Safety In Civil And Structural Engineering
Safety Engineering means, study of the causes and the prevention of accidental deaths and injuries safety engineering is an engineering discipline it assures that engineered systems provide acceptable levels of safety. It is very important to analysis about this one. We have a great responsibility to know about this fact because engineers must deal with risks and uncertainties as a part of their professional work. It not only Contain physical safety, it contains mental safety also. Although every engineering field are needed safe, specially civil engineering takes a main part of safety engineering
Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridge, canals, dams, airports, sewerage systems, pipelines, structural components of buildings, and railways.
Safety engineering is a processing that is buildup work places to prevent mental and physical accidents. Engineering safety concepts gives acceptable approaches and modes for reduce of prevent accidents by using a hazards management process.
Engineers’ work sites and factories are always Surround with machineries, dangerous elements and chemicals which are caused for injury or death. So we have to take compulsory actions to this.
Safety in Civil Construction
Engineers make the infrastructure reliable for people healthy and quality life. Construction is a honoring and rewarding word to us but It is very needed. I mean, it wants occur habitually. On construction sites, According to past records which has shown that hazards can be reduced to same extent awareness of hazards the safety and profitability of construction activities.
In civil engineering Deaths, injuries and illness are making it as mast hazardous work. For humanitarian reasons to prevent personal loss and injuries, we want move attention and awareness in construction site. The main reason for loss are negligence, carelessness, ignorance and etc. Especially structural failure during construction of buildings and bridge make massive deaths. The main reasons of structural failure during construction are: over construction loading, material weakness, improper formatting and nature disaster some temper construction jobs such as excavation site jobs receive a main attention. Engineers should be care and aware about this temporary hazards.
Sources of accidents and it’s causes
If we intend to prevent something the best thing and way is deal with it from it’s beginning stage. When we analysis of their origin. We can solve the problems very easily An efficient control on safety can be accomplished if we have a better knowledge of the causes and sources of accidents. All construction sites work are incomparable it’s mean each are unique with site specific issues, following things are the common and main considerations which are kept in mind to improve construction field safety.
- wrong prevision of all weights that could be applied to a building during construction works.
- Design engineers made some certain assumption about building construction. if others not communicated with the proper way. Site operations may lead to calamitous results.
- There some construction sequencing is very important thing to conserve the durability of some incomplete structures.
- In some construction works, some materials like concrete or steel bars might not have the compulsory strength. Assemblies of steel and timber depend on temporary field connections. if the materials are weak. It causes to many construction accidents.
- There are Countless examples for construction strength failures, under bath gravity and lateral loads, in buildings that would have been safe if the final connections had been completed. These are particularly dangerous because they fail suddenly without any warning.
- Roof structures of a construction system is always make troubles. It means, It always fails. Because, before they braced or sheathed they often fail. Long, tall, slender trusses and arches require temporary bracing to hold them in position. We must read user manuals before use it. Although the truss manufacturers provide handling instructions but these are always ignored by users.
- Expect the above mentioned causes, majority of the hazards at construction sites are accrued due to lack of awareness and concentration in workers, casual approach of the engineers towards safety lack of trained workers and inappropriate safety and hazards management system.
Importance of safety civil Engineering
Before any construction works gets underway health and safety is most important thing we must take. We must make sure that all the things of safety have been perfect before we step foot on the construction site. Health and safety in construction sites are especially needed and very important because the hazardous situations can be dangerous at some times.
According to statistics 3% of all construction site works in the United Kingdom are effected with injuries and 4% of all construction site workers are effected with illness. This is a main problem to builders and engineers. It means big loss in working hours also workers are not happy with in their works and they cannot get self satisfaction in their job. There are some important reasons why health and safety is important at the work place.
Injuries and illness in Construction
According to the last year, 84 workers fatally injured in the construction site which is still as a fatally large and unreachable falls number. Many accidents were occurred by slips and in the construction sites. But huge numbers of workers were injured during handling over weights and falling from a height in construction buildings. There are two ways to prevent and reduce these accidents in construction sites.
