Introduction
According to Hughes and Ferrett, “construction is the largest industry in the UK” (1). It accounts for approximately 8% of the country’s GDP (Hughes and Ferret 1). Hughes and Ferrett further state that the construction industry accounts for more than 10% of the jobs in the country (Hughes and Ferret 1). The implication is that the contribution of the construction industry to the country’s economy is immense.
In the year 2010, there were 300,000 construction companies employing more than 2.5 million workers (Hughes and Ferrett 1). However, despite its importance to the economy, the construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries in the UK. For instance, in the period between 2004 and 2005, the rate of fatal injuries was one death per 100,000 workers (Hughes and Ferrett 1).
In the period between 2006 and 2007, the rate of fatalities increased by 28%. The view that health and safety hazards in the workplace should be a major concern is shared by Hislop. Hislop states that accident statistics across the world show that construction industry is one of the most risky industries in the world (1).That should not be the case given the fact that technology has advanced so much and some of the things that were unavoidable many years ago can be avoided right now.
According to Hislop, the leading cause of safety-related hazards “is the absence of systematic processes [that can] identify and mitigate workplace hazards and unsafe work practices” (1). According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, more than 1,079 construction workers were killed annually between 1980 and 1993 (qtd. in Hislop 1).
Some of the main factors causing fatalities in construction sites include: “incomplete structural connections, temporary facilities, tight work areas, varying work surface conditions, ever-changing work sites, multiple operations, and crews working in close proximity” (Hislop1). Other factors leading to accidents in construction sites include lack of preplanning, selection of incompetent contractors and lack of supervision before, during and after construction (Hislop 1).
The fact that the number of fatalities resulting from accidents and hazards in the construction industry is still high indicates that a lot of work needs to be done in terms of sensitizing construction clients, contractors, and workers on the importance of health and safety plans.
Health and Safety Plans and their Relation to Business
The objective of every business is to make profits. In order to remain profitable, revenues must exceed expenses (Hislop 1). Even in the construction industry, the secret to being profitable is the same – revenues must exceed expenses. Hislop states: “However, one element that is often overlooked that has a negative effect on net profits is the cost of accidents” (1). The occurrence of health and safety incidents leads to tremendous losses in the construction industry.
Expenses incurred due to accidental damage to equipment or personnel may lead to indirect financial costs to the business (Hislop1). The financial costs associated with accidents may come in the form of compensation premiums. Employees affected by health and safety hazards at the construction site may make claims against the client or the contractor. When safety issues rock the construction industry, insurance premiums are likely to increase. Increased insurance premiums definitely affect the construction industry negatively (Hislop 1). Apart from that, the business may also suffer from disrupted work schedules (Hislop 1). All these factors are costly to the construction industry.
Industry Overview
In the early days, it was generally accepted that fatalities were part of the construction industry. It was normal to expect fatalities in the during a construction work. However, the situation has improved in the recent years. The expectations of the people have also changed over the years and safety programs in projects are being taken into account. Many organizations cannot afford to hire and retain technical experts to assist them in the construction, modification and maintenance of buildings. For that reason, it is common for organizations to outsource the work to perform the construction.
Because of the increased cases of litigation, organizations prefer to outsource their construction works in order to transfer risk. That followed a trend whereby workers would use “litigation to resolve injury claims” (Hislop 5). However, outsourcing should not be an excuse for shoddy work. When outsourcing the design and construction phase, it is important to identify contractors with the right expertise and equipment required to undertake the task at hand. The construction clients need to make sure that safety is an integral component of their projects.
Regulations in Place to Mitigate the Risk of Health and Safety Hazards
The Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 was the first official regulation in the UK that took into considerations the safety and health hazards that may occur in the workplace. The Act came about following recommendations by Robens Report in 1972. The Act was established following the revelations that as many as five million people were not protected “by any health and safety legislation” (Hughes and Ferrett 14-15).
At that time, members of the public were not considered by contractors when designing a health and safety plan. The Act created the Health and Safety Commission, whose name was later changed to Health and Safety Executive. The Act outlined the duties of the client to the employees and the terms under which enforcement may be carried out.
The latest regulation is the Construction (Design and Management) Act 2015. It is also known as 2015. According to the Health Safety Executive, the rules “came into force in April 2015” thus amending the earlier CDM, which was made in 2007. The law assigns duties to all the stakeholders of a construction site. For example, the client (whether domestic or commercial) has the responsibility of “ensuring the health and safety of [everyone] affected by the [construction].”
