Restriction factors to implement safety practices in small grade contractors

This study was focused on small grade contractor in Malaysian construction industry. The total of small grade contractors in Malaysia registered by Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is higher and increases for every year. However, it is well known that construction project are exposed to accidents and injuries including of minor accidents, ergonomics problems, out dated machinery can cause the machine breakdown, and lack of awareness from employers and employees. The statistic of construction accidents is one of the critical sectors that need a huge and fast overhaul from the current site safety practices. Moreover, the safety practice in small grade contractors is too far to achieve the good safety performance in construction industry compare to large grade contractors. In this study, a semi-structured question was developed to identify the factors that affecting safety practice in small grade contractors. The data used in this study was collected through the interview with manager in small grade contractors, Site Safety Supervisor (SSS), and Safety and Health Officer (SHO). The finding of this paper was identified factors that influence safety practice in small grade contractors such as poor Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) management; small project value; financial constraint; lack of training and knowledge on safety management; high competition; lack of communication; unsatisfactory safety motivation; not exposed with good safety culture on site; the existing OSH framework is fragmented; difficult in contract acquirement; do not have SSS, SHO or safety person in charge; lack of OSH formal documentation; financial limitation and time constraints. The critical factors lack of safety practice which are financial limitation and lack of training and knowledge. In conclusion, small grade contractors faced for some factors that avoid them to implement safety practice in their companies

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) management systems: towards development of safety and health culture

The unsatisfactory OSH record of the construction industry has always been highlighted. It is because the OSH management system is a neglected area and a function that has not been pursued systematically in the construction industry. Safety is an important issue, but many employers do not feel it is vital to the success of companies. For a long time, the construction industry has been labeled as with poor OSH culture and performance. But a mature construction company is still able to perform well in safety area. This type of company usually set their OSH goals for the continuous improvement in overall. Understanding the concept of the OSH management system will help us to understand the application of OSH management system in Malaysia and legislation needs to follow by industry. The rules and legislation are always protecting the worker safety and ensuring healthy workplaces. The main purpose of the rules and legislation is to prevent accidents, ill health and injury at workplaces. This paper will discuss theoritical review on OSH management in construction industry towards development of safety culture

A Review of Safety Issues among Small Grade Contractors in Construction Industry

The construction industry is one of the largest industries in Malaysia. There were too many factors that contribute to construction project success. Construction industry comprises different participants including clients, consultants, and contractors (as construction business) that perform different roles from conception in order to complete the project. The contractors in Malaysia were categorized into seven Grades of contractors starting from contractor G1 to G7. These categories were graded based on a number of employees and the value of the project. In Malaysia, G1 to G4 contractors (small grade contractors) are the highest company were registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). Unfortunately, small grade contractors are widely exposed to the highest rate of accidents or risky compared to medium and large grade contractors (G5-G7) in this industry. In order to adequately clarify the issues on this safety matter, this paper has discussed the problems faced by small grade contractors that influence the implementation of safety practice in a construction site. The objective of study is to identify the problems in small grade contractors in order to implement safety practice on site. This study was focused on small grade contractor in Malaysia. The data for this study were supported by previous studies are reported in the journal; statistic of accidents in the construction industry by Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH); contractor information; statistic of contractors are registered under CIDB; safety book; and internet sources. This study had found that the small grade contractors have some issues related to safety practice whereas they did not have proper standard of safety (general safety act and regulation); they cannot appoint Safety Health Officer (SHO) to handle the site safety; have limited external resource; and also small grade contractors have financial constraints. Based on this review, it can be concluded that small grade contractors have more lacking in safety management and consequently, the rate of accidents still higher in the construction industry. However, safety management in small grade contractors can be improved with support by external resources such as researcher, large grade contractor, government, and pressure from authorities

Causes of building construction related accident in the south-western states of Nigeria

Within the focus of the outcome of any construction activity is the realisation of minimal cost, timely delivery and quality-oriented structure. Nevertheless, above all is the safe execution of the construction site activities, which is a matter of life, most especially lives of the operatives. The study aimed at the identification of the common types of accident, the level of occurrence, as well as the causes of the identified accidents, in order to enable subsequent development of practicable preventive measures against such occurrence. Through an extensive literature review, eighteen (18) different types of accident were identified and were subsequently classified into seven (7) categories. Moreover, well-structured and self-administered questionnaires were administered to construction stakeholders (clients, consultants, contractors, health and safety experts, and the artisans), with the data analysed descriptively, using Relative Important Index via Likert scale. The outcome revealed the four categories of frequently occurring accidents to be: contact with working tools, vehicle-related, slip and trip, and falls. Some crucial inclusions in the list of causes are failure of edge protection, safety standard violations, overloading of scaffold and crane, wrong placement of ladder, loss of control over body movement, failure in the designs, absence of warning signs, over speeding of vehicle, wrong selection of working tools, non-usage of personal protective equipment, improperly installed equipment, horseplay, and poor housekeeping. The study shed light on the most frequent caused of accident which is instrumental to establish a safety planning and precautions

Integration of design safety into curricula in the undergraduate programs: the academician perspective

