Health and Safety in Construction

Health and Safety in Construction

What you need to know

What you need to know

Why is Health and Safety so important in the Construction Industry?

Activity 1

The bricklayers accident report  https://www.youtube.com/watch v=cf0_KQQeTjc&pp=ygUfdGhlIGJyaWNrbGF5ZXJzIGFjY2lkZW50IHJlcG9ydA%3D%3D

What causes accidents?

https://youtu.be/dBf6BTX1bmM?feature=shared

Who is responsible for Health and Safety on a construction site?

EVERYONE!

• Moral responsibility- Employers have a moral responsibility to look after the health, safety and welfare of their employees. The same is true for employees. You have a moral responsibility to adhere to the health and safety standards set by your employer to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible when working on site.
• Legal Responsibility- Both employers and employees must comply with Health and Safety laws. If anything happens and you are at fault, you WILL be held accountable. A Health and Safety Inspector can and will issue an Improvement Notice or Prohibition Notice if they feel it is necessary.
• Financial Responsibility- There are many costs associated with accidents and ill health at work. These are not always covered by a company's insurance. Workplace injury and illness costs the UK an estimated 13.8 Billion each year.

Some Key Health and Safety terms

• HASAWA/HSWA- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
  
• HSE- Health and Safety Executive
  
• LOLER- Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998
  
• PUWER- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
  
• COSHH- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
  
• RIDDOR- The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
  
• RAMS- Risk Assessments and Method statements
• TILE- Task, Individual, Load, Environment
  
• RCD- Residual Currant Device
  
• MEWP/MEWPE- Mobile Elevating Work Platform (Equipment)
  
• GDPR- General Data Protection Regulations 2018
  
• PAT- Portable Appliance Testing
  
• PPE- Personal Protective Equipment

What should be included in a method statement?

A method statement must be brief and direct as possible. You may include diagrams if they help convey the info. Your instructions should be clear and concise. The purpose is to make it easy for them to follow. Therefore, you must include all the relevant information about the project clearly.

 You can add the following information to a method statement:

1. A summary of the project. For example – project name, address, starting and expected completion dates.

2. Tasks and responsibilities.

3. Working hours.

4. Access provisions.

5. Work procedures.

6. Instruction on using specific equipment and materials.

7. Associated risks and controls.

8. Environmental considerations.

9. Technical information.

10. Supervision.

11. Safety precautions.

12. Instructions on using PPE.

13. Procedures on using the first-aid-kit.

14. Health and safety contacts.

• You can also include layout drawings, site plans, and traffic management if you want.

What should be included in a method statement?

A method statement must be brief and direct as possible. You may include diagrams if they help convey the info. Your instructions should be clear and concise. The purpose is to make it easy for them to follow. Therefore, you must include all the relevant information about the project clearly.

 You can add the following information to a method statement:

1. A summary of the project. For example – project name, address, starting and expected completion dates.

2. Tasks and responsibilities.

3. Working hours.

4. Access provisions.

5. Work procedures.

6. Instruction on using specific equipment and materials.

7. Associated risks and controls.

8. Environmental considerations.

9. Technical information.

10. Supervision.

11. Safety precautions.

12. Instructions on using PPE.

13. Procedures on using the first-aid-kit.

14. Health and safety contacts.

• You can also include layout drawings, site plans, and traffic management if you want.

Risk Assessment

• Accident- An unplanned event resulting in injury or damage to property.
• Near Miss-  An unplanned event that narrowly avoided causing injury or damage to property.
• Hazard- Anything with the potential to cause harm.
• Risk- The likelihood of a hazard causing harm and how severe the harm might be.
• Control Measure- Any action taken to prevent, limit or reduce the risk of harm or injury posed by a hazard.

                            

• Can you think of some common hazards and risks on a construction site? 

• What control measures could you put in place to prevent it?

• What is a Method Statement and is it a legal requirement?

• Is it a legal requirement to perform and record Risk Assessments? 

So, how do we ensure work is done safely?

Guard rails should be at least 950 mm high and an intermediate guard rail should be placed to ensure the unprotected gap does not exceed 470 mm.

If you find a damaged piece of equipment, an unsafe practice, cannot complete as detailed in a method statement then you must report it to your supervisor and await further instruction.