Saftey in construction
Preventing Falls in Construction
WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (OSH) IN CONSTRUCTION?
“Occupational safety and health (OSH) is generally defined as the science of the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of hazards arising in or from the workplace that could impair the health and well-being of workers, taking into account the possible impact on the surrounding communities and the general environment. This domain is necessarily vast, encompassing a large number of disciplines and numerous workplace and environmental hazards. A wide range of structures, skills, knowledge and analytical capacities are needed to coordinate and implement all of the “building blocks” that make up national OSH systems so that protection is extended to both workers and the environment” (Alli, 2008). Globally, construction is one of the most hazardous industry sectors with many thousands of workers being killed and seriously injured each year worldwide, for example, in the U.S alone there were 4,383 fatal occupational injuries in the year 2012. Worldwide occupational injury rates in construction are highest for all major industries (Lehtola et al 2008). Unlike other industries such as manufacturing, construction is composed of a transient workforce where project personnel from different cultures and backgrounds are expected to work together in a constantly changing work organization and structure. Construction is always risky because of outdoor operations, work-at height, complicated on-site plant machinery and equipment operation coupled with worker’s attitudes and behaviors towards safety (Choudhry and Fang, 2007). From a practical point of view health and safety in construction is about using appropriate means to ensure workers are both safe and healthy. However, in a construction environment the situation is all the more challenging, where projects differ considerably in terms of size, location and complexity. Moreover, safety can impact all stages of a
WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (OSH) IN CONSTRUCTION?
“Occupational safety and health (OSH) is generally defined as the science of the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of hazards arising in or from the workplace that could impair the health and well-being of workers, taking into account the possible impact on the surrounding communities and the general environment. This domain is necessarily vast, encompassing a large number of disciplines and numerous workplace and environmental hazards. A wide range of structures, skills, knowledge and analytical capacities are needed to coordinate and implement all of the “building blocks” that make up national OSH systems so that protection is extended to both workers and the environment” (Alli, 2008). Globally, construction is one of the most hazardous industry sectors with many thousands of workers being killed and seriously injured each year worldwide, for example, in the U.S alone there were 4,383 fatal occupational injuries in the year 2012. Worldwide occupational injury rates in construction are highest for all major industries (Lehtola et al 2008). Unlike other industries such as manufacturing, construction is composed of a transient workforce where project personnel from different cultures and backgrounds are expected to work together in a constantly changing work organization and structure. Construction is always risky because of outdoor operations, work-at height, complicated on-site plant machinery and equipment operation coupled with worker’s attitudes and behaviors towards safety (Choudhry and Fang, 2007). From a practical point of view health and safety in construction is about using appropriate means to ensure workers are both safe and healthy. However, in a construction environment the situation is all the more challenging, where projects differ considerably in terms of size, location and complexity. Moreover, safety can impact all stages of a