Training
There are so many accidents are occurred on the construction site as the workers had not the compulsory training before they start their project Engineers, contractors and builders should make sure that employees are well-trained and they are aware of the risk on the construction site.
Tools
Safety tools may also make a safety in construction site. It means, they can avoid hazards and accidents. Safety clothing also can help to reduce the huge accidents in the working site.
Businesses are responsible
If construction companies do not have a correct and adequate process in work site then they will most likely be breaking the law. It means that their business could be fined, sued, even banned from operating depending on the level of risk. HSE(health safety and environment) which is responsibility for the observance and production of occupational health and safety rules and regulations along with environment production. When HSE find that the construction site has not kept healthy and safety regulations, they can take necessary action against that construction company. When a worker feels that he do not safe or healthy ha can inform to HSE and they will take a investigation against company about that issue. If a worker is seriously injured on the construction site, the company which is agreed for the particular project must be halted for a investigation.
Business can benefit
We should not think that only health and safety is important to prevent injuries, illness and death. There are a plenty of other long term benefits that a business stands to get.
Construction field is the first place in death rates when developing countries. According to many studies, we can see that the construction filed is the most risky sector than comparing with other sectors.
When we observe the statistics of Turkish social security Institution, It is in the first place with comparing with other engineering field with 9209 accidents. In total occupational accidents, IT is 12.29%, 34% of the deaths caused by construction sites occupational. (Social Administration, 2012)
So If we reduce and prevent occupational accidents. We can reduce these kinds of losses. There are no extinctive records on the money losses of accidents for construction companies in Turkey. However In a record which was published in 2008. It has told that 1.6% of the total added-value in a contract, value is used to occupational accidents. (0 fluoglu, 2011) It is specified that the death rate is 730 for 10 million working hours in whole sectors while rate is 1430 in construction sector. One employee becomes ‘disabled’ (Arioglu, 2002) when 10 million gross of national product contribute to economy. According to this dates and studies we can come to a coclution that is, the accidents can cause to many losses in terms of operation and social safety system and focused on the importance prevention studies.
Solutions and Tips for manage hazards
Safety control measures
The main varrier to be tackled to defend construction sites accidents, deaths and any other hazards including lack of well delimited contractual responsibility of safety, lack of an industry wide agreement on sharing of responsibility, and lack of general and site safety trained workers. At these all, employees are more responsible for their own action and safety. It is an unavoidable truth also.
Clients must assume an active role in project safety by handing over liability and authority of over all work safety to a particular organization or self experienced in handing that work.
· Reductions in hazard with reduced probability in dangerous accidents
- Marking safety performance as a perfect factor for contractor selection
- Allocating a self or organization the reliability for developing a coordinated project safety plan and monitor safety performance during work.
- Make sure that health and safety file, contributed at the beginning stage of project is maintained available for uses.
Builders and Engineers have the following liabilities
- Is there needed any measurement in construction site suggest any particular safety measurement.
- Defining the safety instructions and roles, get acceptable agreement from all types of parties on their role allocation and pass on any relevant safety-related information.
- The safety roles and their liabilities should be still relevant and more effective thus, they must be regularly reviewed to ensure.
- The engineers are the in charge of the work at a construction site so they have a great responsibility. That is, as the person in charge he may observe and inspire the workers to wear all safety codes to reduce accidents.
A construction company and a contractor have the following responsibilities
Contractors should provide the compulsory safe to works. And they should make sure that all employees who work under their administration are feeling safe. They must maintain the safety of all works and must offer the safety dresses and safety equipments. Providing the appropriate safety training to workers on particular accidents they may encounter. Contractors must develop and implement a safety programmed to their workers. At the time only workers can make sure their safety n the particular project work. Contractors want to approach a proper way to make sure their workers’ safety.
In addition to these all employee on work are personal responsibilities about their safety after they have got a proper training in their every action. They must understand the basic and common safety rules. They should wear the required clothing, equipment and safety devices. They must be away from drugs such as alcohol in working period.
Some construction Site Safety Tips
It is very useful to give some construction site safety tips for employers. The following safety tips which are provided by OSHA (Occupational safety and Health Administration) These are most frequently cited standards in construction.
