Principles of OHS Risk Management for Demolition Work

This article discusses the principles of OHS risk management for demolition work, including hazard and risk assessments, control measures, stakeholder responsibilities, induction programs, and OHS management. It also evaluates the effectiveness, strengths, and weaknesses of OHS plans.

1
PRINCIPLES OF OHS RISK MANAGEMENT
Student’s Name
Institution
Course
Date

2
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.

3
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

4
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

5
recording all the actions.
Ensures environmental non-compliance and
incidents are promptly reported and assessed.
Undertakes environmental audits.
Reviews the performance of the project
manager periodically.
Asbestos assessor Complies with the demolition plan
requirements.
Advises the principal contractor where
necessary in relation to hazardous materials
and asbestos that may be encountered
unexpectedly.
Undertakes air monitoring for asbestos
Conducts clearance inspections of asbestos
fibers after removing asbestos.
Environmental consultant Conducts environmental incidence
investigation.
Identifies potential issues as well as
opportunities related to the demolition.
Reviews risks associated with the project.
Advises the principal contractor on
environmental issues associated with the
demolition works (Chapman & Thompson

6
2016, p. 33).
Executes corrective actions responses to non-
compliances and environmental incidences.
Demolition contractors Undertakes the demolition.
Execute and comply with the appropriate
elements of the demolition plan (Bhuvaneswari
et al. 2017, p. 94).
Report any environmental hazards or
incidences to the principal contractor.
Execute corrective actions responses to non-
compliance and environmental incidences as
required by the principal contractor.
Details of Induction Program and Training Required By Workers on the Site
All the employees including contractors, subcontractors, and principal contractor who
would work on the demolition or need frequent access to the site are required to undertake site
induction and training comprising environmental requirement. The employees ought to
demonstrate an understanding and comprehension of possible environmental issues or problems
and the appropriate measures or approaches that would be implemented or executed to protect
the local community as well as the environment. Firstly, the awareness induction should be
designed to present the details of the content of the demolition and the workers responsibilities in
the demolition job. Secondly, the induction should explain the purpose and objective of the work
of demolition contractor (Zare Mehrjerdi & Haqiqat, 2015, p. 231). The site workers should pen
their signatures in the induction register acknowledging understanding and receipt of the

7
demolition. The induction and training sessions must be recorded or documented in the induction
registers for references purposes. Additionally, during the induction and training, the principal
contractor and demolition contractors managing the demolition job must offer their management
plans for the site’s particular tasks which should followed and adhered to during the work period.
The workers would trained how to manage some of the specific tools which would be used in the
process and how to operate in the site to avoid injuries.
A Schedule of Planned Meetings and Details of What Will Be Discussed at the
Meetings
During the demolition work, daily toolbox meetings would be held to discuss the
progress of the work and report environmental risks or hazards. The principal contractor
conducts daily meetings with the workers and assessors to identify and discuss the daily potential
hazards as well as site conditions. The meeting would also involve the review of management
procedures so that they can reflect the demolition process (Mohammadfam et al. 2017, p. 160).
The planned meetings will outline particular environmental needs as well as activities being
carried out at the site every day. The meetings would also involve discussions on whether the
demolition is being carried in accordance with the action plan, if not the personnel would discuss
what can be done to ensure the demolition follows the outlined procedure. Furthermore, the
meetings would report on the risks or hazards involved during the work and how to minimize the
hazards. The minutes of issues discussed in the planned meetings ought to be maintained for
future review or audit.
Management of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the Site

8
First, the management of Occupational Health and Safety would require understanding of
responsibilities. The principal contractor should write a safety and health policy that evidently
highlights a commitment to health and safety (de FariaNogueira et al. 2015, p. 123). The policy
should be kept simple and should include the specific responsibilities delegated to workers,
supervisors, and managers. The policy should be supported by an action plan which aims at
consistently improving safety and health. Secondly, it is important to consult workers for
effective management and successful demolition. The workers must be consulted in decisions
which might impact their safety and health (MA 2016, p. 137). The workers are the best
individuals to notify the managers on the risks or hazards involved in the sites and the
improvement needed to accomplish a safe workplace. Thirdly, it is important to keep records
such as control processes, records of risk assessment and hazard identification regarding safety
and health activities. Subsequently, it is also vital to monitor, review, and improve the operation.
The principal contractor should evaluate the execution of procedures and policies and the
effectiveness of the interventions (Martinov-Bennie et al. 2014, p. 342). Lastly, to effectively
manage a demolition, it is significant to manage injuries and incidents. It is important to organize
plans of managing emergencies before they occur.
Effectiveness of the OHS Plan its Strengths as well as Weaknesses
An Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) program relies on effective leadership,
commitment as well as worker participation. First, this plan is effective because it takes into
consideration all aspects of social, mental, and physical safety and health in the working site. It
helps companies to prevent hazards and injuries in the workplace environment (Sinelnikov,
Inouye & Kerper 2015, p. 242). Remarkably, a well-maintained occupational health and safety

