Safety Management in Construction Industry

This study focuses on identifying and evaluating safety management in the construction industry to reduce health and safety risks. It employs a qualitative research approach and reviews secondary sources to gain a better understanding of the topic. The research concludes that the high level of accidents and injuries in the construction industry is due to factors such as lack of safety in design, poor construction planning, worker behavior, inadequate safety training, and lack of knowledge of site rules. Efficient health and safety measures in construction sites not only ensure productivity and happiness among employees but also reduce costs and unnecessary lawsuits. Get access to solved assignments, essays, and dissertations on Desklib.

SRR720 – CONSTRUCTION RESEARCH FRONTIERS
Assignment-2: RESEARCH DESIGN
INSTRUCTOR: ASHEEM SHRESTHA
EHTESHAM AHMED SYED
219059861
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Research Purpose
3. Research Questions
4. Research Approach
5. Literature Review
6. Analysis
7. Limitations and Scope
8. Conclusion
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SAFETY MANAGEMENT
Executive summary
The main aim of this study identifies and evaluate the safety management in the construction
industry, in order to reduce and mitigate health and safety risks within the construction industry.
In this research qualitative research approach was employed, whereby different secondary
sources were reviewed to get a better understanding of the topic of research. The literature
reviews provide a theoretical background about safety management that guided the design of the
questionnaire. This research concludes that in the construction industry the level of injuries and
accidents are very high. Majority of modern societies does not allow people to be working in
such conditions. According to the findings of this research the high level of accidents and
injuries in the construction industry is due to many factors such as lack of safety in design, poor
construction planning, worker behavior, inadequate safety training, lack of knowledge of site
rules and inherent safety H&S risk of construction.
Safety management in construction is the process and procedures that are usually followed to
recognize safety risks which are to be encountered during the construction process and
proposes the appropriate action to be taken to prevent the risks from materializing.
Efficient health and safety measures in construction sites do not only ensure that the employees
are productive and happy, but also the management of safety in the construction sites reduces the
cost of injuries and the unnecessary lawsuits.
Introduction
Safety management is very important knowledge as the management of projects are concerned.
Safety management is expected to take account of all for all risks and accidents which occur
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during the construction of the project (Rowlinson, 2018, p. 652). The health and safety of any
construction site are very crucial preventing such risks in a legal and ethical way. Previous
researches that have carried out shows that the construction of regular risks to the lives of the site
works and due to that there are serious injuries and frequent deaths in the construction industry.
Hence the consideration and the management of the safety, along with the consideration to the
Health and Safety generally, is undeniable plays a very crucial to any construction project
(Raymond Elliot Levitt, 2016).Effective safety measures in construction can play a great role
in the controlling and preventing the occurrence of accidents and injuries in construction sites.
A greater percentage of the accidents and injuries witnessed in the construction industry are due
to the human errors in handling the complex equipment and machineries used I construction.
Safety management in the construction industry involves the identification of the possible health
risks and hazards in the construction and initiate the appropriate action to prevent and control the
occurrence of such accidents. The safety managing in the construction industry have a lot of
benefits such as; it reduces the number of accidents and injuries in the construction in the
construction. The reduction of accidents and injuries in construction sites leads to a reduction in
the overall costs of construction and increased worker's productivity.
Purpose/significance of the research
Efficient health and safety measures in construction sites do not only ensure that the employees
are productive and happy, but also the management of safety in the construction sites reduces
the cost of injuries and the unnecessary lawsuits. By giving the safety of the workers the first
priority, it will be possible for the construction companies to communicate effectively to the
employees (Hill, 2017, p. 67). Also, the improved safety standards assist the to become much
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effective to be able to accomplish the given projects in time, within the stipulated budget and
improve their business profile.
Safety management in means providing the construction workers with the correct pre protective
tools but also equipping and inducting them with the knowledge of understanding the proper use
and maintenance of the tools given to them.
The findings of this research will be of great importance to different parties involved in the
construction industry. The clients and contractor’s will gain knowledge regarding to safety
management in constructions and they will be able to encourage the construction practices
which fosters the overall safety of the construction industry.
This research will present findings regarding to the set standards of the safety in construction,
withy that it will be much easier for the workers employed to work in the construction sites to
judge the conditions under which they work before they start working on the projects this will
ensure that the number of accidents which occurs in the construction sites are reduced before
the start of the actual construction projects. (Perezgonzalez, 2012, p. 88).The researcher will
gain in equal measures about the safety measures in construction.
