OHS in the Construction Sector
OHS is a crucial component and essential for raising worker productivity and effectiveness in the construction sector. It is additionally recognized as one of the extrinsic motivational elements. It begins with the recognition of behaviors or situations that could endanger or injure workers as they carry out their duties. These potentially harmful incidents are known as near misses. Near misses can occur in a variety of contexts. Therefore, the analysis will start by investigating and summarizing the potential reasons behind close calls in Melbourne's building industry. Extensive research and study will form the basis of this investigation.
The Central Research Question
Additionally, the central research question is geared towards establishing the drivers of near misses about the OH&S within the commercial construction sector (Tompa et al. 2016). The question is important since, in the recent periods, the building industry has evolved to be the greatest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product for Australia. The sector also employs many of the youth and other professionals such as masons, engineers and project managers, therefore, helping solve for unemployment.
PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTION
What are the drivers of near misses about the occupational health and safety within the Melbourne commercial construction sector?
Sub-question 1:
What are some of the most common near misses that occur on construction sites?
Sub-question 2:
What OH&S methods were implemented on site to have minimal near misses?
Sub-question 3:
Whose duty is it to report near misses in the workplace?
Sub-question 4:
What areas of OH&S need improvement on site that could prevent near misses?
Literature Review
Construction work in simple terms refers to any work performed concerning the demolition, decommissioning, refurbishment, renovation, commissioning, fitting out, conversion, or alteration or even the construction of any structure or building.
Duties of Principal Contractors in Promoting OH&S
Main contractors are solely the owners of the construction projects unless he or she assigns the role to another person or company. These contractors have quite some important roles in promoting health and safety in the construction industry. Moreover, they are responsible for coordinating safety and health plan before the commissioning of any construction work. It is moreover practical for the principal owners of construction projects to carry out consultation activities with the employees and other health and safety representatives to ensure that the plan is developed in conformity with the available regulations. Employee views are significant in identifying what methods will suit them as well as help in empowering them to work harder towards the achievement of the organization's objectives (Murray & Dainty 2013).
The principal contractors also have the duty to review the adopted plans to ensure that they incorporate all construction functions performed. If there are changes that require attention, they should hence get introduced as soon as possible. The plan outlined should also be availed for inspection by the principal contractors whenever needed. Moreover, they are tasked with the responsibility of helping the new entrants into the project aware of the plan. Informing or availing information contained in the scheme to new employees will assist in assimilating them fast into the organization hence reducing the time spent in familiarization and performance (Lingard 2013).
The Duty of Reporting Near Misses
A near miss is a dangerous occurrence in the workplace that is more likely to cause injury or harm to employees. All accredited construction companies in Australia are required to report any incident that has the potential to cause an injury or harm to employees in undertaking their daily activities. Near misses include falling objects that end up hitting no person or even coming across hazards some time into the commencement of a construction project. In most occasions, inadequate systems have received faulting for contributing to the multitude of potential dangers. Retrospectively, construction entities do not identify and correct system weakness that would potentially expose workers to unnecessary risks (Tompa et al. 2016).
According to the National Safety Council, the leadership of construction companies in Australia to establish and develop a strong reporting system that will control for the identified risks in the prevention of dangerous occurrences. Investigation of near misses is crucial also in the identification of the causes and system weaknesses that contributed to the circumstances that resulted in the event of a near miss. Construction organizations are additionally encouraged to act on the lessons learned from the investigative activities to increase training for employees in a bid to improve commitment to performance progression (Lingard 2013).
Necessity of Implementing Near Miss Reporting Systems
The near miss systems are designed to capture sufficiently reliable information that relates to performance measurement as well as improvement of processes. The systems also an opportunity for employees to participate in the formulation of successful of workplace safety plans in the construction industry in Melbourne. Implementation of the OH&S in the development contributes to the nurturing and promotion of an open culture where every worker acts in a responsible manner to facilitate their safety and that of others (Votano & Sunindijo 2014).
Organizations encourage workers' participation in near miss reporting through the creation of procedure and policy communicated to all employees with the full backing of senior authorities. Employees should also get educated on the reasons why reporting of near misses, what their role is in reporting, and the elaborate reporting process. Sousa, Almeida & Dias (2015), construction companies according to the National Safety Council, are advised to promote reliable communication channels so as to encourage or achieve increased employee participation in identification and reduction of hazards that lead to occurrences of near misses.
The Role of the Government in Promoting OHS
The construction industry is identified as the priority sector of action as much as work health and safety is concerned. As such, the government is partnering with commercial construction companies to reduce the injuries, fatalities and traumatic aftermaths arising from injuries suffered in the course of work. The Australian government, in essence, identified five areas of priority in addressing health and safety strategies in the construction industry. These areas include the reduction of risk, increasing the capacity of OHS management, prevention of occupational diseases and stresses, and lastly the strengthening of national influence. The political power is very significant since it forms the primary employer and user of construction services. Additionally, the state is responsible for making regulatory policies concerning the procurement of equipment and building materials (Mahmoudi et al. 2014).
Controlling risks in the construction industry requires the enactment of protective legislations such as the wearing of protective gears like helmets, gloves, and clothing. Eliminating and isolating the hazards from people, or even substituting the hazard with a safer practice would help in introducing effective reduction of the effects of risk or near misses. And this is the work of the government through its various legislative units.
References
Lingard, H., 2013. Occupational health and safety in the construction industry. Construction management and economics, 31(6), pp.505-514.
Mahmoudi, S., Ghasemi, F., Mohammadfam, I. and Soleimani, E., 2014. Framework for continuous assessment and improvement of occupational health and safety issues in construction companies. Safety and health at work, 5(3), pp.125-130.
Murray, M. and Dainty, A., 2013. Corporate social responsibility in the construction industry. Routledge.
Sousa, V., Almeida, N.M. and Dias, L.A., 2015. Risk-based management of occupational safety and health in the construction industry-Part 2: Quantitative model. Safety science, 74, pp.184-194.
Tompa, E., Kalcevich, C., Foley, M., McLeod, C., Hogg-Johnson, S., Cullen, K., MacEachen, E., Mahood, Q. and Irvin, E., 2016. A systematic literature review of the effectiveness of occupational health and safety regulatory enforcement. American journal of industrial medicine, 59(11), pp.919-933.
Votano, S. and Sunindijo, R.Y., 2014. Client safety roles in small and medium construction projects in Australia. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 140(9), p.04014045.
