Occupational Health Management Plan for Construction Industry

This report discusses the development of a work place health and safety management plan for the construction industry, with a focus on fall injuries and emergency response. It includes a critical review of relevant literature, assessment of risk, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the management plan.

Occupational Health Management Plan
Student Name
Student ID
i

Executive Summary
The aim of the following report is to develop a work place health and safety
management plan development. In order to develop the plan the proper
knowledge of the legislation and other factors of the of the construction site
hazards would be discussed and the proper knowledge of the fall injuries
would be discussed as well. The emergency contacts and the emergency
situation handling response would also be discussed in the following sections
and on the basis of the knowledge the proper management plan would be
developed. The factors of the risk in the construction sites and the probable
adverse condition will be stated as well. The safety measures can be taken for
the proper management of the health and safety in the work place should also
be discussed and with the help of that assessment the evaluation of the
effectiveness of the management plan will be discussed as well. Finally the
conclusion will be drawn on the basis of the effects of the health management
plan.
ii

Contents
Executive Summary...........................................................................................ii
Industry or organisation name...........................................................................2
Introduction........................................................................................................2
Definitions..........................................................................................................3
Workplace demography.....................................................................................3
Assessment of risk.............................................................................................3
Critical review of relevant literature...................................................................5
Management Plan..............................................................................................7
Emergency Response.......................................................................................8
Evaluation..........................................................................................................9
Conclusion.......................................................................................................10
References.......................................................................................................12
1

Industry or organisation name
Lendlease a construction company the fall from height or fall due to
disoriented instruments could be a factor that affect the physical health of the
employees or lead to severe injuries and death as well (Lendlease.com,
2019).
Introduction
Occupational hazards can be the critical conditions faced by the
employees in the work place and the hazards can be of mental and physical.
Work place bullying or mental stress in the work place is the factors that can
be termed as the mental stresses of the work place. On the other hand the
factors of life threatening injuries, threats of injuries, fire outbreak, chemical
hazards, radiation hazards and others in the work place can be classified as
the physical hazards. The factor of physical hazard would be prevented by
means of safety measurements and also planning the health management.
The health management program should be considering the government work
place health and safety processes and also incorporating the employee safety
laws (Lay et al., 2016). In the following section the probable occupational
hazard would be discussed and on the basis of the probability of that hazard
the health management plan would be described. The detailed causes and
the scenario of the hazard would be discussed with the consideration of
government legislation of employee health and safety.
2

Definitions
Fall can be defined as the occurrence that affects the physical and
sometimes mental health of a person and in case of construction workers fall
from high buildings can cause severe physical injuries that can be life
threatening.
Workplace demography
In case of Lendlease a construction company the factor of the physical
hazards such as the fall from height, fall due to unsafe wok place for the
employees, disoriented instruments in the work place, and injury from sharp
objects in the workplace and other factors can be seen (Phillips, 2016). It has
been found that 9 percent of construction workers experienced non-fatal
injuries in the workplace and 22 percent of these injuries are due to fall from
height (Construction Industry Profile, 2019). Hence, it can be seen most
common construction industry health hazard is the fall from scaffolds, crane,
rooftop, ladders and other height works. In case of construction workers of the
Lendlease the fall hazards can be common as well. The factor of the fall can
be occurred due to working on the roof top of a high building.
Assessment of risk
The risk of working on the roof top of a construction site is very much
high. In a construction site of Lendlease one worker working on roof and it
was without any precaution and the scaffolding structure was not safe as well.
Due to the dysfunction of the scaffold the worker fall from the scaffold and
severely injured his knee joints, back and left hand. This kind of hazards is the
critical factors for a construction industry (Li, Lu, Hsu, Gray & Huang, 2015).
3

The factor of fall needed to be prevented and the process can be done on the
basis of the risk assessment of the work place. This is a case of the fall that is
most common in the construction industry and the worker only experienced
injury however, it can be more fatal and the worker could die from the
occurrence. The fall injury sometimes affects the brain of the worker as well if
the brain affected by the fall. Thus it can be said that the factor of the fall
needed to be prevented with primary importance (Nexø, Kristensen, Grønvad,
Kristiansen & Poulsen, 2018). The planning for the fall prevention and other
injury preventions should be taken into account the factor of the work place
health and safety should be considering of the government laws of the worker
rights and safety as well. The worker fallen from the scaffold and experienced
the severe injury should be compensated by the company and also needed to
be treated with proper care the whole cost of the injury treatment should spent
by the company. The factor of the fall should also be investigated and the
proper maintenance of the scaffold and the dysfunctions of the scaffold
needed to be addressed by improving and investing on the instrument. The
factor of the work place health and safety should be considered by the
company for the employees and improvement in the health planning for the
employees would be helpful in lowering the number of the injury occurred by
the hazards in the work place. Hence, the need of the proper health
management in the work place is the most important factor for the health and
safety measures of the workers of a workplace. The occupational health
hazard management should be focused on the health conditions of the
employees and also safety measurement of the work place. The factor of the
work place health and safety should be based on the government employee
4