Aims and objectives of research
This research will focus on identify and analyze the safety management in the construction
industry, that there was need to generate specific objectives which were to assist in achieving
the main aim of the study. Some of the specific objectives that were set include;
1. To critically analyze the common accidents in the construction industry
2. To determine the importance of safety management in the construction industry
3. To find out the carry out a literature review on the construction safety management.
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Research questions
This research will be guided with the following research questions;
1. What is health and safety in construction?
2. To understand the safety management in construction
3. What is the importance of safety management in construction, what are the benefits to the
Client, contractor and to the construction workers?
4. Which construction practices should be put in place to ensure there is safety during
construction?
5. To find out the accidents which usually occurs in the construction industry.
Research approach
Qualitative research was employed during the research, the application of qualitative research
involved the researcher seeking for information which will answer the research questions
regarding to the safety management in the construction industry. The research by using the
qualitative research approach was able to use different data collection techniques such as
interviews as, case studies and review of secondary sources such as books, journals and
magazines which had relevant content. The qualitative research will make application of
inductive research where the researcher will collect the data to be analyzed later. (Anon., 2014,
p. 443).
Usually there is a variety of data collection techniques which are applied in the qualitative
research approach. The most common is observation, whereby the researcher will taking notes
while observing how the construction process continues. The collection of data through
observation is also referred to as field research. In order to collect accurate data the researcher
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will be forced to take part in the construction process so that he can be able to have experience
on how accidents and injuries occur in the construction sites. The researcher will visit a number
of construction sites and recorded notes and sketches will be analyzed later. (Goldsmith, 2018, p.
42).
Literature review
Safety management in the construction industry will play a great role in identification of the
safety risks which will be likely to occur during the construction process. As the names suggests
safety management will involve the management of risks and hazards which will be likely to
occur during the construction period.
Currently the number of fatalities and injuries that are witnessed in the construction industry
are in a worrying trend, which has forced many countries to invest heavily in ensuring that
there is safety and health working condition s for the construction workers. (Helen Lingard,
2011, p. 443).
Safety management in construction encourages safety training which on the other hand Safety
management inspires safety training which performs mechanical assistance and awareness of
surrounding which is very useful to reduce the accidents and make the construction safe and easy
to work (Howarth, 2015, p. 332).
Methodology
Research methodology is defined as a precise approach which the researcher uses to correct
the most accurate data or to carry out the evaluation and study of a given topic or subject.
The research methodology uses different methods and strategies to achieve the main aim of the
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study. The main aim of this research is to research and analysis the concept of safety
management in construction industry.
It is very essential for the researcher to have a deeper understanding of the topic of research ,
hence the qualitative research together with the detailed literature review were employed
during the research. This research approach is very effective in carrying out the research of this
nature. This is because the literature review which is carried out offers sufficient information
regarding to the safety management in construction industry (Lingerd, 2018, p. 87).
The research approach offers a detailed overview of the similar studies that have been carried
out. This provides a wide range of data regarding to the safety management in the construction
industry. And it give a summary of the common accidents and injuries in the construction
industry. The main purpose of carrying out a literature review was to determine the research
gap for this given study.
There are many data collection techniques that were used in the collection of data and they
include;
i) Use of secondary sources
This involved the review of secondary sources which contains data relevant to the safety
management in the construction industry. With that different secondary sources were reviewed
which included; boos, journals and any other publication which contained relevant data. (Heinke,
2012, p. 54).
Advantages of secondary sources
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There are many advantages which are associated with the use of secondary sources of data
collection and they include;
The use of secondary sources saves a lot of time , with the current advancement in technology ,
it is much easier to gather the required knowledge from libraries , archives and online sources.
There is a lot of information which is contained in the online databases , it is also much easier
to gather data from the secondary sources such as books and other publications which are
contained in the libraries and archives. (Heinke, 2012, p. 782).
Secondary sources are easier to access, usually with the availability of internet one can be
able to access a lot of data regarding to the safety management in the construction industry, this
information can enable the researcher to make informed conclusion regarding to the safety
management in construction industry. (Fewings, 2017, p. 340).
With the utilization of the secondary sources, they greatly helps in creating new insights from the
past studies which have been carried out on the same topic. By reanalysing the data which had
already been analysed by other experts it enables the researcher to come up with new findings
regarding to the safety management.
Limitations of secondary sources
The data collected from the secondary sources might be inappropriate. as compared to the
primary data where the researcher has some specific questions which needs to be answered
in the secondary sources the researcher just analysis any information related to the topic of
research. The secondary sources does not have a scope of which the researcher should study
(Evzen Zeman, 2015, p. 78).
