Construction Site Accidents – 11 Site Safety Guidelines To Be Aware Of

Construction sites are undoubtedly more prone to safety risks. Being an important factor in determining the overall cost of a project and increased productivity, construction site safety is the top priority for any robust organization nowadays. With a proper HSE policy in hand, it is relatively the easiest to implement but the most vulnerable element if ignored.

Certainly, there are lot many subcategories to consider in a site other than mere safety features. One such branch of site safety is the accidents or the emergencies occurring in a construction site. Starting from the cause of accidents, different types of accidents, different types of injuries, you can categorize in different ways. Let us look at it briefly.

A theoretical definition for an accident in a site can be “an unintended occurrence arising out of and in the course of employment of a person, resulting in injury which can be physical harm or damage to a property”. Of course, the first factor to prevent such unintended occurrence is proper cautiousness. More cautious you are, the less vulnerable you are to accidents.

So, what could be the major causes of accidents?

Let me briefly classify it.

1. Just as we mentioned above, workers have a major role. If they are not careful enough, tends for unauthorized acts or practice unskilled working methodologies, it could lead to accidents.
2. Site materials if not properly processed or used could lead to harmful injuries. The basic construction materials like steel and cement, without proper precautions, may cause severe injuries. Any sort of construction defects, radical construction practices, or even defective construction materials can make you pay heavily.
3. We know how important it is to have skilled labor wherever essentially required in a construction site. One such area of skilled supervision is the handling of construction equipment. Improper handling or even insufficient maintenance of construction equipment are major factors of causes. Defects in the equipment’ too shall result in danger.
4. Construction Management if not properly executed or followed, is a real threat to any organizations functioning systematically. If not well planned, like awarding the contract to incompetent agencies, no proper supervision, absence of proper coordination are also unsung factors causing accidents.

For a systematic on-going, for further analysis and for future references, you can classify accidents based on various factors, certain theoretical equations or formulas, etc.

In short, accidents are classified as below:

1. Based on Severity – First Aid Accidents with no loss of time, non-reportable accidents with a 48 hrs of work time loss, reportable accidents with more than 48 hrs of work time loss, fatal accidents causing death, major and minor Accidents.
2. Based on the nature of the injury – temporary disablement, permanent disablement, and death. Classification of injuries can be briefly divided into 2
   a) Back-Related Injuries – These are about 25% of all sorts of injuries. This includes the strains of muscles, ligaments or tendons.
   b) Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTD’s) – Injuries to soft tissues due to prolonged exposure to multiple risk factors. These include bursitis, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, trigger finger etc.
3. Based on the cause of an accident – Equipment fault, material fault, construction site falls.

Some of the Key Performance Indicators or KPIs which help in analyzing and assessing the construction site accidents include:

1. Incident Rate (IR): This is the ratio of the number of accidents in a year to the total number of labour hours worked multiplied by 2,00,000. If IR is 12, it means that for every 100 employees, 12 employees have been involved in a recordable injury or illness.
2. Lost Time Case Rate (LTC): This is the ratio of the number of lost time cases to the total number of labour hours worked multiplied by 2,00,000. If LTC is 6, it means that for every 100 employees, 6 employees have suffered lost time because of a work-related injury.
3. Severity Rate (SR): This is the ratio of total number of lost workdays to the total number of reportable accidents. If SR is 2.5, it means that for every reportable accident in a company, an average of 2.5 days will be lost due to those work-related injuries.
4. Days Away Rate (DART)
5. Lost Work Day Rate (LWD)

Here are a few steps to alleviate site accidents (site safety):

1. Put formal safety policies and procedures in place.
2. Assign a responsible HSE manager in your workplace.
3. Communicate your expectation for a safe work environment.
4. Inspect your facilities regularly.
5. Schedule regular safety training programs for awareness and cautiousness.
6. Have a proper first-aid kit at your site. Make sure to give proper training on how to use it on time.
7. Document all accidents and injuries and prepare a report.
8. In case of emergencies, have the contact number of nearby hospitals, health authorities displayed at the site along with the contact number of HSE officers in charge.
9. Make sure of the site aspects like assembly point, accessibility, proper signage, etc.
10. Always ensure the availability and usability of PPE’s at sites.
11. Be prepared mentally for any emergencies to tackle.

Whether you are an employee or an employer or even a client, it is certainly a responsibility of each to ensure a safe working environment and a safe working practice. An accident in a site not just causes work time loss but there will be financial losses, productivity losses, disruption in your project schedule, and even more. You can avoid this easily with proper implementation of the policies necessary precautions.

Hazard Assessments should be done as a practice and make use of it. Nothing is worth compromising someone’s health and safety. In every aspect, whether it be technological, financial, organizational, or behavioral, construction site safety can never be spared upon. Stay Safe!