Legislation Of Health And Safety Construction Essay

This report provides a brief overview of the legislation, which sets out the duties imposed on everyone at workplaces.This outlines the responsibilities of every person at the workplace, the consultative framework, the requirements for reporting injuries and dangerous occurrences, the use of codes of practice, how the legislation is administered.

One important principle underlying the legislation is that by bringing all parties in the workplace into consultative and decision-making processes, there will be greater commitment to workplace health and safety.

INTRODUCTION

Health and safety all about is keeping people from costing harmed by work or turning ill by taking the correct precautions or safeguard and supplying a satisfactory working environment.

A risk assessment or judgment is nothing more than a proper way of examination of what reason behind safety of worker in danger and cause harm to work. Risk assessment/judgment should be a practical workout, directed at getting the right way of controls of safety in place – keep it simple and set the outcomes into practice [HSE : 2001].

Steps include in risk assessment

Make systems for implementing the health and safety assesses identified as necessity by the risk assessment;

Put up emergency processes;

Offer clear information and training to employees;

Guidance in particular to the health and safety troubles of an industry or of a particular procedure applied in a number of industries.

The important functions of guidance are:

To understand – serving people to realized what the law says and provide for instance how demands based on EC Directives meet with those beneath the Health and Safety at Work Act;

To aid people follow with the law;

To establish technical proposal.

Figure Overall safety scheme

HAZARDS

A health hazard is any chemical or biological substance or physical stressor that causes or

aggravates illness in humans. Chemical health hazards occur in many different forms. They can be liquids, such as benzene; solids, such as silica dust; or gases, such as hydrogen sulfide.

Normally, it is much easier to determine the cause of an injury on the job than it

is an illness due to the following reasons:

The chemical substance causing the disease may be odorless or invisible.

Symptoms may be mistaken for common non-occupational illnesses.

Diseases may not become apparent until many years after the exposure to a hazardous substance.

2.1 Routes of Entry

Chemical health hazards can enter the body in different ways:

Inhalation – from the lungs into the blood stream.

Absorption – through the skin into the blood stream.

Ingestion – through digestive tract into the blood stream.

2.2 Types of Hazard Controls

Engineering Controls

Engineering controls, which involve changes in a machine, work process, chemical, or a building that eliminate or reduce exposure to health hazards are recommended by OSHA as the

best method to control hazards.

Administrative Controls

Administrative controls are used to reduce the number of workers who are exposed to a hazard or

to distribute the exposure among more workers so that each worker’s exposure is less.

Administrative controls do not eliminate or reduce the amount of the hazard in the workplace.

Personal Protective Equipment

Personal protective equipment does reduce exposure to hazards but it is the least desirable

protection because it may be uncomfortable, used improperly, or fit poorly.

2.3 Type of Hazards

Slips or trips – The slip or trip at work in almost all kind of businesses activities or work place cause many serious injurious such as food and catering.

Falls from a height – Falls from ladders results serious harm to people and to protect falls from height, the work is planned or designed and conveyed out by capable people and adopt the hierarchy for managing and dealing with risks.

Fire and explosion – Each year many people’s health and safety in danger because of the flammable materials present at workplace or they work with it like heating fuel(LPG gas), Petrol, Paint thinners and during wielding gas used.

Musculoskeletal disorders – Manual (or mechanical) carrying or moving or delivering or working with loads by hand or using bodily force or power .

Noise – High levels or degrees echo of noise at work can probably cause hearing damage deafness to both age group young and old.

Electricity – Electricity can cause non-fatal shocks, falls from ladders caused by contact with overhead or underground power cables. Poor electrical installations or facilities and faulty or defective electrical gadgets can lead to huge fires and sometimes blast result in death or danger to safety and health to others.

Radiation – Different kinds of radiation harmful and very dangers to human and environment like UV radiation, Laser, X-ray.

First aid and accident reporting – First aid means emergency care given before regular medical aid can be obtained. It basically involve treating any physical damage to the body caused at work and giving immediate care to more serious and of great consequence casualties before the medical help are obtainable. Through with this at the beginning management of injury or damage suffered at work, lives can be saved and minor injuries prevented from turning into major ones[ Work cover: ISBN 978 1 ].

Reporting accidents and ill health of worker at workplace is a legal demand.

LEGISLATION

There are certain mass of legislation are provided and come year by year for the safety and health of worker at workplace. We discuss some important Laws available [HSE: 2001].

2.1 Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (risk assessment).

Choose specially and sufficient risk assessment is made of:-

The risks to all employees whilst they are working;

The risks to all workers originating from company’s operations;

The recognition of the measures needed to follow with the applicable statutory conditions.

These Risk Assessments will be examined at least yearly.

Interpretation of Risks:

Hazard or danger

Hazard Material

Risk involved

2.2 Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995(the Act).

The aim of the Act is to provide for the health and safety of people employed in, engaged in or affected by industry [ Work cover: ISBN 978 1 ].

Specifically, the Act aims or objectives to:

• assure the health, safety and welfare of employees at work

• protect people at or near workplaces from risks to health and safety

• promote an occupational environment for employees that harmonize with their health and safety needs

• foster a co-operative, consultative relationship between employers and employees

The Act covers employers, employees, self-employed persons, manufacturers, service providers, designers, importers, suppliers and installers [HSE : 2001].

2.3 Workplace Health and Safety Regulations 1996.

The function and purpose of regulations is to give details of requirements that must be observed in the workplace. Regulations are the second tier of legislation. While they are subordinate to the Act, they still represent legal requirements, and failure to comply will generally be an offence punishable by a fine.

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The Act broadly outlines the legal obligations employers and workers have to workplace health and safety. The Regulations set out goals for meeting these legal obligations and making workplaces safe. Employers and workers can tailor safety measures to the needs of individual workplaces – provided the outcomes specified in the Regulations are achieved[ Work cover: ISBN 978 1 ].

Risk management is a key element of the Regulations.

Other important issues outlined in the Regulations include the need to:

• communicate with all parties at the workplace, including health and safety committees or employees’ safety representatives and those responsible for managing workplaces – particularly whenever any proposed change to a workplace is likely to affect health or safety

• keep records relating to a number of workplace matters

• make any relevant health and safety information available to workers.

2.4 Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977

Under the Act, the functions of the health and safety committee are to:

• Foster consultation and co-operation between employers and people working at the workplace

• Initiate, develop and implement measures that will ensure workplace health and safety

• Keep abreast of changes in standards of workplace health and safety

• Recommend to the employer that programs, measures and procedures about workplace health and safety are established, maintained and monitored

• Keep information provided by the employer about hazards that may arise at the workplace in a place where employees can access them

Figure The law on consulting employees about health and safety in your

Health and safety in Construction

This section provides a brief outlines the main health and safety management requirements during a construction project by including and addressing the following project specifies [OGC: 2003]:

Objectives, the key health and safety performance and success criteria during construction and for the finished asset.

Background, the key health and safety drives ( such as the intention to achieve excellence as a client and to align the project with current national improvement campaigns.

A business case that recognizes the need for client health and safety leadership and commitment

Quality plans that measure health and safety performance during design, procurement and construction(including , where appropriate, facilities maintenance etc)

Project organization, addressing responsibilities for the management of health ans safety risks as part of project governance.

CONCLUSION

A systematic and regular audit of Safety Systems and Performance can lead to significant improvements. There are certain laws and legislation are made in favor of workers and employee for their safety and there are so many committee and representative are assign to groups of worker under safety representatives.

The main function of safety representatives to look into possible hazards and dangerous happening at the workplace (whether or not they are drawn to his attention by the employees he represents)