contractor involvement
* Establish design for safety expectations
* Include construction and operation perspective
* Identify design for safety process and tools
* QA/QC
* Cross-discipline review
* Focused safety review
* Owner review
Fig 9.1 Steel Shuttering Work
6. Safety Belt.
Labors should wear safety belt when they are working in the perimeter of the building. But this is not maintained in all the sites. The only remedy is that this has to be enforced.
Fig: 9.2 Safety Board
• Safety of other building constructions like bridges, culverts, flyover, tunnels and other civil Engineering structures should be encounter.
• Rigorous statistical analysis can be performed to better correlate different factors that are affecting building construction site related accident
