Construction as a proportion of gross domestic product varies widely in industrialized
countries. It is about 4% of GDP in USA, 6.5% in Germany and 17% in Japan. In most construction firms, employers have relatively few full time employees working on construction projects. A large number of construction workers are unskilled labors. Construction workers include 5 to 10% of workforce in industrialized countries. It is difficult to identify workers and inform them of their right and responsibilities under pertinent health and safety or any other legislation or regulations. Construction workers as well as general public living in the surroundings of workplace are exposed to a variety of health hazards on the job which can lead to serious injuries. Many employers are still unaware of their duty of care to employees, visitors and even those not directly related to their activities. Exposure to hazards differs from trade to trade, from job to job, by the day even by the hours. Exposure to any one hazard is typically intermittent and of short duration but is likely to reoccur. A worker may not only encounter the primary hazards of his own job but may also be exposed to hazards produced by those who work nearby. The severity of each hazard depends on the concentration and duration of exposure for the particular job. This report focuses on the health and safety of workers employed, general public living in the surroundings of workplace and consequences of heavy machinery engaged to complete the project efficiently and vehicles passing through the site of Orange line Metro Project. It is 27.1 Km long project which is currently under construction in Lahore which is capital city of Punjab, province of Pakistan. This line is divided in to two parts that is elevated part consisting of piers and transoms and underground part consisting of trenches and tunnels. Length of elevated portion is 25.4 Km and 1.7 Km that of underground portion. There will be 27 stations and 250000 commentators are expected to be enjoying the facility daily. The architecture, construction and operation of the orange line has been entrusted to the Chinese government and estimated completion cost of project is $ 1.6 Billion. The corridor will be capable of accommodating two trains running both up and down. An Executive Summary: Hazards in the field of construction are divided in to four categories which are chemical hazards, physical hazards, biological hazards and social hazards. Chemical hazards are usually in gaseous form in air due to which exposure usually occur by inhalation or may affect skin. Chemicals might be ingested with food or water. Cancer of lungs and respiratory tree have been found among asbestos insulation workers, roofers, welders and wood workers. Physical hazards are present in any construction project. These hazards include noise, heat and cold, vibrations and barometric pressure. Heat stress from wearing full body protective suits observed in hazardous waste cleanup workers. Raynand’s syndrome appears among jackhammer operators and other workers who use vibrating machinery. Construction work is often done in extreme heat and cold, windy and rainy, snowy and foggy weather. Strain and sprains are among the most common injuries among the people affected by construction. Many chronically disabling musculoskeletal disorders occur as a result of either injury, repetitive forceful movements, awkward postures or over exertion. Falls due to unstable footing, unguarded holes and slips off scaffolding and ladders are also common. Biological hazards occur due to exposure to infectious micro-organisms to toxic substances of biological origin or poisonous animal attacks. Excavation works can develop histoplasmosis which is an infection of lungs caused by a common soil fungus. Individual workers come in contact with other workers and may cause infected with contagious diseases. Employment is irregular and constantly changing. Workers have to work with different teams and working environments are different at different projects. Control over many aspects of employment is limited because construction activity is dependent on many factors over which construction workers have no control. Many projects require living in work camps away from home and family. Usually workers have to live in unhygienic camps lacking basic necessities for healthy living. They don’t have resources to improve their temporary living places. It is least concern of employers to facilitate the workers. They have to work for longer durations to be more productive in order to compete with their fallows. Construction workers usually lack social networks because of nature of their field and social support is rarely available. In order to reduce the risk of constructional hazards occurring at workplaces, exposure to the hazards may be evaluated, hazards for individual tasks should be evaluate i.e. hazards included in welding, plumbing, cutting (wood and steel) and planning. As knowledge of task based hazards will be clear it would be easily to control the occurrence of hazards. It is possible to reduce the chances of hazards by reducing the duration and frequency of tasks. An efficient way to protect workers and general public is to change the primary sources of hazards with alternative materials which are less harmful yet fulfilling the construction requirements. For example non respirable synthetic vitreous fibers can be replaced with Asbestos, non-silica abrasives can be replaced with abrasive blasting, impact hammers can be replaced with pneumatic hammers which produce less noise and vibrations and punching or shear pressing can be done where harmful dust and noise id generated by sawing and drilling. Due to advancement in technology, risks of musculoskeletal and other health problems can be reduced i.e. two handed screwdriver with longer handle increases the torque on the object and reduces stress on wrists. Impact of construction on environment can be controlled by using environmental control techniques. Local ventilation techniques may be used at a particular job i.e. ventilation ducts and hoods to capture the fumes or