OHS Electronic Management Systems for Construction

Imriyas Kamardeen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415553711
• eBook ISBN: 9781135230104
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Civil Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Occupational accidents have a massive personal and social cost as well as a major financial cost. The construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries, accounting for around 20–30% of all occupational deaths worldwide. The accompanying financial cost is either absorbed directly or passed on in the form of higher insurance costs. In addition, regulatory bodies have started to impose legal accountability on all the parties along the construction supply chain.

OHS is hard to implement. Construction projects are complex, with a fluid workforce, and the regulatory framework is highly elaborate. OHS Electronic Management Systems for Construction presents a theoretical framework which is designed to overcome these difficulties, integrating OHS management in construction using knowledge management and web technologies. This framework is explained in a clear step-by-step way, as are features such as a systematically developed corporate safety memory, and a virtual learning portal to facilitate on-demand safety training.

The ultimate aim of this book is to aid the development of an established safety culture at the organisational level, and the formation of an industry-wide community of safety practice. This is essential reading for OHS professionals and construction managers attempting to change their industry for the better, as well as advanced students and researchers.

1 Introduction

Challenges for accident prevention in construction

Accident prevention and control in construction is a persistent global challenge, with construction having one of the worst industrial safety records of all areas, including high-risk industries such as the chemical, mining, electrical and transportation (Hu et al. 2011). In the US, for example, the construction industry accounts for 19 per cent of all occupational fatalities and remains the highest source of fatal occupational accidents (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010). In the UK, the construction fatality rate constitutes 21.5 per cent of total occupational fatalities (Health and Safety Executive 2010b), while reportable non-fatal injuries averaged 16 per 1,000 workers, significantly higher than the overall average of 10 per 1,000 workers (Labour Force Survey 2009). In Australia, the construction industry's accident rate of 22 per 1,000 workers is much higher than the national rate for all industries of 14 per 1,000 workers. Its fatality rate of 5.9 per 100,000 workers in 2009–10 is almost three times the rate for all industries, which is 1.9 per 100,000 workers (Safe Work Australia 2011). Safe Work Australia has estimated the economic cost of workplace injury and illness to the Australian economy for the 2005–6 financial year to be $57.5 billion, 5.9 per cent of GDP. The construction industry alone represented 21.6 per cent of this cost, 1.24 per cent of GDP (Safe Work Australia 2010). Compensation costs for all injuries in the construction industry amount to 0.5 per cent of the Australian construction industry's turnover, increasing building costs by up to 8.5 per cent (McKenzie and Loosemore 1997; ASCC 2009).

Numerous efforts are being made by various occupational health and safety (OHS) authorities, builders, construction unions and researchers to improve the safety performance of construction organisations and the construction industry on the whole. For example, OHS authorities in Australia have introduced more than 144 laws, 200 standards and numerous codes of practice that cover OHS in construction throughout Australia (Robinson 2002). Likewise, the Australian Federal Safety Commissioner's office has been managing an accreditation system since 2005, called the Australian Government Building and Construction Industry OHS Accreditation Scheme, which rates builders according to their safety performance standards. This rating is notably looked at by clients in selecting builders for their projects. It is also a prequalification requirement for a builder to participate in bidding for government-funded construction projects. Equally, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and many other WorkCover Australia registered institutions have been providing various sorts of OHS training and education to workers, supervisors and the like in the construction industry. Research centres and higher educational institutions have been producing enormous frameworks and tools for effective OHS implementation and improvement in construction. Builders have been working endlessly to make their projects safe for workers, with OHS-related resources, tools, skills, knowledge and expertise. WorkCover has been imposing heavy penalties for OHS legislative breaches.

Despite these concerted efforts by the different bodies and the proliferation of standards, frameworks, codes of practice, laws and regulations that could improve OHS in construction, the accident rate still remains at an unacceptably high level. Industry surveys and research studies suggest that the construction industry faces many unique challenges, which make OHS management and accident prevention quite complex for builders. These OHS challenges are identifed below and may be attributable to construction processes, people involved and other phenomena of the industry.

Dynamic complexities of construction projects

The construction process is dynamic whereby the worksite, activities, workforce mix, materials, equipment and tools used, site layout and activity interfaces change constantly over the period of a project (Ringen et al. 1995; Lingard and Rowlinson 2005). The OHS risk of construction process is further heightened by increasing complexities in projects, operating and management systems, equipment specialisation and the use of potent substances. Major construction sites place a heavy emphasis on OHS management systems, which generally take the form of documented policies and procedures. However, these do not always capture hazards associated with the many non-routine jobs on constantly changing sites. Also management's urge to get paperwork and record-keeping correct for compliance purposes dilutes their attention to and emphasis on ongoing OHS problems (Wadick 2009).

