Analysis of Causes and Factors of Accidents in Construction Projects

This document provides an analysis of the causes and contributing factors of accidents in construction projects, with a focus on the use of suspended working platforms. It discusses the importance of implementing legislative provisions and engineering control strategies to minimize accidents and improve safety management. Recommendations for developing a safety management plan and providing training to employees are also provided.

Project Management

Contents
Project Overview........................................................................................................................2
Analysis of causes and contributing factors of accidents...........................................................2
Understanding, analysis, and application of the legislative provisions in Factories and
industrial undertaking.................................................................................................................3
Different strategies and engineering control before selection of SWP......................................5
Conclusion and Recommendation..............................................................................................7
References:.................................................................................................................................8

Project Overview
The construction program is equipped with suspended working platform for managing the
maintenance and cleaning operation on the site location. The routine building works require a
suspended working platform for deploying the maintenance program successfully. The
drawback of SWP is that it is the major reason for causing accident at work place. The rules
and regulations should be designed for minimizing the occurrence of risks at work place. The
focus should be given on implementing the Factories and industrial undertaking regulations
in improving the operational capabilities of the workers and minimizing the situation of
accidental occurrence.
Analysis of causes and contributing factors of accidents
The implementation of suspended working platform for managing the maintenance work at
the construction site is the major reason for causing accident at work location because the
labour can fall from the height due to the ineffective engineering control policies (Ahmad,
Sattar, and Nawaz, 2016). The company does not focus on identifying the root cause analysis
of the accident occurrence at site location and therefore make no rules and regulations for
managing the balance between the action performed at height and the operational program of
the enterprise. The focus should be given on identifying the root cause of the accident
occurrence. Some of the major root causes are highlighted below. The special provision and
legislation should be designed for minimizing the occurrence of accidents due to the
following reasons:
 Ineffective safety rules and regulation act for implementing the maintenance program
 Ineffective inspection program designed for identifying the gaps in the working
schedule
 No communication with the labour to identify the problem they face in using the
suspended working platform (Jilcha, and Kitaw, 2012)
 No training provided to the staff members for using the fall arrest system
 Inspection of the roof is not properly done
 Quality of the raw material used is not properly checked
 Weak ropes are used for managing the weight of the labour which can break and
cause a serious accident (Katsuro, Gadzirayi, and Mupararano, 2010)
 The SWP is not provided with the railings and other supporting infrastructure

The installation of the suspended working platform is not properly done at the construction
site can cause severe accident which can result to casualty. The maintenance and monitoring
of the brakes and lifts is not scheduled accordingly. The defected machines used by the
labour for completing their required tasks can adversely affect the operational efficiency and
cause accident. The carelessness of the top management in relation to the labour and
workforce health brings dissatisfaction in them which can create conflicting environment at
work place and result in accident. The employees working on the suspended working
platform and at height of the building without having any training and experience may result
in severe casualty. The proper scheduling of the work load according to the capabilities of the
labour and their experience is not done. The consequences of the improper scheduling may
result in project failure due to the occurrence of accident at work place. It creates the feeling
of resistance in the working employees. The proper scheduling and safety management
program should be organized for the employees so that required training can be provided to
them to work on the suspended working platform. The user manuals should be provided
which helps them to guide themselves and make aware about to take effective decision and
action to manage and handle the complex situation (Kharaiweish, 2013).
Understanding, analysis, and application of the legislative provisions in Factories and
industrial undertaking
The legislative provisions should be developed for managing the organization operations
smoothly and safely without any conflicts and hindrance at work place by deploying the
factories and industrial undertaking regulations. The awareness program should be arranged
for the employees so that they can develop the deep knowledge about the suspended working
platform and identifies the consequences of carelessness at work place. The legislation rules
and regulations for the SWP should be designed for the company safety management
program (Mansfield community, 2013). The legal provisions should be clearly defined in the
user manuals. The employees should go through the manual thoroughly before going to work
on the SWP working environment. The company legislative rules and regulations should be
designed by undertaking the factories and industrial regulations which are discussed below:
Preparing to handle the emergency situation:

The proactive action plan should be designed for the workers so that they can take effective
decision to handle the emergency situation such as fall from the height, breakage of the ropes,
failure of the break, and others.
Investigation: It is the duty of the top management to analyse and investigate the reason for
the occurrence of accident during the working hours. The accident occurs due to the failure of
mechanical equipment and technical issues in the SWP than the replacement of the
equipment and machinery should be done. The other reason for the occurrence of accident is
due to the carelessness of the employees than a training and development program and
awareness program should be arranged for them so that they can be aware about the
consequences of the accident and prepared themselves to work actively on the construction
site (Monnappa, 2017).
Inspection: The inspection is organized on the organization culture so that the gaps in the
working schedule can be identified and effective rectify program is organized for the
employees.
In-house organization safety regulations: The safety management program should be
organized so that in-house safety rules and regulations can be improved.
Training program: The training and development program should be organized for the
employees before working on the suspended working platform. The experienced person
should be given duties to finish the construction work at the height of the building. The
awareness program should be arranged for the employees so that they can develop the deep
knowledge about the suspended working platform and identifies the consequences of
carelessness at work place.
Organization hierarchy: The proper reporting system should be developed for identifying the
gaps in the safety management program implemented by the organization for improving the
occupational health and safety standards for the welfare of the employees.
Development of the safety policies: The designing of the safety policies should be done
within the legislative provision of factories and industrial undertaking regulations.
The authorised control for inspecting the occupational health and safety program should be
given to the contractor. The policies related to the insurance cover and compensation amount
should be designed so that monetary help can be provided to the employees if any casualty