dust. Ventilators should be portable so that they could be shifted near workplaces where risk of fumes and dust is higher. Other environmental factors including extreme winter and summer seasons may be catered for by adjusting the working hours accordingly. In summer work must be stopped during afternoon and working at night times and vice versa in winter season. Proper shelter from rain must be provided if working in rainy weather is very important. Effect of physical hazards i.e. radiation and noise can be reduced by reducing the exposure to such hazards by proper shielding against such hazards Plywood sheets may provide shields against radiations. Sound absorbers and ear muffs or ear plugs can be used to reduce the effect f noise pollution. If exposure control techniques does not provide sufficient protection to workers, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be used. PPEs be regularly inspected and maintained and should be in proper fitting to worker wearing them. For PPEs to be effective, workers must be trained properly about the benefits and limitations of their use. For instance, gloves are used to handle paint strippers but they provide protection for up to two hours after that they have to be replaced. Exposure to toxic substances increases, if eating and sanitary facilities are not provided. If worker cannot wash hands before meals and have to eat in work zones, he may swallow toxic substances from their hands. The need for heavy manual labor can be reduced by employing machinery keeping in view the hazards of machinery. Main findings of report 1. Written work health and safety management plan for the construction project was not prepared prior to commencement of work.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s. 309) 2. Workers carrying out construction work on the project had not been made aware of the content of the Work Health and Safety management plan. (Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s. 310 & s. 311) 3. Workers carrying out construction work have not received the general construction induction training.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s. 316) 4. Sufficient Personal protective equipment have not been provided t worker where it was prescribed as a control measure.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s. 44) 5. Coordination with other duty holders on site has not been carried out in accordance to the work health and safety management plan.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s. 309 and Work Health and Safety Act 2011 s. 46) 6. Sufficient health and safety representatives had not been involved in consultation.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 s. 48) 7. No safe work method statement had been prepared for each high risk construction work that was underway or about to commence.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s. 299(1)) 8. Work area were not clearly identified and separated as necessary so that work can be undertaken safely.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s. 40) 9. Lighting at the workplace was not sufficient to allow each worker to carry out work without risk to health and safety, people to move within the workplace without risk to health and safety, safe evacuation in an emergency.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.40 and Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2011, 2.6 Lighting) 10. Workers carrying out work in extremes of heat or cold were not provided with basic necessities near work place. (Possible breach of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.40 and Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2011, 2.8 Heat and cold) 11. Outdoor workers have been provided with protection against adverse weather conditions and solar ultraviolet exposure.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.40) 12. Contractor had not managed the risks to health and safety associated with the storage, movement, and disposal of construction materials.(Possible breach of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.315) 13. Adequate facilities had not been provided for workers, including toilets, drinking water, washing facilities, and eating facilities.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.41 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.315A and Schedule 5A, Part 2 Toilets) 14. Sufficient first aid equipment had not been provided for the workplace and is accessible to each worker.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.42) 15. There was no preventive measure taken to stop unauthorized access of children and staff where workplace was located near schools or similar facilities.(Violation of Work Health and Safety regulation 2011 s.298) 16. While work was being carried out in a confined space, workers carrying out work in the confined space had not been provided with air supplied respiratory equipment.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011s.71) 17. Edge protection had not been fixed at various work places and workers working at height were exposed to the danger of falling and getting injured. They had not been used as per manufacturer’s instructions where they had been provided. No fall protection cover and fall arrest harness had been provided(Possible breaching of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.306E, s.306F and s.306I) 18. Proper designed ladders were not used. Each single or extension ladder was not secured at the top or the bottom to prevent it moving.(Possible breach of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.306L) 19. A scaffold plan was not available for each scaffold and not complying with Scaffolding Code of Practice 2009, 3. Planning for scaffold work. Unauthorized access to the scaffold was not prevented while the scaffold was incomplete or unattended. Scaffolding had not been erected by appropriately licensed workers.