Safety management & site establishment UNIT 7 Creating a safer construction site – Training Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS)
Creating a safer construction site - TRAINING “Training is an important way of achieving competence and helps to convert information into safe working practices. It contributes to the organisation's health and safety culture and is needed at all levels , including top management” ( Management of Health and Safety at Work - Approved Code of Practice )
Lesson Objectives The Syllabus for safety training for the following groups working in the construction industry will be discussed :- • Directors • Site management • Trade foremen and gangers • Operatives • Young entrants • Safety officers • Clients, designers and planning supervisors
Group Activity As a group, design an outline training syllabus for the health and safety training program for the allocated target 2 group of employees and compare them with each other. • Group 1: – Directors/ Principles – Site management • Group 2: – Trade foremen and gangers – Operatives • Group 3: – Young entrants – Safety officers • Group 4: – Clients, – Designers
Outline training syllabus for directors and principals of construction companies Safety training of owners and directors of construction companies is essential: • Directors must have an understanding of the need for safe working practices • They must understand that health and safety performance contributes to the overall performance of a company by properly utilising human and physical resources, and minimising losses result from accidents
Directors and principals The following are the main areas that should be addressed in the safety training for directors and principals. 1. Company involvement - outline the company's involvement with safety a management function a management tool an influence on production the economic dividends
Directors and principals 2. Acceptance of the real cost of accidents 3. Organising the company safety policy 4. Communications management/safety officer relationship interdepartmental relationships lines of responsibility
Directors and principals 5. The law - the law relating to safety, health and welfare is complex and changes frequently. Failure to comply with the law could result in fines or even imprisonment. It is essential that all directors have at least a background knowledge for safety law. • legislation applicable to the construction industry • statute and common law • duties of employers • duties of employees • legal relationships between main and sub-contractors
Directors and principals 6. Accident prevention - a basic understanding of what causes accidents and how to avoid them occurring. • main causes of accidents • main groups of operatives in danger • safety at pre-tender planning stage • safety at post-tender stage • keeping and interpreting accidents records • duties of site managers, safety officers 7. Operative involvement - how to promote safety among operatives • incentive schemes • motivation • psychology School of the Built Environment
Directors and principals 8. Employee training plans- a major responsibility of directors is to implement training schemes for all aspects of construction operations covering such subjects as management, craft skills etc. An essential and yet sometimes overlooked area of training is safety. Directors must ensure that safety training schemes are designed, implemented, maintained, amended as necessary and very importantly adequately resourced.
Outline training syllabus for site management Contracts managers, site agents, general foremen etc.: • Their management skills ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget and to the satisfaction of both the employer and the client • The training that they receive should include site safety, not only for legal and moral reasons, but also because safety is a key management tool.
Site Management The following are the main items in a syllabus for management safety training :- 1. The law and safety • statutory requirements • regulations and codes of practice • duties of employers and employees 2. Policy and administration • thorough understanding of company safety policy • human relations • safety promotion methods (incentives) • duties of site managers
Site Management 3. Principles of accident prevention • the main causes of accidents • the groups most at risk • typical faults by management, supervisors and operatives • methods of achieving a safe working environment • risk assessment - methods of elimination, substitution, enclosure, personal protection • planning for safety
Site Management 4. Site inspection • the role of management • hazard spotting • recording results • follow-up procedures • feedback 5. Human behaviour • motivation • individual behaviour • environmental effects • techniques of persuasion
Site Management 6. Site tidiness • site organisation • relationship between level of site tidiness and accident occurrences • site and workplace access • equipment storage, maintenance and usage • materials storage and equipment • fire precautions
Site Management 7. Health and welfare Very often while the safety of construction workers is adequately considered, the area of health and welfare is overlooked. Unlike accidents the results of poor levels of health and welfare are not easily appreciated. Ill health can often manifest itself long after the operatives has been exposed to a dangerous method of work or material. The following are some of the topics that should be considered: • hazards to health on site/long term health hazards • sanitation and welfare requirements • personal protective equipment • methods of substitution • safe methods of work • health monitoring
Site Management 8. Communications • effective methods of communication • report writing • committees • presentation skills
Outline training syllabus for trades foremen & gangers • Site management can only achieve the desired level of safety on site with the help and co-operation of their supervisory staff i.e. trades foremen and gangers • Therefore they need to be trained on safety matters • Training is similar to that of managers, but in less depth, and perhaps with a different emphasis on the way each item is presented:- • principles of accident prevention • site inspection • human behaviour • site tidiness • health and welfare • communications
Outline training syllabus for operatives • Training for operatives will be quite different from that given to management and supervisory staff • Operatives are closer to the real problems. It is therefore important that their training is directly applicable to their own needs and can be proven to be relevant and beneficial to them. • The content of training schemes will vary according to the trade skill of the operative, their own experience and the nature of the project they are working on. • Training should be continuous, ie seen as part of everyday instructions
Operatives This training will be given in three different ways, each of which should be used as appropriate to the situation occurring at any one time :- • Safety training integrated into other skills training . Eg:- when a joiner is being instructed to used a new saw, training should not solely concentrate on how to use the saw accurately and effectively, but also should address safety aspects of the use of the equipment. • Specialised training - All staff joining a company should undergo an induction course on safety. The content of such courses will vary according to the situation. After initial training advanced and refresher courses should also be given. • Incentive/Persuasion . At all levels of employment there needs to be some incentive or degree of persuasion to encourage staff to apply their safety training. This is especially important at operative level.
Outline training syllabus for new entrants New entrants, especially young people are in particular danger in the construction industry. Young people may be: • Impetuous • Lack experience of life in general never mind site work • Their lack of maturity also brings lack of wisdom or foresight • They can lack physical strength • They find construction sites a challenge which can lead them into dangerous “Pair fined for planking at work” situations (www.abc.net) • Find horse play fun but don't recognise the dangers
New Entrants • Initial training needs to be basic, easily understood, interesting and still give an adequate understanding of the dangers found on site and how to avoid them • The following are some of the subjects and site hazards that need to be included in basic induction education on safety: o Transport o Falls o Electricity o Site tidiness o Handling materials o Plant and equipment o Horseplay o Precautions - when addressing each of the above hazards trainees should be shown how to avoid these hazards
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