rights and the regulations of the government legislation. Hence, on the basis
of these factors the work place health and safety management planning would
be done and other possible factors should be considered in the planning
process.
Critical review of relevant literature
According to Guo and Yiu (2015), the concept of health hazard
prevention in the construction site can be done with the help of four stepped
systematic identification and leading indicator incorporation. The four steps
can be the conceptualization, operationalization, indicator generation,
validation, and revision which focuses on the two function of the leading
indicators that are informative and decision aiding. Hence, the first function of
the indicator is to develop information about the hazard and secondly help the
decision makers to develop the remedies and the management plan in order
to address the factors of the safety in work place. The process of the health
and safety planning should be comprised of the legislative regulations of the
Australian government (Wu, Song, Wang & Fang, 2015). Work Health and
Safety Act 2011. Health and Safety Act 2011 includes the factors that are
protecting workers and other persons from harm by requiring duty holders to
eliminate or minimise risk, providing for fair and effective representation,
consultation and cooperation, encouraging unions and employer
organisations to take a constructive role in promoting improvements in WHS
practices, promoting the provision of advice, information, education and
training for WHS, securing compliance with the Act through effective and
appropriate compliance and enforcement measures, ensuring appropriate
scrutiny and review of actions taken by persons with powers or functions
5

under the Act, providing a framework for continuous improvement,
maintaining and strengthening national harmonisation of WHS laws and
facilitating a consistent national approach to WHS (Safe Work Australia,
2019). However, the planning should incorporate the factors of the safety of
the other visitors along with the workers as well. The planning process should
focus on the safety in the work place and invest on the safety and the
empowerment of the workers in the safety measurement development for
their own (Schwatka, Hecker & Goldenhar, 2016). Workplace health and
safety is the factor that can only be effective if the workers and the hierarchy
effectively follow the instructions and use the safety instruments in the
process of work otherwise the fall and other causes of injuries cannot be
prevented. In all the perspective of the safety implementation there needed to
be investment for the proper implementation. However, in order to keep the
work place safe for the employees the investment is needed to be considered
as the important aspect. The implementation of these advanced instruments
the company should also provide proper education to the employees for the
use of these objects (Namian, Albert, Zuluaga & Behm, 2016). The factors of
providing knowledge and motivation to the employees can be done with the
help of the experts in this context. The process of the proper work place
health and safety the indication of the dangers of the work place and make
sure the employees properly giving attention to the dangers and avoid the mal
practices that can be able to produce the mal situation as well. Thus it can be
sated that the stakeholders of the work place health safety control are the
employees as well as the hierarchy of the company. Both the stakeholders
are needed to consider the situations that can affect the health and safety of
6

the work place (Lyu, Hon, Chan, Wong & Javed, 2018). The implementation
of the proper first aid or primary treatment section in the work place would
also be needed for addressing the problems which can be able to rise in the
work place by fall from height and from other aspects. The primary treatment
should be able to at least treat the worker affected by the fall or identify the
conditions of the worker.
Management Plan
 Incorporation of improved and advanced safety instruments such as
gloves, helmet, safety leg and arm guard and goggles.
 Education to the employees in using the safety instruments properly.
 Improved and safe crane, scaffold and also inclusion of safety human
hangers to support the employees in height works.
 First aid and primary treatment team in the construction sites to support
the injured employees and treat them in primary condition.
 Incorporation of ambulance for the injured employee transport to the
nearest hospital for treatment.
 Investment in the employee insurance in case of greater hazardous
condition and bearing the cost of the treatment for the employee in
order to provide financial support to the patient.
 Providing indications in site for the employee safety and letting the
employees know the risks of work. Also hiring risk assessment
manager for the observation and required changes to deliver safety to
the patients.
 Providing emergency contact numbers in terms of hazards such as fire,
fall injury, chemical disaster control, ambulance service and others.
7

Emergency Response
Organisation
Name
Contact Title Phone number
ALL Emergency
services
Service provider 000
Police SA Police Police head quarter [phone]
Fire South Australian
Metropolitan Fire
Service
Service provider [phone]
Ambulance SA Ambulance
service
Reception [phone]
Table 1: Emergency contacts
Source: (Created by Author)
8