occurs during the working hours (Passenheim, 2015). The assessment of the checklist in
relation to the quality and wear and tear of the machinery used at site location should be done
periodically so that technical and mechanical risks at work place can be minimized. The
terms and conditions should be clearly defined to the employees before working on the SWP.
Professional engineer should be appointed for investigating the cause of accident occurrence
so that rectify safety management program can be implemented.
Different strategies and engineering control before selection of SWP
The strategies and engineering control policies should be designed for fostering the safety
management plan for resolving and minimizing the accidental issues which exist with the
working on the SWP to carry out the construction activities at the height of the building. The
hazards and risks can be controlled by implementing the engineering control policies which
focuses on controlling the noise pollution at work site, chaos and conflict between the
employees, unethical behaviour shown by the employees at work place, monitoring of the
carelessness of the labour and team members, and others.
Identification of occupational health and safety program: The mandatory changes should be
done in the occupational health and safety program due to the changes in the organization
policies and output. The review of the safety procedures should be done so that effective
action can be taken to resolve the complex scenario if arise at work place.
Preparedness to handle emergency situation: The decision making ability of the employees
plays a vital role in overcoming the critical situation. The training and development program
should be organized for the employees who help them to sharpen their creative thinking to
take effective decision in critical situation.
Review of electrical equipment: The electrical equipment should be checked and replaced
periodically so minimize the occurrence of accident through electrical shocks.
First-aid: The first aid help should be provided to the employees is given if any casualty
occurs during the working hours of the organization.
Preparation of checklist: The checklist should be developed so that routine periodic checking
of the technical functionality of the machinery can be checked.

Security and safety parameters: The working employees should be provided with safety
uniform, shoes, gloves, and helmets. The safety things in poor condition should be replaced
instantaneously.
CCTV monitoring: The CCTV monitoring should be done so that emergency situation can be
analysed in advance and proactive action plan can be taken to handle the situation which in
turn helps in saving the accident occurrence (Razuri, Alarcon, and Diethlem, 2014).
Verification and validation: The suspended working platform should be going through the
verification and validation program before provided to the employees for using. It helps in
identifying the operational functionality of the parts. The damaged parts should be replaced
before the start-up of the working program on the SWP.
The implementation and analysis of the accidental causation theory helps in developing the
effective safety management program so that the privilege should be given to the employee
health and safety. It helps in developing the feeling of positive motivation in the working
employees which results in increasing the quality of the project.
Creation of social interaction: The communication management plan should be developed
between the internal and external employees who helps in managing their grievances and
provides platform to share their views and opinion.
Careless attitude: The monitoring of the project activities and the working of the employees
helps in analysing the attitude and unethical behaviour shown by the employees while
working on the SWP. The carelessness is the major cause of accident occurrence (Wilson,
2012)
Failure of physical and technical equipment: The periodic inspection program is not
organized for checking the physical and technical equipment working which will result in
occurrence of the accident.
Accident: The accident may result in casualty, damage to the construction work, failure of the
project, project delay, or death case. The compensation money and insurance cover provided
to the employees make an extra burden on the project budget (Tan, Steel, Toleman, 2009).
The organization output gets affected due to the unethical behaviour of the employees and
ineffective management program. The systematic monitoring of the resource supply, raw
material management, replacement of technical and mechanical equipment as required,

checking and investigating of the construction site, identification of requirement for arranging
training and development program for the employees helps in minimizing the occurrence of
accident and develops the sustainable, clean, and healthy working environment. It results in
developing the strong bonding between the employees and the organization which in turn
increases the profitability of the enterprise and provided quality of end result (Zubar,
Visagavel, Raja, and Mohan, 2017).
Conclusion and Recommendation
It is recommended to develop a safety management plan by aligning the process and
procedures according to the factories and industrial regulations. The reviewing of the
maintenance program should be conducted periodically by developing the checklist so that
the gaps in the requirement of the project and stakeholders can be effectively analysed. The
rectification program should be designed for changing the rules and regulations of the
organization in the benefit of employees’ health and safety. The trained person should be
appointed for evaluating the gaps in the suspended working platform which is used by the
organization to perform construction program on height. The awareness program should be
arranged for the employees so that they can develop the deep knowledge about the suspended
working platform and identifies the consequences of carelessness at work place. The
legislation rules and regulations for the SWP should be designed for the company safety
management program. The training and development program should be organized for the
employees who help them to sharpen their creative thinking to take effective decision in
critical situation.
It is concluded that the employees who are not having relevant knowledge, skills, and
experience to work on the suspended working platform should not be allocated tasks and
work. it helps in minimizing the occurrence of accident. The monitoring program should be
organized for identifying the root cause of the accident occurrence and carelessness shown by
the employees during the working hours. The assessment of the checklist in relation to the
quality and wear and tear of the machinery used at site location should be done periodically
so that technical and mechanical risks at work place can be minimized. The defected
machines used by the labour for completing their required tasks can adversely affect the
operational efficiency and cause accident. The consequences of the improper scheduling may
result in project failure due to the occurrence of accident at work place. The replacement
policies should be organized for managing the operational efficiency.

References:
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