Cost and schedule constraints

In a constantly highly competitive market, construction projects are often typifed by tight budgetary and schedule constraints. The pressure to complete projects on budget and time tends to militate against OHS. Moreover, long work hours and the pressure for greater efficiency, the by-products of cost and time constraints, culminate in tendencies to take shortcuts, worker exhaustion, fatigue and burnout, which result in disregarding safety and encourage hazardous practices and unsafe behaviours (Hislop 1999; Charles et al. 2007).

Competence disparities amongst construction professionals

Effective OHS management on site relies heavily on the experience and competency level of the site management team. A considerable disparity in level of competence and experience is evident amongst construction professionals for various reasons. Employee turnover in the construction industry is relatively high, which results in a construction team where there is a mix of less experienced and experienced professionals. Additionally, due to skill migration and globalised job market systems, the construction industry in a given economy features professionals from different countries. There is a serious issue of competency and experience mismatch amongst professionals who were trained in different countries. This poses a significant challenge to effective OHS management and thus demands for the constant availability of safety training systems/programmes in construction organisations. On the other hand, it is rather difficult for construction team members to attend workshops and training owing to tight project schedules and work pressure. There are very limited opportunities and modes for learning on-the-job for construction professionals, without having to commit extra time and be away from work. Regardless, safety knowledge and competency may be acquired via self-study of OHS resources from WorkCover Australia and/ or similar OHS authorities. However, abundant OHS knowledge resides in various formats and locations, such as codes of practice, best practice manuals and databases. This is rather confusing to less experienced and less competent professionals and makes the learning cumbersome.

Migrant workers

A multicultural migrant worker demographic is one of the defining characteristics of the construction industry globally. Around 20 per cent of all workers in the Australian construction industry are overseas born and half of them are from non-English-speaking countries (DIAC 2009). Migrant workers are brought in to fll skill shortages in the domestic construction industry. However, these workers expose themselves and other workers to significantly greater risks because of their poor training, and inability to understand basic safety instructions and warning signs (Loosemore et al. 2009). Migrant workers come from countries where OHS standards are relaxed, have a different perception of risk and bring with them dangerous working practices from their countries of origin. Many migrants are unaware of their responsibility to manage their own and others' safety. Language barriers amongst migrant workers have direct impacts on their safety. Many migrants do not understand aspects of site induction and have difficulty engaging in toolbox talks and safety communications with their peers and supervisors. As a consequence, migrant workers represent a significant percentage in accident statistics. For example, after the UK government opened access for migrant workers in 2004, the fatality rate in the construction industry increased and 77 fatalities were recorded for the year 2006/07, the highest construction related death toll for five years (Davis and Gibb 2009).

Multilayered subcontracting system

Subcontracting has become a major feature of the construction industry. A chain of subcontractors is commonly observed in construction owing to the diversity of activities. Silberberg (1991) asserted that subcontractors are up to 90 per cent of workers in the Australian construction industry. A major concern for managing safety is the effectiveness of control over the large number of subcontractors on construction sites. Building sites with multiple subcontractors make OHS monitoring and enforcement more difficult and increase the chances of OHS non-compliance escaping undetected.

Moreover, the construction industry has comparatively low barriers to entry (Construction Training Australia 2001: 8) and many people enter with relatively low education levels (ACIL 1996: 23). Up to 60 per cent of subcontractors have no formal trade qualifications (ACIL 1996: p. xi). Conversely, OHS regulations detail several compliance requirements for subcontractors. Many subcontractors in the domestic market are unclear of these requirements and unsure what they mean. There is evidence to suggest that many subcontractors even feign compliance by using ‘off the shelf’ documents, without much cognitive involvement or real analysis of risks (Wadick 2005).

Constraints for management commitment

Sustained improvements in safety performance can only be achieved through collective efforts and commitments from all levels of management, including senior/top management of the organisation, site management and work supervisors. Wild (2005) argued that the poor safety performance of the Australian construction industry is significantly attributable to ‘a lack of commitment on safety from senior management’. Abudayyeh et al. (2006) observed that top management have notable capacities and opportunities to infuence and enhance the safety of the work environment. Top management commitment to safety can take two forms: (1) investing adequately in safety through reasonable budget allocations and integrating safety into organisational management settings, and (2) personally being involved in site safety activities and continual monitoring and providing feedback on site safety performance. However, there are two key impediments to this. (1) The top management in many organisations are not convinced that the investment made on safety can bring about significant financial benefits for the organisation and outweigh the expenditure. This may be due to a lack of systems for quantifying the return on safety investment in monetary terms. (2) Owing to the combined infuence of the fragmented nature of construction projects and work pressure on top management, it seems rather difficult for them to be personally involved in site safety activities and monitoring on a regular basis.

These constraints are further ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Full Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Corporate knowledgebase for OHS planning in construction
• 3 Affective e-OHS training system for construction
• 4 E-OHS monitoring system for construction projects
• 5 Virtual community of safety practice for construction
• 6 Concluding remarks
• References
• Index