Accident

Here it is given about the safety measures to prevent construction accidents. Accident is a very unfortunate incident that happens unknowingly, suddenly and unexpectedly ordinarily bringing about harm or injury. Construction work is viewed as quite possibly the most dangerous mechanical exercises in the country. The rate of injury in the construction sites are higher than some other field of sites.

Construction sites are exposed to various security guidelines, yet accident can occur. Each year many people fall victim to injury, harm and even death caused by accident on construction sites or construction accidents. Control of accident is imperative in the construction sites. Employers are needed to get to chance and take down the practical measures t secure, guarantee wellbeing and strength of their laborers, limiting danger through ceaseless observation and checking of where the accidents are probably going to happen.

Most Commonly Reported Construction Site Accidents and Injuries

1. Falls from Height

Falls are one of the largest cause of construction accidents, and the leading causes of site fatalities. The most common accidents is when workers fall from ladders or scaffoldings which can cause injuries such as broken bones, fractures, back injuries and also head injuries. An employer has a duty to all the employees on their construction sites to keep them safe and to ensure that all walkways are approximately guarded and where scaffolding in place to ensure that there is a safe access from the side.

2. Falling Objects

In a similar scenario we may be working on a construction site when an object is dropped on to us from above without any warning or the inability on our part to move out of the way causing an injury to us which makes impossible for us to continue working. Injuries could vary from minor cuts to more serious injuries and head and brain injuries.

3. Electro Caution

Electro caution and shock are also a common cause of accidents at construction sites. Since construction sites regularly have incomplete and uncovered wiring, the risk of interacting with one is incredibly increased. Electrical accidents can be as treatable as a small burn but they can be also fatal. As we falls an extremely important part of lowering the risk of electro caution is prevention. Preparing laborers in electrical security and how to ensure wires are not uncovered can assist with forestalling numerous avoidable accidents and wounds.

4. Vehicular Accidents

Another disturbingly common cause of construction accidents are workers being injured or killed by a vehicle

5. Fire and Explosion

On account of spilling gases on inadequate electrical framework, fire and blast are the normal event on building locales.

6. Tripping Hazards

In the construction industry hazards in the work place are numerous, a further hazard to consider is the hazard of tripping over cables or falling into holes in the ground that have been made as a feature of the construction interaction.

7. Over Exertion

The hours of hard labor often in extremely hot or humid conditions can cause workers to over exert themselves and even fall victim to heat stroke.

8. Machinery Accident

Construction worker is a lot of heavy machinery in their work. A mistake or accident with apparatuses like, from cranes and bulldozers to hammer and nail guns, can be exceptionally perilous.

Causes of Accidents

At whatever point there happens an accident there should be some reason which might be self-evident or hard to follow. A large number of factors combined to causes of accidents. The basic factors responsible for causes of accidents are:

1. Unsafe Act

It may be defined as the deviation from the normal and correct procedure.

Some of the examples of unsafe act are:

• Operating or working at unsafe speed either too fast or too slow.
• Operating machines without approval of the relevant authority.
• Throwing materials on the floor carelessly.
• Using unsafe equipments.

2. Unsafe Condition

Most of the accident occur due to unsafe condition that is work related cause. The work related causes of accidents are referred to a technical causes. These emerges when there are ill-advised or deficient security monitors on the machine when mechanical and construction plans are defectives and unsafe and when controlled gadgets which have been introduced to make the activity of the machine safe and accident are missing or flawed or when there is a shortfall of legitimate upkeep and management of these gadgets.

Some examples of the unsafe conditions are as follows:

• Improperly guarded equipment.
• Unsafe design of construction.
• Unsafe fire warning system.
• Ineffective house keeping.
• Inadequate safety devices.
• Improper ventilations.

The other construction sites work related causes of construction accidents are as follows:

• The actual job: Some jobs are innately more perilous than others.
• Work timing: Accident do not usually occur during the early hours of work day. They are more incessant during the night shift.
• Psychological climate of work place: Psychologically, mental, emotional imbalance are the roots of several accidents. Emotionally disturbed person lead with more accident than a normal person.

3. Other Causes

Some of the other causes of accidents can be summarized as follows:

• Excessively long duration of work.
• Excessively heat in the work place.
• Addiction to alcohol and drugs.
• Careless handling of hazardous material.
• Reduced hearing capacity of the workers.

Classification of Accident

There are several methods of classification of accident. Some of the these in a construction site are as follows:

1. Nature of Event

According to nature of event, accidents are classified as:

(a) Traffic Accident

(b) Passenger Accident

2. Cause of Event

According to cause of event, accidents are classified as:

(a) Machine Accident

(b) Non-Machine Accident

3. Damaged Caused

The damage caused accidents are classified as:

(a) Damage of Property

(b) Damage of Material

(c) Damage of building

4. Nature of Injury

According to nature of injury, accidents are classified as:

(a) Fatal Accident

In such an accident persons are died.

(b) Permanent Accident

Due to this accident employee lose earning capacity. The employee or representative isn’t capable for bringing in that much money which he was skilled to procure before accident.