On the other hand, the designers have the responsibility of eliminating and reducing any foreseeable risks, which may occur when constructing the building or when using and maintaining the building once it has been built (Health Safety Executive). The designer, in this case, refers to architects, civil engineers and anyone who participates in the design of the work (Health Safety Executive).
CDM 2015 also assigns responsibilities to the principal designer. The principal designers should be responsible for designing, managing, monitoring and coordinating the health and safety of the construction site during the design phase (Health and Safety Executive). The principal contractor has an obligation to ensure that they plan, manage, coordinate, and monitor the health and safety of the building during the building time (Health and Safety Executive. The principal designer is the person or contractor selected by the client to coordinate the construction project. Usually, the principal designer is in charge of managing more than one of one contractor.
The contractor is required to “plan, manage and monitor” the construction “with a view to ensuring the health and safety of the people affected by the construction” (Health and Safety Executive). The term contractor may refer to anyone who engages the employer directly for the purposes of building, changing or demolishing a building. Lastly, the workers have an obligation to report anything that might endanger the safety of themselves and others affected by the construction (Health and Safety Executive). The worker, in this case, refers to anyone who is involved in the building process itself or anyone involved in maintaining or demolishing the building.
According to the Health Safety Executive, the government came up with Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 to protect all the people working on construction sites and those affected by the construction. For that reason, each construction site requires There health and safety standards, an implementation criteria and a system for monitoring responsibility. All this should be done at the onset of the contractual process. In addition, the environmental safety and health plan submitted during the approval phase should be implemented fully.
Ordinarily, it is expected that contractors are specialized. It is also expected that the contractors understand the job they are undertaking. Again, normally, clients expect contractors to know the health, safety and environmental regulations that they have to follow. That is the excuse given by most of the clients when they apportion the blame to the contractors. Clients also expect contractors to take care of the safety of their workers and the people within the vicinity of the construction site. While this is true, other factors come into play and may compromise the quality of work done by the contractor. For example, because of the pressure to meet the agreed deadlines, the contractor may not control hazards in the workplace.
As a result, the contractors may not put in place the measures required to protect the people within the vicinity of the construction site. In some cases, the contractors may fail to inform their employees of the hazardous materials that they are bringing to the workplace hence leading to accidents and injuries. It is also common for contractors to have employees who are not properly trained how to handle the materials that they are using, which may lead to health and safety hazards.
Avoiding Safety and Health Hazards
It is important to have a health and safety program at every construction site. The program is meant to reduce and eliminate health and safety hazards during the construction process and in maintaining the building even after the construction has taken place. The safety program should be documented.
The documentation should include details about hazardous practices at the workplace, compliance with the safety requirements, workplace audits, and information about the employees. There should be a system of investing and reporting accidents in case they happen. In addition, there should be supervisors with the requisite training to monitor and ensure that the safety requirements, policies, and regulations are followed. The supervisors must also have the required knowledge.
The documentation on safety program must have information about the hazards that might take place on certain sites. It should also outline how local and national health and safety requirements would be complied with. One of the common challenges that cause health and safety hazards is failing to communicate health and safety procedures at the construction site and the failure to reinforce them. Safety rules should be clear because rules that are poorly defined may lead to the lack of compliance.
It is also important to carry out a risk assessment. The risk assessment identifies the risks to employees and other people that might be affected by the construction activities. The risk assessment identifies the risks involved and the control measures that should be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of injury and ill health (Perry 102).
Ordinarily, it is expected that each contractor and sub-contractors provide the principal contractor with a risk assessment list of all the hazards involved and the best means to mitigate them. Additionally, if anything uncommon needs to be undertaken at the construction site, it is important to carry out a risk assessment (Perry 102). However, a risk assessment plan is not sufficient as the health and safety plan. Usually, the health and safety plan is comprehensive and much more detailed (Perry 102). It is also important to display the health and safety plan in an area where everyone involved in the construction can read it.
When the risk of hazards is low, it is possible for one competent person to manage the safety program (Hughes and Ferret 1). However, in an organization where the risk of hazards is high, specialists such as engineers and work planners may be required to assist in making sure that the safety standards are satisfactory (Hughes and Ferret 1).