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.81, s.225 and schedule 3) 20. The risk of falling objects had not been controlled in accordance with the regulation Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.315H. 21. Workers were exposed to welding fumes. Proper non-flammable screens or partitions had not been installed. Sufficient Sign boards to warn workers that welding is occurring had not been fixed which could restrict the entry into the work area unless PPE is worn.(Violation of Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.49, s.19(1), Welding processes Code of Practice 2013, 3.1 Airborne contaminants and 3.2 Radiation) 22. Work was not conducted in a way that is electrically safe. Leads and tools are not used in damp or wet conditions unless they have been specifically designed to do so. Electrical leads are arranged to avoid damage. Electrical work is carried out by an appropriately licensed individual. The appropriate exclusion zones have been established and are enforced.(Violation of Electrical Safety Act 2002 s.30 and s.55, Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 s.102 and Electrical Safety Regulations 2002, Schedule 2 Exclusion zones for electrical parts) 23. Risks associated with plant overturning, things falling on the operator, the plant colliding with any person or thing, mechanical failure of pressurized elements of the plant that may release fluids that pose a risk to health and safety had not been managed.(Possible violation of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 s.21, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 s.214)
Observations Control Measures Timescale
Hazards and Consequences Immediate and Long term
actions 1- Workplace was not Immediate Actions 1 hour barricaded properly Barricade the area properly Hazards: Poor barication before starting any activity. Consequences: Incidents Long Term Actions 1 Weeks may occur causing broken Workplaces must be bones and other injuries barricaded properly with the which may be fatal help of warning tapes and sign boards must be erected so that pedestrians could be warned 2- Due to lack of proper Immediate Actions 1 day maintenance of Reduce the working hours machinery and using Short Term Actions: Job 1 week vibrating tools rotation and isolation continuously for long Long term Actions: 3 week duration, workers had to Equipment design must me face hand arm vibration properly engineered to full fill syndrome the needs of particular Hazards: Vibration machinery, frequent Consequences: maintenance Raynaud’s syndrome, Numbness, muscles weakening 3- Workers had to go into Immediate Actions: Oxygen tunnels or below grade cylinders should be provided working zones where which could be used in case sufficient oxygen was of emergency not available and they Short Term Actions: had to face suffocation Portable local exhaust and breathlessness. ventilators should be Hazards: Improper provided. ventilation Long Term Actions: Consequences: Job rotation, Reduce respiratory problem, exposure time, provide unconsciousness due to information, instruction and suffocation, Lung cancer training 4- During extreme weather Immediate actions: conditions, workers were Eliminate or minimize the not provided with basic work in open areas necessities to maintain Short Term: Job rotation favorable working Long term: Thermal comfort conditions in summers by providing proper clothes, and winters. meals tea breaks in cold Hazards: Extreme weather, adjusting the weather working hours as per climatic Consequences: conditions Dehydration, skin burn, skin cancer, heat stroke, frost bite, freeze burns
5- There was no schedule Immediate actions:
of training, seminars, management take notice of meetings to aware the the drawbacks due to lack of manpower about safety awareness among workers and health hazards Short term: Supervisors during working hours keep an eye on workers and Hazards: accidents, do periodic counseling of poor workman ship worker Consequences: health Long term: Seminars, issues, construction meeting and training requirements not being sessions must be announced fulfilled, poor well before time by performance, moral management, sessions issues should be separately organized for Engineers, supervisors and workers 6- Workers working in Immediate actions: tough situations were Management should make not facilitated with basic plans and take suggestions necessities to refresh from worker and boost their moral to Short term actions: Route work in hard conditions for approval of plans should Hazards: Poor welfare be shortest to finalize the facilities decisions at earliest Consequences: Health Long Term actions: and physiological issues Drinking water, quality meals, hygienic toilets, change rooms and transportation facilities from workplace to rest place 7- Sign boards were not Immediate actions: provided for heavy Individual work places be machinery working, near secured by warning tapes store rooms, working at Short term actions: height, vehicle Warning tapes should be diversions and installed outside the pedestrians. boundaries of project, sign Hazard: No proper sign board should be installed at boards the starting boundary of the Consequences: project accidents, life and Long term actions: Safety financial loss and officer should be hired, wastage of time Individual sign boards for each work zones should be secured erected, and Sign boards at the project boundaries should be erected. 8- Waste materials were Immediate actions: control not being disposed of measures must be outlines properly. to reduce the generation of Hazards: Hazardous waste materials waste material Short term actions: Consequences: Supervisors must be set Contaminated water responsible to dispose off causing mosquitoes and the hazardous material after bacteria to grow causing completion of their particular diarrhea, malaria and activity, Water browser must typhoid, wasted sand be deputed at work zones in and soil was causing order to sprinkle water settle respiratory problems down the dust Long term actions: Disposal of hazardous material must me carried out as per international rules and national or private companies may be hired to take care of the hazardous materials in work zones. 