Safer construction: the development of a guide to best practice (original) (raw)
Related papers
A retrospective analysis of work-related deaths in the Australian construction industry
Accident investigations are a well recognised and accepted method used to improve health and safety, providing an important link between the lessons of past incidents and safer and healthier operations in the future. In Australia, The National Coronial Information System (NCIS) is a national internet-based data storage and retrieval system for Australian coronial cases. Information about every death investigated by an Australian coroner since July 2000 (January 2001 for Queensland) is stored within the system, providing a valuable source of data for OHS researchers. A retrospective analysis of 'construction work-related' deaths recorded in the NCIS is presented. Applying an accident causation model developed by Loughborough University to the data, causes of death in the Australian construction industry are identified. However, in many instances, the data do not permit the identification of causes beyond the immediate accident circumstances. Limitations inherent in the data a...
Improving the Occupational Health and Safety Measures in the Australian Construction Industry
Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, 2007
The building construction process is inherently dangerous and falls in particular are a major, and sometimes fatal, hazard. The large companies use pools of sub-contractors who tend to focus mainly on price, rather than OHS. The paper discusses the field project and the methodology in the light of the recurring theme in OHS literature of a lack of safety precautions in the construction industry. From the evidence obtained through the interviews and the literature, the paper builds a case for the model of OHS implementation requirements.
Factors associated with the severity of construction accidents: The case of South Australia
Construction Economics and Building, 2013
While the causes of accidents in the construction industry have been extensively studied, severity remains an understudied area. In order to provide more evidence for the currently limited number of empirical investigations on severity, this study analysed 24,764 construction accidents reported during 2002-11 in South Australia. A conceptual model developed through literature uses personal characteristics such as age, experience, gender and language. It also employs work-related factors such as size of organization, project size and location, mechanism of accident and body location of the injury. These were shown to discriminate why some accidents result in only a minor severity while others are fatal. Factors such as time of accident, day of the week and season were not strongly associated with accident severity. When the factors affecting severity of an accident are well understood, preventive measures could be developed specifically to those factors that are at high risk.
Monthly labor review / U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Version 2.01 of the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System enables researchers to more readily identify factors that contribute to construction industry fatalities and provide the industry with insight into developing injury prevention strategies; the revision improves on current safety and health surveillance and will have long-term effects on safety and health intervention programs and policies targeted at both the construction industry and the overall U.S. workforce.
Occupational safety in the construction industry
Work, 2019
BACKGROUND: The paper is a research review focusing on occupational safety in the construction industry. OBJECTIVE: The purpose is to present research that highlights the areas of occupational safety and risks and to identify areas where research is lacking. METHODS: 326 articles from scientific journals, mainly covering the construction industry in Europe, Canada, USA, Australia and Japan have been studied. The findings are presented under 11 categories: accident statistics; individual factors; legislation and regulations; ethical considerations; risk management; leadership, management, organization; competence; safety design; cost-benefit calculations; programs and models; and technical solutions. RESULTS: The research is dominated by initiatives from researchers and government authorities, while the construction industry only appears as the object for the research. There is a scarcity of research on integrated systems encompassing subcontractors, as well as a lack of research with sociological perspectives on accidents. Furthermore, only a few studies have applied a gender perspective on safety in construction, i.e. there is a need of further research in this particular area. CONCLUSIONS: A range of initiatives have been taken to increase safety in the construction industry and the initiatives are mainly reported to be successful. There are some cultural differences, but basically researchers present similar results regardless of country.
Under construction: building a safer industry
Environmental Health Perspectives, 2002
A revolution in the building industry over the past decade has spawned a new generation of safer materials and practices, decreasing some health risks for construction workers. Concerned consumers, builders, materials manufacturers, and government ...
Causes of Fatal Accidents Involving Cranes in the Australian Construction Industry
Construction Economics and Building, 2015
In ten years from 2004 to 2013, 359 workers died in the Australian construction industry because of work related causes. This paper investigates crane-related fatalities in order to find the upstream causation of such accidents. The National Coroners’ Information System (NCIS) database was searched to identify fatal accidents in the construction industry involving the use of a crane. The narrative description of the cases provided in the coroners’ findings and associated documents were content analysed to identify the contributing causal factors within the context of each case. The findings show that the most frequent crane-related accident types were those that were struck by load, and electrocution. The most prevalent immediate circumstance causes were layout of the site and restricted space. The two most commonly identified shaping factors were physical site constraints and design of construction process. Inadequate risk management system was identified as the main originating i...