(c) Temporary Accident

In this accident worker is unfit temporarily and lose his earning capacity for a short time.

5. Length of Recovery

According to length of recovery in construction sites, the accidents are classified as:

(a) First Aid Cases

In this case injuries are minor. The workers are given first aid in the construction site . After treatment the labors are prepared to work. For this situation no time is lost with the exception of when the medical aid therapy is given.

(b) Home Cases

In this case medical treatment is firstly given at hospital and then the worker is allowed to go home. The worker is allowed to be away from duties for a maximum of three days. The worker recover in this period and then resume his duty. No compensation paid in this case.

(c) Lost Time Accident

In this case the injuries are serious and worker are admitted to the hospital. The worker is away from duty for more days and compensation is paid to the workers. The investigation of accident is done to find the causes of accident.

Types of Accident

Depending upon the severity of injury, types of accident may be classified as:

1. Major Accident

2. Minor Accident

An accident which results in death or prolonged disactivity to the victim is a major accident. An accident which does not seriously disable the victim is a minor accident. An accident may be internal or external. If a worker falls or an object falls on him, it may not show sign of injury but he may have fractured a bone which is an internal injury. A deep cut on the leg may show sign of injury which is an external injury.

A worker may be disable by the injury for a day or week or month or for a few months. If he recovers from such a disability, his disability is temporary but the injury is such that he will never recover fully, his disability is permanent.

Cost Associated with Accidents at Construction Site

Accident Costs

Accidents cause enormous crisis indirectly or directly. Certain losses can be evaluated in terms of money, whereas, some other losses cannot be evaluated in monetary terms. Whenever an industrial accident occurs, it gives rise to pain for the victim and his family and retards industrial productivity which in turn effect the economic wage of the industry.

The management suffers losses involving Direct Cost and Indirect Cost.

1. Direct Cost

Direct costs i.e., the wages of the employees are 6-10 times the normal wages because of the loss of the goods and services, compensation and the cost of medical aid, the required to train a new worker, lost due to waste of raw materials and loss of production and quality arising out of the inexperienced and lack of skill of the new employee.

2. Indirect Cost

The indirect cost includes the cost which government has to pay, because it has to maintain a large number of inspection to check accidents and it has spent more on the employees health insurance and other social security benefits. It also includes the cost of the employees time because he has been without work due to the accident.

The cost of the lost time because other employees stop work out of the sympathy with the injured employee or because they have to assist the injured worker. Overhead cost i.e., the expense required on light, rent, heat and other such items which continued to be use while the injured employee is a new producer.

Measurement of an Accident

To get the measurement of an accident the two basic formulae are required:

(a) Frequency rate = [ (Number of disabling injuries) / (Total number of man hour worked) ] x 10⁶

(b) Severity rate = [ (Number of days lost in a year) / (Total number of man hour worked) ] x 10⁶

Manage Accidents Injuries on a Construction Site

Accidents are preventable. Accidents do not happen with cause. Identifying and controlling the cause is the key to prevent accidents.

Prevention of Construction site accident

1. Maintain the site as safe as possible

Slips and falls are the main cause of construction site injuries. As the workers in the construction site are vulnerable to such accident, it is the primary duty of the contractor or builder to make sure that the site is safe. If one can identify the risky areas and implement preventive measures like using mechanical lifting, minimizing building materials on site, providing separate containers to throw waste product, warning workers about wet floor, and change in surface level can effectively reduce slip and falls.

Falls from height are the biggest cause of serious construction site injuries. Few preventive measures such as proper planning of work, using right equipment, using strong platform with proper edge protection can reduce the number of falls. Workers should use safety belts while carrying out construction activities at a height of 2 meter and above.

2. Careful Execution of structural demolition and alternative activities

Demolition of structures for alternative purpose or construction of new structures give significant amount of risk. In order to avoid such risk, site manager should supervise the site and identify the risk factors. They need to make sure that all the connected service are isolated and hazardous materials like acids, microbiological hazards are cleared from the site before demolition.

3. Ensure electrical and fire safety

Activities near the power line, damage to the underground electrical cables, improper maintenance and use of electrical equipment can significantly increase the risk of electrically related accident. While the workers are working near the powerlines, it should be ensure that they should not go too close to the powerlines. Similarly, power safety measures should be taken to avoid fire hazards. Workers should be informed about various methods or fire safety, escaping from fire and they should be also informed about various fire warning signs.

4. Protection of public

Besides workers safety, construction site should also consider public safety as builders or contractors are responsible for any injuries or damage to a third party near the construction site. The primary step is to identify the hazard at the sites, design safety features and implement them without fail. Using appropriate sign boards to warn the public about the hazards, preventing the entry of public in the work area are the few steps which can help to protect the public.

5. Use of protection gears

The worker should use protection gears while working like protection gloves, gear suits that protects legs, arms and hands, helmets to protect the head, boots to protect the feet. The boots should be high enough so that it prevents the concrete from getting inside. Eye glasses or safety glasses should be used so that it protects the eye from cement dusts and dirts.

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