Duty to have fall protection
Duty to have fall protection is the most cited standard in construction filed. It is one of the leading factor which is caused to many deaths in work. Engineers are needed to do a better job about this factor.
Workers must train themselves with all potential fall hazards on a construction site. Do not work in a place where are fall protection is not at good and safe level. The lanyard must be short enough to prevent the worker from making contact a lower level in the event of fall.
Employers must provide fall protection system to their workers on working surfaces with unsafety sides or edges that are six feet above lower level. Employers are asked to protect their workers from falling by installing toe boards, screens or guardrails, erecting canopies
Scaffolds
Scaffolds is a very important thing in a construction site In all construction workers 65% of them using scaffolds.
Workers must wear hard hats when they are working on scaffolds and they should wear sturdy, non-skid work boots and tool lanyards when they are on scaffolds to prevent from hazards and accidents. when workers on a scaffold, It is good to prohibit from using boxes and ladders to increase their height. They do not load the scaffold with overweight. It is good to keep tools and equipments at the center of the scaffold and never leave them end of a shift. employers must care about this, It mean scaffolding should be handled by a competent and well-trained person. This particular person should make sure that there is no any problem in it and ready to use it. scaffolding keep 10 feet away from power lines.
Stairways and ladders
Improper ladder in a construction site is caused to many injuries and accidents. Improper ladder choices, failure to properly secure the ladder are reasons for ladder falls.
There some proper ways to handle a ladder in correct way. Always keep three points of contact while climbing on a leader. It is both left and right feet and at least a hand. Workers must tie ladder to a correct point at the bottom and top. While bring tools and equipment by climbing on a ladder use tool belt or proper rope. When you use rope pull the things after you reach height. Do not load ladder with over weight than their rater capacity. A competent person must check all ladders before use all day. Repaired ladders should carry out or should mark with red colour until they come to it’s usual. All larboards should trained how use ladders in a proper way There are many kinds of ladders, fixed ladders and portable ladders. All these kind of ladders should conform to occupational safety and health Administration (OSHA) standards.
Toxic and Hazardous substances – Hazard Communication
This is a common industry standard that focuses on requirements for employers that have dangerous chemicals in their work site. Lead, silica, asbestos and treated wood or wood dust are some examples for hardous substance which can be observed in word places. Some building substance also contains hazardous chemicals and element such as Zinc, cadmium, beryllium and mercury. Workers who handle these kind of substance must read the MSDS (Material safety Data Sheets) and user manuals before they use it in construction areas. When workers handling or using hazardous chemicals they should make sure that, they wore PPE.
Employers should conduct a communication programme about hazardous chemicals which are usually used in work places. Because, A report tells that most of permanent disabilities and diseases are occurred by careless of the workers. All hazardous subtractions must be shown how to handle it. So it is impotent to well-train workers against these dangerous substances
Personal protective and life saving equipment
OSHA recently updated their standard eye covering and face protection in construction. They require the workers to wear eye and face protection when workers handle with flying substance, liquid chemicals, acid. Chemical gasses, light radiation and etc. You are recommended to wear these protection items some works must need eye protection such a welding, grinding, wood working, chipping and sanding. Eye and face protection must be kept clean without any dusts. Employers are asked to distribute Eye and face protection for free of charge.
Conclusions
Hazard identification is very important to building construction safety. A good and effective safety management system is a needed thing to construction site. Considering different things of the subject matter it may be said that importance of safety in construction can’t be over looked
There are a lot of workers and employers are death due to this factor. According to a study, Engineering is identified as a dangerous job. It is in the list where the most 10 dangerous works in the list. Especially civil engineering is very dangerous job. Even if civil engineers are important to our society. Because, our world going through a developments path. Today civil engineers’ works are very important.
Most of the accidents and hazards are occurred by careless and by improper tools and equipments. As the future engineers we have a great responsibility to study about this fact. Me must care about this and as a employee we must trained the workers who work under us so “safety engineering” concept is a important aspect today and it is a suitable topic to future engineers. so we must work with safe by knowing all about this course.