Evaluation of current health and safety acts and their application in the construction industry
The construction industry has faced several challenges of health for a long time and therefore, has become a big concern for health stakeholders. It has been shown in records that construction industries have been the most dangerous places concerning health issues mostly in third world countries. Many efforts have been made to deal with the problems of health in the construction industries, but many of such efforts have borne no fruit while others have slightly improved the health conditions (Cheng and Wu, 2013).
Some countries including developed and developing countries have been faced by numerous cases of accidents and fatalities in construction industries. In other countries, there are departments that are mandated to license construction workers to do construction jobs. Additionally, the departments constantly check the quality of buildings, structures, machines and equipment used in the construction industry. Health and safety aspects also look at the type of materials and nature of the soil that a building is to be constructed. This makes it possible to evaluate and control the type of buildings and to ensure that they conform to standards laid down in regulations and policies.
Evaluation of current health and safety acts and their application in the construction industry
As have been mentioned in the introduction of this paper, all countries would wish that their construction industries be as safe as possible. However, this may not be the case; many countries are facing severe problems in health and safety. This has prompted their stakeholders to enact relevant policies, codes of practice, laws, and policies to deal with such problems (Pousson, 2013).
There are several laws that have been put in place; some of the laws are repetitive in most countries. However, more developed countries have made several strides ahead of developing countries in an attempt to make the construction industry as safe as possible to workers and the entire public who are the consumers. For example, in Kenya, the Ministry of public works has mandated the National Construction Authority (NCA) to undertake the implementation of regulations to safeguard the construction industry and ensure safety. However, it important to note that it is not a one department affair as other departments work hand in hand with the National Construction Authority to ensure that the regulations are observed. One of the collaborative departments is the National Environment Management Authority, which also looks at the environmental impacts of construction of any construction.
Nature of human factors and their influence
Construction industries must ensure that their employees working as experts are licensed builders and other related works within the construction industry. The licensing should be done by a body mandated to offer such licenses (Nussbaum, 2011). This is a policy that has been adopted in many countries, both developed and developing. It is one way of ensuring that only qualified experts are involved either as builders or as consultants. Importantly, licensing proves that an individual is qualified and competent to undertake the responsibility. Similarly, it also gives evidence and accountability to whoever is mandated to do a particular job specifically within the construction industry. However, notably,
there have been great concerns by major stakeholders to enact new strategies such as campaigns to inform the workers on the safe ways of dealing with hazards predominantly met in construction companies. Campaigns are very important because they are means of informing and teaching the public about the relevant policies that guide this sector (Lamont and Appleby, 2009). In many countries, the department concerned with constructions, for example, the public works ministry as in Kenya would regularly plan and carry out road shows to teach and inform the public on the best practices for health and safety in construction industries.
Safe maintenance of work equipment and machines in construction industries is fundamental to the safety of operators in the site. Work equipment and machines encompass all tools that are used in the construction site (Pappas, 2017). During installation and the commissioning of this equipment, care must be taken to ensure that they conform to the safety standards and following strict procedures of installation. In this connection, the employer must ensure that the equipment passes the test standards required. This is necessary because most accidents found in construction sites have been recorded as majorly coming from faulty equipment and improper installation. Therefore, a policy describing the best procedures for commissioning equipment and proving them as safety equipment before they are used is important.
Common policies that require the construction workers to be in special gears has minimized the number of accidents in this sector.
Nature of human factors and their influence
Human beings majorly contribute to the problems that are constantly faced in construction industries. Not following the regulations is one major problem that causes many accidents and health hazards in this sector (Ganah and John, 2015). It is true that many construction industries even employ unqualified persons to undertake construction projects although they are very much aware of the consequences of this. This is very common in developing countries more than the developed ones. Most workers are negligent in using protective gears as required by the regulations, hence they fall victims of accidents without protective gargets.