9- Flammable materials Immediate actions: were exposed to open Eliminate the flammable air near working areas materials from working areas and oxidized and Short term actions: flammable materials Oxidized and flammable were stored at a materials should be stored common place separately Hazards: Flammable Long term actions: material Barricade the area properly Consequences: fire, where flammable material loss of life, smoke, slip are stored, separate store trips, skin burn to rooms must be made for workers near flammable oxidized and flammable materials material 10- There was irregular Immediate actions: Sign flooring and poor boards installed near work housekeeping at site. zones so that people could Hazards: Foot torsion, be careful while walking, slip trips warning tapes should be Consequences: twisted installed ankle, twisted knee, Short term actions: grader dislocated joints, broken should run over irregular bones walk ways Long term actions: Walk ways must be planned before commencement of work in work zones 11- Speed limits were not Immediate action: Drivers being followed by be strictly ordered and dumpers and other monitored heavy machinery while Short term actions: Speed moving between limit displayed workplaces. Long term actions: Training Hazards: Over speeding of drivers, hiring of licensed vehicles, heavy drivers machinery Consequences: accidents, damage of vehicles, damage to human beings, death, financial loss 12- Sufficient lumens were Immediate actions: stop not maintained as per working requirement of Short term actions: arrange workplaces for the light source as per Hazards: Insufficient site requirements light Long term actions: Proper Consequences: lighting sets must be invisible vision, prepared along with weakness of eyes, independent generators difficulty in working 13- Underground services Immediate actions: Stop were endangered during working excavation for Short term actions: use foundations construction manual digging in spite of Hazards: Underground using machinery working Long term actions: All Consequences: stakeholders managing the damaged electricity underground services must lines, damaged be taken onboard before sewerage pipe lines, starting activity, underground damaged water lines, services route maps must be broken telephone lines collected from respected stakeholders
14- Workers had to work in Immediate actions: Worker
trenches, tunnels, should stop the activity and drainage or operate ask team leader to provide heavy machines lonely. helper Hazards: Lone working Short term actions: depute Consequences: death teams on any activity due to electric shock and Long term actions: suffocation, wounds, Provision of remote danger of poisonous supervision through CCTV animals and theft cameras and communication equipments for lone workers 15- Trained persons were Immediate action: worker not deputed to operate must be supervised tools and machinery Short term actions: Hazards: Mishandling of Authorized persons should tools be allowed to operate the Consequences: machinery or tools damage to machinery, Long term actions: Proper tools and workers training for operations of tools and machinery, workers must be informed about the penalties in case of damage to the tools and machinery 16- Behavior of supervisors Immediate actions: was not friendly with feedback from workers about worker their senior behavior with Hazards: Bullying them Consequences: stress Short term actions: to works, psychological Buddy environment must be problems, poor encouraged performance Long term actions: Counseling of supervisors and worker to work as a team and appreciate each other efforts for successful completion of job 17- There was no first aid Immediate actions: First aid facility at workplace kit should be provided Hazard: Poor first aid Short term actions: first aid facility team must be deputed at site Consequences: lack of Long term actions: first aid treatment Seminars and trainings must increasing the chances be carried out after regular of death intervals 18- Workers were carrying Immediate actions: Avoid out their activity at height or minimize working at height without taking any Short term actions: Use precautionary measures safety nets, fixing of ladders Hazards: Work at height properly Consequences: falling Long term actions: Using tools, foot slipping and tool bags and safety belts broken bones, injuries and death
Workplaces must Warning tapes, Sign boards, High be barricaded barriers, Fence, GI sheets properly with the help of warning tapes and sign boards must be erected so that pedestrians could be warned (observation 1) Proper lighting sets Lights, poles, generators High must be prepared along with independent generators (observation 12) Portable local Exhaust ventilators Medium exhaust ventilators should be provided for proper ventilation. (observation 3) Job rotation, Training fee and increased Medium Reduce exposure wedges for job rotation time, provide information, instruction and training (observation 3) Thermal comfort by Jackets, frequent tea breaks, High providing proper fans, rain coats clothes, meals tea breaks in cold weather, adjusting the working hours as per climatic conditions (observation 4) Drinking water, Water purification plants, High quality meals, vehicles, lock closets hygienic toilets, change rooms and transportation facilities from workplace to rest place (observation 6) Disposal of Vehicles, waste material High hazardous material processing plants, man power must be carried out as per international rules and national or private companies may be hired to take care of the hazardous materials in work zones. (observation 8) Provision of remote CCTV cameras, wireless sets High supervision through CCTV cameras and communication equipments for lone workers (observation 14) Use safety nets, Safety nets, ladders that has High fixing of ladders fixing or ripping mechanism properly, Using tool bags and safety belts while working at height (observation 18) first aid team must First aid kit, medical reps Medium be deputed at site (observation 17) Proper training for Expenditures for organizing Medium operations of tools training sessions and machinery, workers must be informed about the penalties in case of damage to the tools and machinery (observation 15)