Strategies for construction hazard recognition
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| INTRODUCTION Because of the dynamic and dangerous nature of construction projects, workers are exposed to a wide array of safety hazards and risks, which results in unacceptable injury and fatality rates (Mitropoulos and Cupido, 2009). Worldwide, the construction industry has consistently accounted fora disproportionate injury rate (ILO, 2013). In the United States, for example, construction activities were responsible for 755 fatal injuries in 2012, a 5% increase from 2011 rates (BLS, 2011). Such high injury rates partly occur due to construction workers inability to recognize and respond to hazards in rapidly changing and sometimes unpredictable environments (Goh and Chua, 2009). To describe the relationship between hazard recognition and injury occurrence, we offer Figure 1, a simple conceptual model of the safety management process centered on hazard recognition. As indicated by the model, there is a possibility of injury when a hazardous situation exists and workers are exposed to the hazard in the absence of adequate safety controls. Exposure to safety hazards is often triggered by poor worker-behavior (Abdelhamid and Everett, 2000). As shown, typical safety management in commercial, industrial and heavy construction involves the identification and assessment of safety risk, and the subsequent selection of appropriate safety measures (Goetsch and Goetsch, 1996; Holt and Lampl, 2006). Therefore, from a behavioral standpoint, which has training implications, the process requires both acquired skills and knowledge (Haro and Kleiner, 2008). When hazards are not properly recognized and valued, however, the devised safety management program may not be effective. Therefore, hazard recognition and appraisal skills should be considered a prerequisite for effective safety management (Behm and Schneller, 2012; Cooke and Lingard, 2011). In residential construction, 117 where formal training and planning are generally limited to nonexistent, and injuries and fatalities are disproportionally greater than other sectors, simple, inexpensive and effective hazard recognition strategies are even more important. Download 2.75 Mb. Share with your friends:
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