Safety should involve more than just artisans wearing hats to construction areas; it is a principle that involves identifying and eliminating job health and safety issues “throughout the lifecycle of a work project” (Hislop 1). It should be a philosophy inculcated in the design phase of a building. Every stakeholder involved should ensure that they inculcate a “philosophy that discourages work practices that place individuals at risk of injury” (Hislop 2).
The organization of a site is important in ensuring the health and safety of the construction site. For example, an organized site should prevent access of the construction site by unauthorized people. Unauthorized people include members of the public and even children. An organized construction site will also have an effective traffic management system. An effective traffic management system will ensure that the vehicles used in the construction site do not endanger the lives of the people around the construction site.
Another quality of an organized site is effective storage of materials and waste disposal systems. An effective system will ensure that the hazardous materials are stored safely, and waste that might harm those in the vicinity of the construction site is disposed of in a safe manner (Health and Safety Executive). An organized construction site will also have a good administration system.
A good administration system involves making sure that any paperwork required to manage the construction site legally and safely is in place and kept well (Health and Safety Executive). Lastly, an organized site will ensure the welfare of that construction site. That involves ensuring that the construction site has safe water for drinking, and amenities such as toilets, changing rooms, restrooms and lockers (Health and Safety Executive).
A design layout shows the following factors:
Positioning of the staff, equipment and facilities (Hill and Hill 335)
The positioning and size of facilities such as rest rooms and cafeterias (Hill and Hill 335)
The size and the number of entrances, exits, emergency routes, stairways, elevators, corridors and walkaways (Hill and Hill 335)
A good design layout will take into consideration the “essential health and safety features” and their contribution to the health and safety of the customers, staff and members of the public (Hill and Hill 335). Those features include emergency exits, corridors, aisles, lighting and ventilation (Hill and Hill 335). One way of achieving that is using a system flow chart. A system flow chart can help to understand the health and safety features in place and identify any weaknesses in advance. When all that is put in place, then the designers can consider how to improve the aesthetics and quality of the working environment (Hill and Hill 335).
The construction client has a great role to play in improving health and safety standards. The client should always insist on “evidence of a good health and safety record and performance of a contactor at the tendering stage, and ensure that health and safety standards are being met on site” (Hughes and Ferret 3). The client should also be strict in ensuring that those who are employed to work on the site have the required training and are suitable for their jobs (Hughes and Ferret 3).
It also saves the business the trouble of time delays. In addition, the client safeguards their reputation because once a client’s reputation has been damaged by health and safety hazards, it is hard to regain that their reputation. Another unintended consequence is the loss of business. Therefore, to a large extent, the bulk of the responsibility lies with the client.
Conclusion
As many organizations get involved in the construction industry, they are realizing that unsafe workplaces can cost them a lot of money (Hislop 1). Accidents resulting during or after construction may have direct costs such as compensation and disrupted work schedule. In many of the cases, the failure of the management and the supervision to “effectively communicate the importance that safety has on the continued economic viability of the organization employing them and the importance of maintaining the workforce’s health so that there are qualified individuals available to do the work” (Hislop 2).
Having an environment that is free from injuries and health hazards is important to organizations because scheduling delays are avoided as well as financial losses associated with injury claims (Hislop 3). Currently, laws have been put in place to ensure that those responsible for foreseeable injuries and safety hazards take responsibility for accidents, injuries, and other safety hazards resulting due to unsafe workplaces (Hislop 3).
Ordinarily, there are many challenges when trying to implement good standards. Those obstacles include financial constraints and the pressure to meet the set performance targets (Hughes and Ferret 3). Despite these challenges, there are moral, legal and economic incentives that should encourage those in charge of construction sites to meet their health and safety obligations.
The society expects good health and safety standards. What might have been acceptable many years ago may not be acceptable now. Failure to meet the standards may lead to direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include damage caused to buildings and equipment, and claims on the contractor or the client. Indirect costs may include poor public image, scheduling delays and loss of time.
Works Cited
Health and Safety Executive. Health and Safety in the Construction Industry. n.d. 26 January 2016 <http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/2015/responsibilities.htm>.
Hill, Alex and Terry Hill. Operations Management. Basingtoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Hislop, Richard D. Construction site safety: A guide for managing contractors . Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers , 1999.
Hughes, Phil and Ed Ferrett. Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction. New York, NY: Routledge, 2012.
Perry, Pat. CDM 2007. Oxford: Elsevier, 2008.