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While using the secondary sources the researcher might lack control over the kind of data to be
collected. Majority of the secondary sources might contain biased data. It is any the government
institutions which can be a source of accurate data.
ii) Case studies
The use of case study research involves the study of the existing construction sites where the
safety management practices are being implemented. The case studies allows the researcher to
collect fits hand data regarding to the safety management in construction.
Benefits of case study research
There are many benefits associated with the use of case study research and they include;
The case study research allowed a lot of details regarding safety management to be collected
which made it easier for the researcher to identify the best way the safety and risks can be
managed in the construction sites. (Council, 2011, p. 897).
Limitations of the case study research
It was a challenge to generalize the data which was collected from one project to all other
projects. This made it had to compare the data which was collected from the different projects in
different countries.
It was challenging to draw a conclusion regarding the health and safety measures which have
been put in place in different construction sites.
Analysis
Having proper Health and safety measures in place many of these myriad Health and safety risks
in the construction industry can be controlled. Normally the accidents which witnessed in the
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construction sites are due to hazardous human i.e. Individual factors or working conditions
which are not safe i.e. the system factors. There are many accidents which take place in the
construction industry and they result in massive destruction of lives and properties.
Common accidents in the construction industry
i) falling from scaffolding / high heights
In construction sites workers usually works on heights by use of scaffoldings or ladder. Due to
human errors or structure failure the workers can fall from those heights.
ii) Electrocution
Majority of the construction sites are works in progress which have electrical cables,
incomplete electrical systems and power lines which can easily electrocute the workers
working on site.
iii) Falling debris
During the construction process there are always objects which falls from the floors above and
can cause accidents and injuries.
iv) machinery accidents
Construction workers use a lot of heavy machinery such as nail guns, bulldozers, cranes,
jackhammers, etc. Generally, the construction workers can be injured with this equipment of they
are poorly handled.
v) fires and explosion
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During the construction process, there are usually unfinished piping, gas incomplete electrical
and mechanical systems, due to that there will be a possibility of fires and explosions.
Consequences of construction accidents
Unfortunately, when workers are injured in a construction site, it does not only affect their lives
and livelihood, but it possesses a lot of problems to their families as well. Construction accidents
can lead to expensive medical bills and treatment. The construction accidents can cause which
will have a great impact on the family in the cases where the injured worker was the sole
breadwinner.
Scope and Limitations
This study will involve the study of safety management of construction in different parts of the
world. The study will be strictly limited to the study of the safety measures that have been put in
place to prevent and reduce the number of accidents in the construction, any other aspect of the
construction industry will not be reviewed instead it will be treated as irrelevant. Some of the
challenges to be experienced during the data collection will include;
o The unwillingness of the respondents to give accurate data regarding safety management
in construction sites.
o Getting permission to visit some construction sites will be a great challenge.
o Traveling to different parts in Australia to gather diverse data about the research topic
will be a great challenge. This is because the areas are not accessible.
Conclusion
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In conclusion, a construction company which uses dangerous equipment and tools is usually
exposed to deadly risks and accidents such as falling from scaffolding or from high heights, fires
and explosion, electrocution, slipping and falling, falling objects. These accidents have a lot of
effects on the workers who work in the construction site i.e. The accidents can lead to deaths
and serious injuries on the workers working in the construction sites.
Safety management in the construction industry involves the identification of the possible health
risks and hazards in the construction and initiate the appropriate action to prevent and control the
occurrence of such accidents. The safety managing in the construction industry have a lot of
benefits such as; it reduces the number of accidents and injuries in the construction in the
construction. The reduction of accidents and injuries in construction sites leads to a reduction in
the overall costs of construction and increased worker's productivity. The safety management in
the construction industry leads contributes greatly to the delivery of projects on the given time
frame and the stipulated budgets (Board, 2010, p. 443).
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References
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Riza Yosia Sunindijo.
Board, N. Y. (. W. C., 2010. Accident hazards and costs in the construction industry. 3rd ed.
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Council, C. E., 2011. Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Protection Plan,. 6th ed. Texas: U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,.
Evzen Zeman, 2015. Protecting Coastal and Marine Environments from Land-based Activities:
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Fewings, P., 2017. Construction Project Management: An Integrated Approach. 2nd ed. London:
Routledge,.
Goldsmith, D., 2018. Safety Management in Construction and Industry. 7th ed. Kiev: McGraw-
Hill.
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Heinke, G. W., 2012. Guidelines for the Planning, Design, Operation and Maintenance of
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Municipal and Community Affairs.
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