An attitude of safety at the construction site means that the life of all the workers is valued and companies are now accountable for every mishap that takes place.
Story of Safety in Numbers
In 2017, India’s real estate sector contributed about 6-7% to the GDP and that is predicted to rise to around 13% by 2025. Going by this noteworthy contribution, the real estate sector is set to reach USD 1 trillion by 2023, making it the world’s third largest sector, as per CREDAI and IPC’s research.
While these numbers paint a rosy picture for the corporate world, predicting great business, there are other serious and dismal facts about the construction industry. Among numerous occupations, the construction industry is considered to be the most hazardous globally as the employees involved in the projects encounter high rates of fatal and non-fatal accidents and injuries. Such a high rate of accidents accounts for significant loss of human lives and assets as per research.
A study done by the National Institute of Technology, Surat and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, reports that out of 48,000 deaths due to occupational accidents in India, 11,614 deaths occur in the construction industry accounting for 24 % of the total workplace deaths in India. Another report says that out of 1,000 workers, 165 workers get injured in the construction work as the workplace risk factors are considerably more in India than compared in other countries.
Mapping the Change
All these alarming statistics point towards a major flaw in the safety processes at Indian construction sites. However the silver lining is that the industry is taking considerable efforts over the last few years to make safety a priority during all building operations and sites. A fairly recent development is construction workers wearing helmets and jackets while at work, using harnesses when in precarious locations, seniors and contractors who carry out induction programs, teaching staff to keep a clean and tidy site, ensuring medical aid is readily available and best performing members being feted, proper safety signage, a well ordered working site among other things just goes to illustrate that developers and building companies are earnest and serious about the business of safety.
With construction companies being accountable for the well being of every member on the site, it is imperative that they pay attention to promoting the culture of safety at their workplace. There are some best practices that companies must adhere to in order to inculcate the culture of safety at all times at the site, as listed below.
Leadership Commitment:
Leading by example is the most effective way of demonstrating the commitment towards safety to all levels of the workforce. Also due to legislations in place like the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996, the Factories Act 1948 and Indian Standard Codes have ensured that leaders or company top management is now accountable for the well being of every member on the site. To practically implement safety measures, allocation of funds and communicating safety expectations is also necessary.
Training and Education:
The labor force on the site is mostly migrants who come from various pockets of the country with different cultures, language barriers and little formal education. Such workers have to be assimilated and trained to perform the specialised tasks at site. Apart from their jobs, educating them regarding going about their work in a safe manner, following the safety protocols, providing specialized training for specific construction site hazards and ensuring certifications, all these become an integral part of the training of the labor, the onus of which is on the management.
Effective Communication:
Ensuring an open environment at the work place that encourages frank communication between the employees is the first step to ironing out staff issues at the site. Also to practice effective communication, that is communication translating into positive action and collaboration is what the management must aim for, especially when it comes to fostering a culture of safety.
One of the tools for this is having Toolbox Talks in which the labor handling a particular tool are given a short talk about the safety precautions and different aspects of that tool on a regular basis.
So, generally if there are 60-70 processes that take place on the construction site, like bar bending, bar measurement, cutting, making cages etc., each process has some safety precautions to be followed. So the toolbox talk for each process should be done regularly so that the safety measures are imbibed by the workers.
Use of Technology:
Other communication tools like showing safety videos, putting up safety signage – dos and donts as posters in the mother tongue of the workers or the local language also go a long way in spreading the idea of practicing safety at work.
Safety Policies and Procedures:
Safety Policies of any construction company must be detailed out in a document that includes Standard Operating Procedures, the non-negotiable policies regarding employee health and safety along with the role of the management in enforcing these procedures and policies.
Consistency in following safety procedures as a matter of principle is an important aspect at the construction site as this develops a safety culture within the organization that percolates down to the lowest rung of the employee ladder. The onus of enforcing safety practices is thus on the management of the company.
Also having policy documents and one off lectures on safety is not going to make sure that these procedures are followed. The project managers should make timely checks on whether the safety protocols are being adhered to by all the staff on site.
Hazard Identification and Control:
In his 1931 book “Industrial Accident Prevention, A Scientific Approach”, Herbert W Heinrich put forward the concept that became known as Heinrich’s Law: In a workplace, for every accident that causes a major injury, there are 29 accidents that cause minor injuries and 300 accidents that cause no injuries.
So, the learning from this for managers is that they must try to keep major accidents at the construction site to a minimum number, not only to avoid extreme mishaps like deaths that severely affect the working of a project and the company but also to prevent other minor accidents that are again a cause of concern.
Prevention measures that companies can take for hazard identification and control are to conduct regular inspections to identify and address potential hazards. Post this the hazards must be addressed by rectifying the problems to avoid mishaps. Getting employees involved in this exercise of identifying hazards yields results as they are the ones handling equipment and material on site and aware of the on ground situations.
Incident Reporting and Investigation:
Apart from hazard identification, another aspect of preventive safety measures on site is encouraging all the workers on site to report near misses and other incidents. Based on the reports managers can determine the causes of the incidents and take corrective actions.
Continuous Improvement:
Beyond encouraging open communication when it comes to hazard identification and incident reporting, acting upon these aspects is contributes to continuous improvement. Evaluating the efficacy of the safety procedures in place, talking to employees for their feedback and staying abreast of the latest in safety protocols in the industry and implementing the best practices is the continuous task of the safety managers.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
Helmets, harness, fluorescent safety jackets are important for the workers as they form their PPE. All major construction companies make sure that their staff has the proper equipment when operating on site, but small time contractors do not tend to pay heed to this aspect.
Also just providing safety equipment is not enough but companies need to work on training on how to properly use and maintain the PPE along with regular checks to ensure the adequacy and effectiveness of that equipment.
Monitoring and Auditing:
Regularly monitoring and assessing safety performance on construction sites like conducting internal and external safety audits to identify areas for improvement and using leading and lagging indicators to measure safety performance is an important aspect in the safety gamut.
Recognition and Rewards:
Appreciating good performances by way of rewarding individuals and teams for practising safe practises at work goes a long in positively enforcing and prioritising a safety conscious construction site. When an employee is feted for safety practises in a ceremonious manner by their seniors and in front of their co-workers, this boosts their morale immensely. Recognitions and awards, especially for safety foster a spirit of safe practices and care on the site and inspires others to be conscious of the same.
Community Involvement:
When the construction industry works together as a unit, sharing safety best practises and engaging with industry associations, a broader safety culture is inculcated, encouraging all companies or developers to prioritize safety at their sites. A certain developer in the city of Pune realising the importance of safety at the site after the death of a worker at their site made sweeping changes in the in their work conditions and enforced strict adherence to safety protocols. They even built good quality pre fabricated home for the labor as against the shanties that are common place, made playgrounds and a crèche and provided clean drinking water mess facilities. They then invited other industry peers to visit their site and share their practices. Participating in community safety initiatives promotes a safety culture for all.
