1. Health & Safety in the Construction Industry

2. Contents Common Risks Health and Safety Legislation Risk Assessment
Manual Handling
Provision and Use of Work Equipment
Electricity
Noise at Work
Work at Height
Fire
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
Personal Protective Equipment
Safety signs

3. Introduction
The construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries to work in.
Every year there are around 13,000 reported accidents with about 140 deaths.
There are thousands of people seriously injured, and thousands more who suffer from health problems such as dermatitis, and deafness.
While these figures are not intended to frighten or put you off a future career in the construction industry, you can see why learning as much as you can about health and safety is very important.

4. Most Common Risks
The most common risks to people who work in the industry are accidents and ill health.
Accidents
The most common causes of fatal accidents are:
Falling from scaffolding
Being hit by something falling
Falling through fragile roofs
Being hit by construction vehicles
Electrocution
Ill health
You may be exposed to substances that could damage your health. You may not be aware of the damage being caused because sometimes it takes many years for the symptoms to be noticed.

5. Health and Safety Legislation
What is Legislation?
Health and safety legislation tells
us what should and shouldn’t be
done by people to keep work
places safe.
If an employer or an employee
does something they shouldn’t,
or doesn’t do something they
should, they could face paying a
large fine or even imprisonment.

6. The following is some of the legislation that will affect you most
There are lots of different pieces of legislation used
in the construction industry.
You need to be aware of some of the important laws
that are there to protect you from harm.
These laws state how you should be protected and
what your employer must do, to keep you safe.
The following is some of the legislation that will affect you most

7. Health and Safety at Work Order (NI) 1978
In 1978 the Health and Safety at Work Order was introduced
in Northern Ireland.
The Order is the main legislation covering the Health
and Safety of all people at work, it also protects other people
(e.g. members of the public), from danger by the work being
carried out.
The HASAWO creates duties for:-
Employers
Employees
Self employed
Designers, manufacturers and suppliers

8. Employers must Provide a safe place to work and a safe way to get
to and from the work area
Provide and maintain safe machinery and equipment
Provide information, instruction, training and supervision
Make sure people are safe when working with articles and substances
Have a written safety policy and ensure all employees are aware of it
An employer is not allowed to charge employees for anything relating to Health and Safety

9. Employees must Take care not put themselves or other people at risk
Co-operate with employers
Use any equipment and safeguards provided by their employer
Not misuse or interfere with anything that is provided for their Health and Safety

10. Others Self employed duties:-
The self employed can be thought of as both an employer and employee and their duties can be a combination of both.
Designers, manufacturers and suppliers must:-
Ensure that the equipment, machinery or material is designed manufactured and tested so that it doesn’t create a Health and Safety hazard and to provide information on this.

11. Follow information
Health and Safety legislation doesn’t just protect you, but it also tells you what you must do to help keep other people safe.
It is very important that you follow any information given to you regarding Health and Safety and that you know what your responsibilities are.

12. Management (health safety and welfare) Regulations (NI) 2006
These regulations tell
employers that they must
carry out a suitable and
sufficient Risk Assessment.
This is where the dangers in
the work area are identified
and measured against the
likelihood of an accident
happening. The employer
must then control any dangers.

13. Risk Assessment Hazard identification and Risk Evaluation Activity
Persons Exposed
Severity
3-major
2-serious
1-minor
Likelihood
3-highly likely
2-likely
1-unlikely
Risk
9-Greatest
1-Lowest
Working at
height
Loose blocks
falling
Missing handrail
Missing
kickboard
Untied ladder
All persons
below
All persons on
bay of scaffold
And those below
Persons on
ladder 3 2 1 6 9

14. Additional Precautions Necessary
Risk Assessment
Action Plan
Hazards
Existing Precautions
Additional Precautions Necessary
Action by whom
Action by when
Missing handrail
Missing kickboard
Untied ladder
Loose blocks falling
None
Ladder weighted at
bottom
Blocks stacked in
middle of platform
Scaffolder to fit
handrail
Kickboard
Scaffolder to tie
ladder at top
Fit kickboard
J.Thompson
J. Black
13/09/09

15. Manual Handling Operations Regulations (NI) 1992
Manual handling means moving or
supporting a load by physical effort
This includes:-
Lifting
Putting down
Pushing
Pulling
Carrying
Moving
Possibly by using aids such as wheelbarrows

16. Injuries Most injuries caused by manual handling
result from years of lifting things that are too
heavy, are awkward shapes or sizes, or from
using the wrong technique.
However, it is also possible to cause a serious
injury with just one single lift.

17. Injuries Poor manual handling can cause injuries such as:-
Muscle strain
Pulled ligaments
Spinal disc injuries
Trapped nerves
Hernias
Spinal injuries are very serious because there is
very little that doctors can do to correct them, these
injuries can lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering.

18. Avoiding an injury?
The most important thing you can do to avoid an injury when
lifting is to carry out recognised manual handling training by a
competent person.
Before you lift anything you should ask yourself some simple
questions:-
Does the object need to be moved?
Can the load be lifted by other means e.g. a crane or forklift?
Can the weight be reduced by breaking down the load into smaller and more manageable weights?
(This may mean that more journeys are needed, but it also reduces
the risk of being injured.)

19. Avoiding an injury? Would it be easier if someone helped me?
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness and team lifting will reduce the risk of injury.
How much can I lift safely?
The amount that a person can lift will depend on their fitness, age
and experience.
The recommended maximum weight a person can lift is 25 kg
however this is only an average weight and each person is
different.
Where is the load going?
Make sure that your path is not blocked before you lift.
You also need to make sure there is somewhere to put the load down when you get there.

20. This is known as the kinetic Handling Technique
Lifting correctly
When lifting any load it is important to use
the correct technique
This is known as the kinetic Handling Technique