Construction Safety - Safe Access

 

Access and egress refer to the rate or means of entry and exit to a workplace or work area. Routes that provide access and egress should be controlled, safe, suitably constructed, kept free of obstructions and well maintained. 

Serious injury can result from hazards such as fires, slips and trips, contact with moving vehicles, unauthorised entry into hazardous work areas, falls into floor openings and falls into water, when access and egress arrangements are not properly maintained.

 SITE ACCESS

It is extremely important to always know who is on site at any given time and aware of personnel present in a particular work area. In the event of an emergency, such as fire, it will then be possible to determine whether anyone has been unable to evacuate the site.

It will also be possible to direct rescue services to the appropriate work area. Always follow the appropriate access control procedures every time while enter and exit a site or  a controlled area. 

EGRESS ROUTES

Egress Routes need to be clearly marked out, well lit, unobstructed and well maintained if they are to allow personnel and others on site to exit quickly in the event of an emergency.

For these reasons, never lay down or store tools, equipment, work pieces or other items on routes of egress. Operations should be planned so that they do not damage egress routes, and any accidental damage should be rectified immediately.

SLIP, TRIPS, FALLS

Egress routes are often also access routes, and part of your work area. But even when they are not, access routes and work areas should be kept in a safe, unobstructed and well maintained condition, as this can help to reduce the risk of dangerous slip and trip accidents.

MOBILE PLANT

Each year, a number of people die as a result of being struck by a moving or falling object. In most cases, these deaths involved accidents relating to vehicles in the work place. It is important to separate vehicles and pedestrian's in work area, and to remember that only suitable trained, certified and authorized people should operate mobile plant, that should always be aware of vehicle movements within your workplace and people should stick to pedestrian routes when going to or leaving work area.

FLOOR OPENINGS

All floor openings should be guarded by scaffold barriers and toe boards, and appropriate warning signs should be displayed to prevent falls. Personnel working within the barrier must wear a safety harness attached to secure anchor points. When operations are suspended for significant periods, additional precautions should be considered, including fixed covers. Covers should be made of a suitable, load bearing material.

HAZARDOUS WORKING AREAS

 Access restrictions, such as barriers, are required for hazardous work areas. Machine shops, elevated work platforms, confined space, roofs, floor openings and work areas over or near water pose significant hazards and it should not be possible for unauthorized personnel to enter these areas. Personnel should stick to designated pedestrian walkways if need to walk through these areas and do not be tempted to cross barriers or take unnecessary short cuts.

If need to work in a hazardous area, must follow the specific access procedures for work area. This may include access control and equipment control. May not be able to take personal items into certain work areas, such as confined space.

ARRANGEMENT OF WORK AREA

Work are should be organized to ensure that have enough height and space for access and egress, as well as to move around and carry out operations safely. Low level ceilings or pipe work should be highlighted. Particular safe working procedures are required in work areas with limited access and egress, including confined space.

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Drilling Operations - Hazards & Control Measures

 

Drilling operation is used in construction industry to make holes on earth crust for soil inspection, bore wells and for pilling.

HAZARDS:

• Rotating and moving parts of drilling machine
• Compressed air systems
• Hydraulics systems
• Hazardous substances and dangerous goods
• Electricity
• Manual Tasks
• Falling objects
• Working in hot environment
• Fatigue and mental well being
• Dust, Noise and Hot work

CONTROL MEASURES:

1. When drilling is done in rock, loose rock should be scaled down to protect drillers against falls of ground, where this is not practicable, a protective canopy or overhead screen should be provided.

2. High drilling rigs should be provided with-

a) Safe means of access such as ladder or stairs complying with the relevant requirements

b) Guard rails and toe boards complying the standards and

c) Suitable storage accommodation for drill steels, such as racks or boxes

3) Air hoses should be secured by chains, or have self locking couplings, or otherwise be prevented from causing danger if a coupling fails

4) Drillers should wear hard hats, goggles, steel toe shoes and heavy gloves

5) Precautions against dust in drilling should be taken in compliance with the requirements.

6) Drillers should be trained drilling operation, hazards and control measures.

7) Safe Operating procedure should be develop.

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Machinery Safety - Types of Guards

In this topic discussed about the Machinery Guarding Types. Machinery should be guarded to protect employees from Machinery hazards. To know about machinery hazards, click on this link MACHINERY HAZARDS.

TYPES OF GUARDS:

1. FIXED GUARD

Guard affixed in such a manner (e.g. by screws, nuts or welding) that it can only be opened or removed by the use of tools or destruction of the affixing means.

2. ADJUSTABLE GUARD

Fixed guard which is adjustable as a whole or which incorporates adjustable part(s). The adjustment remains fixed during a particular operation.

