Principles of OHS Risk Management for Demolition Work

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PRINCIPLES OF OHS RISK MANAGEMENT
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Principles of OHS Risk Management
Summary
It is vital to note that demolition is a highly hazardous task; therefore, stout safety
management is important to protect the safety as well as health of both the employees as well as
the work environment. The hazards or risks can be reduced or prevented through transparent
communication and systematic planning. One of the most significant steps for safe and
successful demolition includes conduction of a demolition risk assessment (Bhuvaneswari et al.
2017, p. 91). The risk assessment should take into account hazardous materials, any risk related
to demolition activities, isolation of equipment and plant, disposal of waste materials resulting
from the demolition, removal of present asbestos, decontamination of the equipment to be
demolished, and site remediation. The next step involves the arrangement of induction training to
workers who would be involved in the demolition, so that they can familiarize themselves with
the environment they will be working in, tasks required, and safety and health processes involved
in the demolition. Thirdly, a detailed demolition plan must be prepared.
Notably, the plan must include the applicable safety measures and demolition method
needed to ensure safety and health of the workers (Moussiopoulos 2017, p. 193). The demolition
plan has to be conservative and must consider any probable hazards or risks which can arise in
the course of the demolition process. The fourth step encompasses notification of the external
parties including neighbors which may be impacted by the demolition. Moreover, during, the
demolition, the workers should follow disposal procedures, waste treatment procedures, personal
protective equipment, and permit to work to ensure a safe and successful demolition.

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Details of the Hazard and Risk Assessments Carried out
The risk assessment carried out includes potential chemical hazards. The assessment must
establish the primary chemical hazard which might be associated with the demolition including
petroleum hydrocarbons, soil gases, asbestos, and heavy metals. Another risk assessment which
must be carried out includes physical hazards such as operating machinery, abrasions and cuts,
UV exposure, and traffic (Tompa et al. 2016, p. 921). The risk assessment should establish that
heavy equipment and plants operating within the locale could present risks of physical injuries.
Similarly, it should be established that the manual works associated with the site work could
result in the risk of abrasions and cut (Ahuja et al. 2016, p. 166) to employees working in the
vicinity, and the direct repercussions of an abrasion or cut, example, injury could leads to a rise
to the probability of exposure to a contaminant via wounds and also diseases like tetanus
(Claxton 2017, p. 89). Correspondingly, the risk assessment should establish that site workers
might experience heat stress as a result of a mishmash of simultaneous use of personal protection
equipment and elevated ambient temperatures Bhuvaneswari et al. 2017, p. 96). Such risks could
lead to heat exhaustion, heat cramps, heat rash, and heat stroke. There was also a likelihood of
noise during the demolition work especially from operating machinery. Lastly, manual handling
of objectives was also assessed and found to be another hazard which could lead to injuries.
Control Measures that must be implemented during the Demolition
When working in vicinity with already identified contaminated substances, the workers
should exercise great care to make sure that the contaminations are not introduced to them
through dermal contact, inhalation, or ingestion. The workers should follow the decontamination
requirement and personal protective equipment (PPE) to control the risk imposed by chemical
hazards (Tappura & Kivistö-Rahnasto 2017, p. 61). Additionally, the workers ought to be

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cognizant of their position in relation to the operating machineries. They should not walk to the
side or behind operating machinery without the operators’ knowledge. Workers ought to stay no
less than 2 meters from the operational locale of heavy machinery and ought not to stand directly
under any load machinery such as excavators (Ilbahar et al. 2017, p. 125). The personnel should
also put on personal protective equipment to shun indirect or direct injuries. Besides, some of the
measures to protect UV exposure and heat stress wearing of sunglasses, hard hats, and high
protection sunscreens (Díaz Fuentes et al 2016, p. 448). When handling or lifting hefty objects,
the personnel should use correct lifting mechanisms such as bending the knees or seek help from
the other workers or seek mechanical aid. Lastly, the primary measures to avoid exposure to
noise include wearing of earmuffs or earplugs. This would ease conversation and prevents
problems associated with the eardrum.
List of Stakeholders and their Responsibilities in a Demolition
Stakeholder Responsibilities
The principal contractor Ensures all the work is implemented according
to the demolition plan.
Ensures the project manager is conversant with
the site specific issues and the demolition plan
(Wells & Hawkins 2014, p. 104).
Promotes awareness of the relevant occupation
health and safety and environmental
management practices to the project manager
(Brauer 2016, p. 543).
Maintains an environmental audit register of