Working conditions as contributors to health and safety deterioration
The policy requires that every construction worker must wear protective gears such as helmets, protective clothing, goggles, or any other gadget designed to give protection to the body parts. In developed countries, it is a strong policy that must be adhered to at all times so long as you are present in a construction site (Charles, Chandan, and Nidhu, 2018). These gargets also reduce the exposure of the worker to the danger that may arise from a falling object or faulty equipment. Although the policy sounds a good one, many workers.
still do not adhere to it, hence it is necessary to strengthen the policy through enacting laws that will see violators face charges in courts. Therefore, it requires administrative controls specifically by construction management to ensure that their workers and anybody else present in construction site are always in protective gears. Very close to the use of protective gears are the first aid kits (Tom, 2016). First aid kits are very important as part of requirements that must be available in construction sites. They help to carry out first aid to a person in case of an accident before another action is taken.
Working conditions are one of the major contributors to the health and safety deterioration in the construction industry. As have been witnessed in major surveys, construction sites have very bad work conditions that breed health problems. Some construction sites have inadequate equipment and manpower hence endangering the lives of the available workers in the site.
The site managers should ensure that the sites possess effective and up to date equipment and conformity to the health requirements so that all the workers’ safety is guaranteed at all times. Cleanliness should also be maintained in the site to prevent infections from diseases (Choi and Oh, 2013). The working situations can also be improved by ensuring that waste management is effectively done to avoid unnecessary and unwanted spillages which may harm the health of workers and the public. However, most industries do not have effective waste control, it is important to enact policies that would see effective management practices are procedurally followed.
Health and safety culture and the processes of accident development
Health and safety culture should be one of the core mandates of safety departments in any country. Every individual should be assured of his or her health in the construction industry. Therefore, it is the sole responsibility of construction industry managers to ensure that safety is upheld for everyone working under them. In developing countries, there are higher percentages of accidents being reported every year resulting from various health and safety hazards in construction industries (Curtis et al., 2018).
Health and safety culture and the processes of accident development
In a country like Kenya, the legislators have enacted certain regulations to help fight the problems. Some of these policies are still under implementation. In countries like Britain and Australia, proper legislations have been put into place and consequently, there is a reduction in the number of accidents reported emanating from poor handling of construction equipment, weak buildings, and poor workmanship.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that a lot of focus has been directed to reduce the accidents and fatalities being realized, this industry has lagged behind other industries in terms of safety and health issues. As a result of increased accidents and deaths, different countries have come up with regulations and policies which are aimed at reducing the intensity of problems faced in this sector. For instance, in the UK, there are guidelines that indicate accepted levels of people that are allowed to work in construction industries in terms of technical and professional qualifications. These people are required to follow the rules and regulations and to ensure that only those that possess such qualifications are allowed to handle construction tasks.
References
Charles, J., Chandran, P. and Nidhu, S. (2018). A Study on Proactive Environmental Health and Safety Management System in Construction Industries. International Journal of Civil Engineering, 5(1), pp.29-32.
Cheng, C. and Wu, T. (2013). An investigation and analysis of major accidents involving foreign workers in Taiwan’s manufacture and construction industries. Safety Science, 57, pp.223-235.
Choi, S. and Oh, T. (2013). A Study on the Awareness of Safety and Health for Practical Application of Risk Assessment in Construction Industries -Focused on Worker-. Journal of the Korean Society of Safety, 28(2), pp.60-65.
Curtis, H., Meischke, H., Stover, B., Simcox, N., and Seixas, N. (2018). Gendered Safety and Health Risks in the Construction Trades. Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 62(4), pp.404-415.
Ganah, A. and John, G. (2015). Integrating Building Information Modeling and Health and Safety for Onsite Construction. Safety and Health at Work, 6(1), pp.39-45.
Lamont, D. and Appleby, M. (2009). Chapter 3.2: Construction health and safety. Construction Law Handbook, 2009(1), pp.479-541.
Nussbaum, M. (2011). Health & Safety in Construction. The Open Occupational Health & Safety Journal, 3(1), pp.8-9.
Pappas, J. (2017). Safety and risk management on offshore process installations during design and construction. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 7(4), pp.345-349.
Pousson, P. (2013). Mitigating construction risk – A success story. Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, 20(3), p.48.
Tom, G (2016). How Agricultural Media Cover Safety Compared with Periodicals in Two Other Hazardous Industries. (2017). Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 23(1), pp.83-94.
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