The current and growing construction industry in the country has led to increasing of accidents related to construction workers. In an attempt to decrease accidents on site, the design safety concept is the most suitable measures to date. Though the impact is evident and potential benefits of its implementation are apparent, widespread application of this intervention in the Malaysia’s construction industry is currently lacking especially in the academic sector. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the integration of safety and health to the current curricula focusing on the engineering programmes and their perceptions towards design safety concept and its implementation. The types of design disciplines included in the research study were limited to academicians. A total of 72 respondents received via questionnaire and the responses were scored on a 5-point Likert Scale to express their level of agreement. The results show that the graduates are not equipped with adequate knowledge of safety and health legislation and regulations through the current curricula and disagree that the content of the programmes is adequate. Although majority agree on the positive effect of design safety towards accidents on site, there is still minority who believe that the concept has no significant effect towards site safety. However, this paper concludes that there is no major impediment from the academic sector on the implementation and integration of design safety concept to the undergraduate curricula. The implementation of design safety should be in a well organized structure for effective results towards zeroaccident as well as increases the designers’ value in the construction industry

Culture change towards construction safety risks, incidences and injuries: best practice experiences

The construction industry has a reputation as one of the most dangerous industries because of its high rates of incidents, injuries and fatalities. Recently, many approaches have been adapted by construction companies but most of them were focused on physical working conditions and safety management system/procedure. An improvement to safety will only be achieved if all project stakeholders recognise the need to change their belief, attitude, commitment and behaviour to create a good safety culture. This paper presents a literature review to highlight the need for a culture change towards better construction safety. The paper then presents case studies on two construction management company - Bovis Lend Lease and Bechtel Corporation as strategies for developing good construction safety culture, which includes the objectives, strategies, context and implementation process as well as lessons learned. It is concluded that it is crucially important to develop a good construction safety culture through changing the employees’ belief, attitude, commitment and behaviour. Therefore construction safety managers need to adapt more holistic strategies which focus on not only improving physical working environment and employees’ safety knowledge, but also on shaping employees’ beliefs and attitude which lead to safe behaviour and ultimately healthy safety culture

Development of safety culture in the construction industry: The leadership and training roles

The construction industry is unique among industries. The activities of construction often take place outdoor under conditions not condusive for safety and health. Workers in the construction sites have to face constant change in the nature of work, the location of work and the mix of workers. The nature of most accidents at construction recurrent and serious shows that the construction industry is unique. As buildings become higher and larger, the possibility of accidents to occur also increases. However, it is not possible to control all the hazardous activities at a construction site. Factors involved in accidents include human behaviour, different construction sites, the difficulties of work, lack of safety culture, unsafe used of machinery and equipment, and noncompliance with various sets of procedures. Studies show that an accident and injury at the worksite is often the result of workers’ behaviour and safety culture. Safety culture is more related to workers’ safety practices. An efficient safety management system ought to be based on the safety awareness that should become a culture in the construction industry involving all the parties. The efficient safety culture should be shown to the public as a good value business. Leadership is an essential part of the process of management and it is also an integral part of the social structure and culture of the organization. In addition to providing key skills and knowledge, training can be used to motivate and to modify behavior and attitudes. This paper discusses the framework of the development of safety culture in the construction industry through leadership and training roles although known as one of the dangerous industry but will provide a safe working environment thus offering a safe and promising career. Safety culture is an alternative for encouraging competition at any level in order to reduce number of accidents, fatalities and injuries that involves workers and properties

SAFETY TRAINING FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS:MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE

ABSTRACT: This paper reports on the Malaysian experience in safety training for construction workers. This programme is organised and regulated by Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and better known as CIDB Green Card Programme. Started since 1997, Green Card is considered as safety passport to enter construction site. Through this programme it is compulsory for all personnel that involve with construction site. They have to register and attend one-day Safety Induction Course for Construction Workers (SICW) given by CIDB accredited trainer, based on standard safety module purposely prepared by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for construction workers. Upon completion of this training, participant will be given a CIDB Green Card and safety helmet. This Green Card provides some vital information of the holder that also stored in CIDB database. This biennial renewal Green Card comes together with insurance coverage for the holder. Minimal fee, insurance coverage and simple approach of training are among the factors that make this Green Card Programme gains a good response from the construction community. This programme is considered among the successful safety training programme in Malaysia

A review on the effectiveness of safety training methods for Malaysia construction industry

Safety issues have become a vital issue in the management of facilities in the construction industry, as the labour-intensive construction industry is particularly regarded as one of the most unsafe industrial sectors worldwide. To increase workplace safety, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) training has been introduced and pursued. Based on previous research, training methods range from less to more engaging. This paper has reviewed the research from 2006 to present done on effectiveness of different training methods as the first investigation research was carried out in 2006. The literatures were searched through multiple electronic databases for published peer-reviewed articles. Findings have suggested that both training methods were able to impart safety knowledge and safety awareness to the workers; however, more engaging training methods would be more effective on training outcomes. Nevertheless, it was noted that those research projects did not take into consideration on the multiculturalism issue where language communication problem exist. Hence, this research proposes a mix mode of less and more engaging training methods to be applied in a multi-cultural workplace to enhance the effectiveness of training outcomes. This review may provide information on effective safety training methods to be applied in the multi-cultural construction industry

A review on critical success factors of sustainable retrofitting implementation

Sustainable retrofitting has been one of the alternate solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. However, it is apparent that limited existing buildings are being sustainably retrofitted and the reason lies within the influential forces which contribute to the failure of the sustainable retrofitting project. Thus, this study aims investigates the current literature based on critical success factors (CSFs) for sustainable retrofitting and to identify any gap that might exists. Journals were searched using the key words identified from the preliminary literature review. Successive round of article abstract reviews resulted in 59 articles being selected for compilation purpose. The CSF constructs were then identified using content analysis and inductive coding approach. Critical analysis of the literature revealed gaps in the literature. The most significant findings was the lack of research on CSFs for sustainable retrofitting from the stakeholders’ perspective. This research provides a comprehensive compilation of all previously identified CSFs for project purpose