QUESTION

 

QUESTION 1:
Education and training have been recognized as important components of organised safety programs for years. In today’s rapidly changing high-tech workplace, they are more important than ever since workers who have not been trained to perform their jobs safely
are more likely to have accidents. As a project manager, develop a comprehensive safety and health training plan for the employees/contractors of your project site or your organization

 

QUESTION 2:
The safety culture of an organisation is the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies, and patterns of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organisation’s health and safety management.
Discuss how an organization can achieve a safety-first corporate culture.

 

ANSWER

 

Health and Safety of Construction Industry

1.0. Introduction

Mudajaya Group Berhad (“Mudajaya”) got its present name on 10^th June 1997 as during this year it was converted into a public limited company and these days people call it as MJC. This company was included under the Companies Act, 1965 on 6^th February 2003. They have their headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor and there are around 201 to 500 employees. This company’s specialization is in construction, manufacturing, trading, property development and in power sector. This company has its own mason, construction carpenters, plumbers, construction electricians, glaziers, welders, plasterers, and engineers.

This report will tell the readers about the construction industry of Malaysia, it will also tell about the risks every employee goes through in this profession. Later on in this report there are ways written so that the number of accidents get reduced. It is not that when the employee is working he faces health problem but later on in his old age he can face some kind of health problem due to his professional life.

1.1. Associated hazards and risks of a construction business unit

A construction site is a piece of land where a building will be built or some buildings need to be repaired. Employees who work in these sites need to use lots of machineries and they generally use large tools, most of the time they work from high altitudes and the environment is obviously hazardous. The nature of work for these employees makes their life quite risky.

The hazards and risks that they are associated with this work are:

• Work from high height: most of the times the employees have to work from high altitudes, so for this the employees should be given proper training (Guo, Yiu and González 2016). Before the work begins the employees should be trained in working on different kinds of surfaces and with heavy equipments. They should learn how to work safely on ladders, roofs, underground and scaffolding.

• Noise: construction sites are always noisy and every employee has to deal with this noise throughout the day. As said by the authors Li et al 2016 noise is a common hazard for all construction sites. Excessive noise which is loud and repetitive might cause hearing trouble to employees later on in their lives; they might start suffering from deafness later on in their lives. Noise can be dangerous at times also, firstly noise is a type of distraction for work and secondly it may distract an employee from the task which he is doing and this will cause an accident in the site.

• Electricity: electric hazards like arc flashes, blasts or shocks can cause employee’s death or it might cause some kind of injuries. As said by the author Sherratt (2016) electricity is hazardous for every one present in the construction site if they are not careful. Not only electricians but also employees need to consider safety when working on the overhead cables, height near power lines or close to underground. If by mistake working on any disorganized area which includes electrical work or in any kind of wet areas then electricity will be an additional hazard.

• Harmful materials: construction industry involves use of many materials and tools which can be hazardous for workers. Failure to use them correctly might create accident and in this industry workers are exposed to many kinds of harmful materials (Dzeng Lin and Fang 2016). Using of solvents, adhesives, paints or any kind of acidic chemical solutions means workers might suffer from respiratory problems, asthma or some kind of heart problems.

2.0. Development of safety and health training plan

• Training needs analysis: training is an expensive process for every industry as because the company has to spend huge money on employees to train them. Company also needs to spend some time and resources during the training period and for this industry training is the most important thing (McIlwraith 2016). Since it is a labor extensive industry no employees come with any experience or formal education so it is the duty of the business unit to train them efficiently, not only how to work on tight deadline but also on safety measures. Training needs analysis means a systematic process of understanding the training and eventually applying them when the work starts. Few well known construction companies like MJC believes in training a lot and they do spend time and money for proper training as because they believe that if employees are well trained then only they can work properly according to the client’s needs and accident rates will eventually go down.