3. INTERLOCKED GUARD

Guard associated with an interlocking device so that, together with the control system of the machine, the following functions are performed:

• The hazardous machine function "covered" by the guard cannot operate until the guard is closed

• If the guard is opened while hazardous machine functions are operating, a stop command is given.

• When the guard is closed, the hazardous machine functions covered by the guard can operate. The closure of the guard does  not by itself start the hazardous machine functions.

4. HOLD TO RUN CONTROL DEVICE

Control device that initiates and maintains operation of machine elements only as long as the manual control (actuator) is actuated. The manual control returns automatically to the stop position when released.

5. TWO HAND CONTROL DEVICE

Control device that requires at least simultaneous actuation with both hands in order to trigger and to maintain hazardous machine functions, providing a protective measure only for the person who actuates it.

6. TRIP DEVICE

Device that causes a machine or machine elements to stop (or ensures an otherwise safe condition) when a person or a part of his body goes beyond a safe limit.

Trip devices may be:

Mechanically actuated, e.g. trip wires, telescopic probes, pressure sensitive devices, etc.

Non-mechanically actuated, e.g. photo-electric devices, devices using capacitive, ultra-sonic, etc. means to achieve detection.

7. MECHANICAL RESTRAINT DEVICE

Device that introduces into a mechanism a mechanical obstacle (wedge, spindle, strut, scotch, etc.) which, by virtue of its own strength, can prevent any hazardous movement. This could include, for example, the fall of a ramp due to the failure of the normal retaining system.

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Excavation - Hazards and its Control Measures

EXCAVATION:

 An Excavation is any man made cut, cavity, trench or depression in the earth's surface formed by earth removal.

EXCAVATION TYPES:

1. OPEN - Large and Sometimes deep excavations

2. Trenches - Linear Excavations for utilities or footings

3. Pits - Excavations for footing of one column, elevator shaft.

EXCAVATION WORK HAZARDS:

1. COLLAPSE

When the unsupported side of the excavation slip and cave in. Severe crush injuries can result from even relatively small collapses because soil is very heavy. Workers buried or entrapped in soil can asphyxiate in minutes. Workers do not have to be completely buried for asphyxiation to occur; being buried to the chest will lock the rib cage have the same effect.

2. STRIKING BURIED SERVICES:

When high voltage electrical cables, gas pipes, mains pipes or other buried services are struck during the excavation work. This can lead to electrical arcing, shock, burns and fire or gas explosion or rapid flooding of the excavation, not to maintain major business disruptions to service users.

3. PEOPLE FALLING IN

When People fall in to the excavation from an unfenced edge or whilst climbing into or out of the excavation from ladders.

4. OBJECTS FALLING IN

When tools or materials fall from an unprotected edge into the excavation and onto occupants

• Vehicles driving close to the side of the excavation
• Soil (loose soil) piled close to the sides of the excavation 

5. FLOODING

From surface water during heavy rain, ground water or a ruptured water main.

6. HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

The ground surrounding the excavation may contain methane or hydrogen sulphide that can leach out of the soil and into the excavation, or be contaminated with hazardous materials which have containment the land  due to previous activities.

7. COLLAPSE OF ADJACENT STRUCTURES

In digging an excavation the foundations of nearby buildings may be distributed, resulting in the destabilizing or collapse of the structure.

CONTROL MEASURES FOR EXCAVATION HAZARDS:

1. BATTERING

The sides of the excavation can be sloped back, battered at an angle that is sufficiently shallow that the soil will not slip.

2. SHORING:

The sides of the excavation can be supported (shored) with metal or timber that is fixed in place inside the excavation.

3. SHIELDING / TRENCH BOX

The side of the excavation can be temporarily supported by a metal box that can be lifted into the excavation and moved along to give a protected work area.

4. LOOSE MATERIALS

May fall from soil heaps into the excavation. Edge protection should include toe boards or other means, such as projecting trench sheets or box sides to protect against falling materials. Head protection should be worn.

5. UNDERMINING OTHER STRUCTURES

Check that excavations do not undermine scaffolding footings, buried services or the foundations of nearby buildings or walls. Decide if extra support for the structure is needed before you start. Surveys of the foundations and the advice of a structural engineer may be required.

6. EFFECT OF PLANT AND VEHICLES

Do not park plant and vehicles close to the sides of excavations. The extra loadings can make the sides of excavations more likely to collapse.

7. PREVENT PEOPLE FROM FALLING

Edges of excavations should be protected with substantial barriers where people are liable to fall into them.

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Hierarchy of Risk Controls

In this video simply explains about risk assessment Hierarchy of Risk controls.

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Safety Tool Box Talk song

In this video shows, How Tool Box Talk communicated as a song and how contractors are enjoying it.

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