Safety Management system (SMS) is a program put in place to promote safety awareness and risk reduction to workers. Safety management is a continual procedure that is implemented by an organization to ensure, identify and control occurrence of accidents in a workplace.
Accidents are generally a sudden and unexpected occurrence that leaves one with undesired outcomes such as wounds or fatality. Accidents could occur during construction activities, resulting in injury, mostly incurred by workers on the work site. Past research in the area shows clearly that construction projects create frequent possible threats to the lives of employees, and serious injuries and mortalities are frequent in the construction industry. Thus, the consideration and management of safety, along with consideration to H&S generally, is undeniably fundamental to any construction project. By proper H&S planning and Technical safety many of the myriad H&S risks in construction can be prevented.
Causes of Construction Accidents
Construction accidents can be classified into; falls, struck by object and caught-in-between.
1 Falls: Falls accounted for 278 out of 775 (36%) total deaths in construction in 2012, according to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Falls can occur at any stage of work and this category of accident can include;
- General falls:
- Falling hazard
- Slip and fall
- Ladder accidents
2. Struck by object. Seventy-eight construction workers died as a result of being struck by an object in 2012. A number of these deaths may have been prevented if the workers had undergone proper training such as Safety And Environment Engineer. Category of this type of accident can include;
- Electrocution
- Power tool and machinery accidents
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Vehicle accident
3. Caught-in-between. Although it seems obvious to never stand between a piece of heavy equipment and an immovable object, sometimes workers concentrating on their jobs find themselves in unexpected danger.
- Scaffolding accident
- Container crush
- Crane fall
Ways to ensure safety in construction projects
1 Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Apart from providing adequate protective Equipment, knowing how to use and effective implementation of these equipment should follow up the provision to ensure proper implementation of the equipment.
2. Compliance Tracking: Not just creating a safe environment but also enforcing all laid down rules makes the rules stand. Workers may consider some safety rules minute but ensuring all the rules are effectively carried out and employing Quantity Surveyors play a major role in creating a safe environment.
3. Adopt Technology: Use of modern technology in working sites also helps to take note when things are liable to go wrong then pay a due attention to them. Such as the use of surveillance cameras to track the action and progress of workers, Computer-Aided Engineering to analyze the robustness and performance of components and assemblies
4. Training and capacity management of construction workers; Capability building training can help drastically reduce the rate by which safety equipment are wrongly used, this by doing, will increase the efficiency of the equipment and effectiveness of the worker
5. Do away with Hazard; a hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone. Eliminating all forms of potential dangers will give confidence to worker and create a mindful of safety.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, the continuous record of accidents in the construction industry has a higher negative effect on workflow which is unacceptable in a modern society. Government should enact laws that restricts Industries without modern equipment and adequate safety measures not to be put to construction sites