9
saves money, for example, which have been used for an employee’s treatment. Occupational
health and safety also positively impacts a company’s productivity and reputation.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) also has several strengths. First, it saves time
through the allowance of safety and health matters to be quickly handled via an existing
procedure (Potter et al. 2017, p. 100). It also formally guides the future actions of employees and
ensures safe systems of works are communicated and recorded. Lastly, it also ensures that an
organization manages its workers more effectively through defining unacceptable and acceptable
behaviors in the workplace. On the other hand, some of the weaknesses of the Occupational
Health and Safety (OHS) include requirement of training, education, and awareness which might
be relatively expensive for many organizations. Secondly, the plan requires corporate
commitment and leadership mindset which may not be exhibited by many managers. Many
organizations also view Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) to be at cross-purpose with profit
enhancement and productivity.

10
Reference List
Ahuja, V., Sheikh, S. S., Moore, J., & Castronuovo, J. J. (2016). Change Takes Five Years:
Successes and Failures in Implementing Reducing Wound Infection Plan. Journal of the
American College of Surgeons, 223(4), e166-e167.
Bhuvaneswari, V., Karthick, R. B., Manojkumar, R. M., & Muthukumar, K. (2017). Study of
safety in demolition of buildings. Pp. 89-99
Brauer, R. L. (2016). Safety and health for engineers. John Wiley & Sons.pp. 534-553
Chapman, M., & Thompson, K. (2016). Preventing and investigating horse-related human injury
and fatality in work and non-work equestrian environments: a consideration of the
workplace health and safety framework. Animals, 6(5), 33.
Claxton, G. G. (2017). Occupational Health and Safety: Generating regulatory perceptions to
encourage compliance(Doctoral dissertation, Curtin University). Pp. 89
de FariaNogueira, E. C., Luiz, O., Quelhas, G., França, S. L., Meiriño, M. J., &Mosca Cunha, L.
A. (2015). IMPLEMENTATION OF A SAFETY PROGRAM FOR THE WORK
ACCIDENTS'CONTROL.A CASE STUDY IN THE CHEMICAL
INDUSTRY. International Journal for Quality Research, 9(1). Pp. 121-127
Díaz Fuentes, C. M., Martinez Pantoja, L., Tarver, M., Geschwind, S. A., & Lara, M. (2016).
Latino immigrant day laborer perceptions of occupational safety and health information
preferences. American journal of industrial medicine, 59(6), 476-485.
Ilbahar, E., Karaşan, A., Cebi, S., & Kahraman, C. (2018). A novel approach to risk assessment
for occupational health and safety using Pythagorean fuzzy AHP & fuzzy inference
system. Safety science, 103, 124-136.

11
MA, Q. M. (2016). Systematic review of qualitative literature on occupational health and safety
legislation and regulatory enforcement planning and implementation. Scandinavian
journal of work, environment & health, 42(1), 3. Pp. 132-142
Martinov-Bennie, N., O'Neill, S., Cheung, A., & Wolfe, M. K. (2014).Issues in the assurance and
verification of work health and safety information. Pp. 321-347
Mohammadfam, I., Kamalinia, M., Momeni, M., Golmohammadi, R., Hamidi, Y., & Soltanian,
A. (2017). Evaluation of the quality of occupational health and safety management
systems based on key performance indicators in certified organizations. Safety and health
at work, 8(2), 156-161.
Moussiopoulos, N. (2017). Investigation of the occupational health and safety conditions in
Hellenic solid waste management facilities and assessment of the in-situ hazard level.
Safety Science, 96, 192-197.
Potter, R. E., Dollard, M. F., Owen, M. S., O'Keeffe, V., Bailey, T., &Leka, S. (2017).Assessing
a national work health and safety policy intervention using the psychosocial safety
climate framework. Safety science, 100, 91-102.
Sinelnikov, S., Inouye, J., & Kerper, S. (2015). Using leading indicators to measure occupational
health and safety performance. Safety science, 72, 240-248.
Tappura, S., & Kivistö-Rahnasto, J. (2017). A framework for developing safety management
competence. In Occupational Safety and Hygiene V (pp. 59-64). CRC Press.
Tompa, E., Kalcevich, C., Foley, M., McLeod, C., Hogg‐Johnson, S., Cullen, K., ... & Irvin, E.
(2016). A systematic literature review of the effectiveness of occupational health and
safety regulatory enforcement. American journal of industrial medicine, 59(11), 919-933.

12
Wells, J., & Hawkins, J. (2014). Promoting Construction Health and Safety through
Procurement: A briefing note for developing countries. Engineers Against Poverty,
London.pp. 103-109
Zare Mehrjerdi, Y., & Haqiqat, E. (2015). Developing a conceptual model based upon the Latin
Hypercube Sampling for integrating OHS into project risk evaluation. International
Journal of Industrial Engineering & Production Research, 26(4), 229-241.