According to the author Budd (2016) every step in the entire training process is different from each other and it is unique in its own, so it needs analysis to know the foundation of the training which is required or later how the training has been. For a construction industry a good trainer is always needed so that every employee understands the process to work. This analysis gives an idea of what kind of intervention is essential, skill or knowledge.

• Person Analysis. This Analysis dealing with all employees and trainers who will be involved in the process. In this analysis it is checked how the employees are getting trained and whether the training session is fruitful or not. It this it is also checked that employees have skills to work in this industry or not.

• Task analysis or work analysis: here it will be checked the analysis of the work which will be performed on the site. This analysis look for to some main duties and the level of skill required. This will help MJC to be sure that the training program which is being developed will include all relevant links that are need in the job.

Figure 1: Showing kinds of accidents happen to employees in construction industry

(Source: ConstructConnect.com, 2019)

• Orientation of the new employees: generally new employee orientation is a way to introduce the new employee in the organization. As opined by the authors Wang, Thornhill and De (2017) the main goal of new employee orientation is to help the new employee know the business unit, learn about its rules and regulations and for this industry orientation of the new employee is very important as because employees will get to know about the business unit and the process how to work. In this industry there is some information which exists and it is necessary for the new employee to know. Even here depending on the job role, experience and knowledge employees, responsibility of the job the factors will vary.

There must be new employee safety orientation that will educate the employee on the business unit’s specialized safety culture (Bajjou, Chafi and En-Nadi 2017). This creates an atmosphere in which every employee is personally devoted to his own safety and for this particular industry safety of each employee is important to their colleagues also.

• Job-specific procedures: some established job specific procedures have proven beneficial in many ways to this industry. Safety methods play an important role in doing the job safely. Job procedures are generally defined as a step by step description how to proceed to do a construction work from the very beginning to the end and also finishing the work on time (Mushayi, Deacon and Smallwood 2017). Business units like MJC should establish Safe Job Procedures or Safe Work Practices for addressing all types of hazards or for dealing with difficult circumstances that might be present during the office work. There can be some regulations which should be hand written and if needed employees should read it once daily. It is necessary for the senior management of MJC to be involved in the safety developing programs and at the same time they provide enough training to their workers (Ahn et al 2016).

Safe job procedures includes some process which are regulatory requirements, training requirements, personal protective equipments which are required, permits requirement, series of steps to follow to complete the construction work properly and safely and emergency procedures. Emergency procedures are another important point which the management should look on even before they start working on the project. Anytime any kind of emergency can happen in a construction site, so employees should know how to escape from it and also protect the tools and equipments which are there. A plan should be chalked out which should identify some on-site resources like fire extinguishers, first aid equipments, spills containment equipment and so on. Mudajaya Group Berhad keeps a medical staff when they work on some big projects.

3.0. Safety culture for construction industry

Safety culture is the main issue that should be focused on for this construction industry. Improvements should be made in construction site for the safety of the employees as well as the managers, suppliers or the clients who comes for regular visit. According to the authors Latiffi, Brahim and Fathi (2016) Malaysia has promoted in their construction industry to ensure that no employee is injured during the office hours and they get proper remuneration. A safe work environment is very much needed to decrease the number of accidents which is associated with this industry. When the project becomes difficult or more complex it is necessary for all construction related business units to ensure the safety among all employees (Yaman et al 2015). Revolution and changes in the safety culture has become mandatory in this industry as because it is a labor intensive industry and maximum accidents happen in this industry.

There are certain guidelines of this industry in Malaysia that has to be maintained and improved as and when required. These guidelines govern the safety management of the construction site, employees and the equipments also. According to the authors Zhou, Goh and Li (2015) to prevent accidents in work place employees should have a proactive and positive attitude, they should be provided with beverages whenever necessary. Trying to create a culture of safety for a business unit means that the laborers are constantly aware of the hazards in the construction site this also includes the one which they create themselves by mistake. It should become the second nature of the laborers to take some steps on their own to improve safety. Hence it can be said that the safety culture is not only the responsibility of the senior management only it should be the responsibility of each and every employee.