Procedures Brief outline of
procedures
Reference to
full procedure
document
Supporting
documentation
Fall Situation
handling
 Treating the
employee with
primary and first aid
treatment.
 Contacting
emergency services.
 Contacting
ambulance and
transporting the
injured to the
nearest hospital.
The emergency
numbers should
be provided in
all the corners
of the site and
the contact
would be done
with the help of
those numbers.
Employee documents
and the insurance
document of the
employee should be
provided. The
emergency plan
document should be
used to support the
employees in this
situation.
Table 2: emergency procedure brief
Source: (Nexø, Kristensen, Grønvad, Kristiansen & Poulsen, 2018)
Evaluation
The rights of the employees and the safety of them are the factors that
are connected and the factors of these are needed to be considered by
Lendlease for the better and improved planning of the work place health and
safety maintenance. Workplace health and safety is the factor that can only
be effective if the workers and the hierarchy effectively follow the instructions
9

and use the safety instruments in the process of work otherwise the fall and
other causes of injuries cannot be prevented. The safety of the workers are
the rights of the workers as well thus the Employment Act 1993 should also
be considered in the planning process of the work place health and safety for
the workers (Ilo.org, 2019). Incorporation of the safety laws would help in the
knowledge of the employees as well (Lay et al., 2016). Implementation of the
safety instruments and the safety measures in the work place from height
works would be helpful in the lowering of the fall injuries. The safety measures
should be taken into account along with the emergency plans for the
improvement in the safety measures as well (Li, Lu, Hsu, Gray & Huang,
2015). The clear indications in different parts of the site would also help in the
knowledge of the risk factors in the site along with the emergency situation
assessment and it will lower the after injury adverse situations as well (Nexø,
Kristensen, Grønvad, Kristiansen & Poulsen, 2018)
Conclusion
Based on the above discussion it can be concluded that the work place
health and safety is an important factor that needed to be assessed by the
company in order to provide the proper environment to the employees. On the
other hand the planning for the work place health and safety should
comprised of providing safe and advance instruments to the employees along
with the proper knowledge to them for the better usage of the instruments.
Providing primary treatment to them along with ambulance system should be
considered as well. In order to prevent fatal outcomes from the injuries from
the fall and other causes the ambulance would be helpful. On the other hand
the consideration of the government legislation on the work place health and
10

safety and the employee rights should be implemented. The factors of this
planning implementation would be helpful in lessening the number of injuries
from falls in the workplace.
11

References
Construction Industry Profile. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1702/con
struction-industry-profile.pdf
Guo, B. H., & Yiu, T. W. (2015). Developing leading indicators to monitor the
safety conditions of construction projects. Journal of Management in
Engineering, 32(1), 04015016. DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-
5479.0000376.
Ilo.org. (2019). National Labour Law Profile: Australia. Retrieved from
https://www.ilo.org/ifpdial/information-resources/national-labour-law-
profiles/WCMS_158892/lang--en/index.htm
Lay, A. M., Saunders, R., Lifshen, M., Breslin, C., LaMontagne, A., Tompa, E.,
& Smith, P. (2016). Individual, occupational, and workplace correlates
of occupational health and safety vulnerability in a sample of Canadian
workers. American journal of industrial medicine, 59(2), 119-128. DOI
10.1002/ajim.22535
Lendlease.com. (2019). Australia Home | Lendlease. Retrieved from
https://www.lendlease.com/au/
Li, H., Lu, M., Hsu, S. C., Gray, M., & Huang, T. (2015). Proactive behavior-
based safety management for construction safety improvement. Safety
science, 75, 107-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2015.01.013
Lyu, S., Hon, C., Chan, A., Wong, F., & Javed, A. (2018). Relationships
among safety climate, safety behavior, and safety outcomes for ethnic
12

minority construction workers. International journal of environmental
research and public health, 15(3), 484. doi:10.3390/ijerph15030484
Namian, M., Albert, A., Zuluaga, C. M., & Behm, M. (2016). Role of safety
training: Impact on hazard recognition and safety risk perception.
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 142(12),
04016073. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001198
Nexø, M. A., Kristensen, J. V., Grønvad, M. T., Kristiansen, J., & Poulsen, O.
M. (2018). Content and quality of workplace guidelines developed to
prevent mental health problems: results from a systematic review.
Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 44(5), 443-457.
doi:10.5271/sjweh.3731
Phillips, J. P. (2016). Workplace violence against health care workers in the
United States. New England journal of medicine, 374(17), 1661-1669.
Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Phillips24/publication/
301686568_Workplace_Violence_against_Health_Care_Workers_in_t
he_United_States/links/59e73509a6fdcc0e882d80db/Workplace-
Violence-against-Health-Care-Workers-in-the-United-States.pdf
Safe Work Australia. (2019). Model WHS Laws. Retrieved from
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/model-whs-
laws
Schwatka, N. V., Hecker, S., & Goldenhar, L. M. (2016). Defining and
measuring safety climate: a review of the construction industry
literature. Annals of occupational hygiene, 60(5), 537-550.
doi:10.1093/annhyg/mew020
13

Wu, C., Song, X., Wang, T., & Fang, D. (2015). Core dimensions of the
construction safety climate for a standardized safety-climate
measurement. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,
141(8), 04015018. DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000996
Wu, C., Wang, F., Zou, P. X., & Fang, D. (2016). How safety leadership works
among owners, contractors and subcontractors in construction
projects. International journal of project management, 34(5), 789-805.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.02.013
14