4.0. Ways to establish a safety first corporate culture

Every construction company tries to implement various steps to avoid these accidents but still happens because it is filled with machinery, trucks, and combinations of materials, equipments and among all these things employees have to keep working.

• To arrange daily meetings on safety: all employees need to be briefed daily about the safety measures when it comes to a specific workplace. As the projects keeps on going the hazards also keep changing, it is never the same hazard every time. As said by the authors Jatarona et al (2016) it is the work of the senior managers to see that everyone in their workplace is given proper instruction and they are aware of changing in rules and regulations. Arranging safety meetings daily will keep all the employees updated and they will know that their safety is the prime concern of the company. This company MJC is very strict about their employee’s safety, they make and upgrade their rules almost every day and ensure that there is no health hazards for the employees.

• Not to work during the night time: dark environment and late working hours create more potential for accidents in the workplace. Construction based companies should minimize the rate of work during the night because that is the time accidents happen the most (Ashworth and Perera 2018). During the night because employees get tired and visibility also reduces hence this combination creates accidents more and most of the time it is unavoidable.

• Proper safety gear: employees should know about proper protection all the time because a construction site is always up for unforeseen safety hazards and unpredictable accidents (Olanrewaju, and Abdul-Aziz 2015). Some common and basis safety protections are eye protection, proper harnesses, hardhats and hearing protections. Heavy duty gloves, slip resistant boots and masks should be always ready as safety apparel and every employee should wear these gears during their working hours.

Figure 2: Showing fatal injuries rate in construction industry

(Source: Train?, 2019)

• Highly visible and reflective clothing: these clothes are necessary in order to reduce any kind of accidents related to vehicles. All employees should were high reflective fabric clothes all the times especially during the night time, this way getting hurt by a vehicle will reduce.

• Frequent breaks: employees who are involved in this industry has to go through tiring work pressure so having regular breaks is very important firstly for safety reasons and secondly for productivity. Breaks will allow employees to re-energize themselves by taking rests or drinking some beverages or eating snacks. Breaks will allow the employees to remain focused, it will avoid tiredness, will create alertness and employees will make lees mistakes which happens due to exhaustion.

• Clear sign showing danger: high voltage wires or areas should be made noticeable to everyone present in the construction site and also electricity should be deactivated when it is not being used (Zhou, Goh and Li 2015). Areas which are dangerous should be cordoned off by ropes or wires to stop people going there or else accidents might happen.

• To introduce exercise for all employees: before the day starts for a normal employee he should at least do some amount of warm up so that he feels fresh and his body is ready for the day’s work. In a way it will ensure the company that the worker is fit and he is ready for any kind of physical activity. As said by the authors Jaafar et al (2018) by exercising employees will develop sharper minds and healthy body.

• To avoid direct sunlight: for employees working in a construction site means to stay in the sunlight throughout the day and this will increase their tiredness, so employees should cover up their exposed skin areas. For this they can wear wide brimmed tough hats, skin protectors or long sleeved shirts. If companies can take care of this then workers will not feel too tired and this will not hamper their productivity.

5.0. A Time Table

There can be training for 50 days for the employees to learn how to work in a construction site including safety rules.

Training type	No. of days needed
Use of scaffoldings	20
Use of ladder	10
Use of personal protective equipments	5
Construction health and safety plans	5
Safety training and education	5
Construction safety rules and regulations	5

(Source: As created by the author)

6.0. Conclusion

To conclude accidents in a construction site are common and unfortunately it is unavoidable but still it is the duty of the construction company to look after the health of each and every employee. MJC has a good reputation in this industry because they look after their employees, they do give enough breaks whenever necessary, salary structure is good for an employee to stay with them for years and at the same time they hand over the finished project to the client on time. Most of the time laborers who are associated with this industry their hard work goes unnoticeable but Malaysian government have made strict rules to look after the safety and requirement of the people associated with this industry.

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