A recent study concluded that the safety performance of construction sites has improved in recent years. The study, published in July 2008, assessed the performance of 20 large construction sites in Ireland. It found a marked improvement in safety training for site operatives, the use of personal protective equipment and the presence of safety representatives on site. A more modest improvement was noted, however, in measures for the protection against falls from heights.
Background to study
A 2002 study (406Kb PDF) conducted between November 2000 and February 2001 assessed the safety performance of a selection of 18 large construction sites in Ireland. Safety performance was measured by observing safety-related behaviours and conditions alongside recommended construction safety guidelines. Four main categories of safety behaviour and conditions were observed: measures for the prevention of falls from heights; personal protective equipment; housekeeping; and safety documentation.
A later study, published in July 2008, applied the same methodology for 20 apartment construction sites in the greater Dublin region (Hrymak and McEvoy, 2008). The research is summarised in Ireland’s specialist subscription publication the Health and Safety Review.
Improved safety performance
When compared with the earlier study, the following improvements in safety performance were found in the 2008 study:
- a marked improvement in the incidence of safety training for site operatives, as well as better use of personal protective equipment and the increased presence of safety representatives on site;
- an improvement in protection against falls from heights.
In relation to the latter improvement, however, the change was only modest and the majority of sites (15 out of 20) still did not have adequate protection measures in place to prevent falls from heights.
Comparison between studies
Nevertheless, on the whole, the research results indicate that much-needed safety improvements have been implemented at construction sites since 2000.
Fall prevention measures
Using a simplified safety performance measure – whereby the presence or absence of fall prevention measures are observed – an approximate comparison between the two studies could be made. It was found that, in the 2000–2001 study, two out of the 18 sites surveyed had prevented falls from heights. In the later study, this figure had increased to five out of the 20 sites assessed. This represents only a modest increase in the prevention of one of the most hazardous risk factors generally found on construction sites. However, it still represents a marginal increase, which, if maintained, could eventually result in the majority of sites practising effective prevention measures against falls from heights at some point in the future.
Personal protective equipment
The improved use of personal protective equipment was the best safety improvement observed when comparing the two studies. A large majority of the sites covered by the recent study were found to have high levels of compliance with personal protective equipment standards.
Safety representation
The number of active safety representatives on sites has also increased: some 16 out of the 20 sites covered in the 2008 study had active safety representatives in place.
The study also pointed to further evidence to support the role of safety representatives in improving site safety. The five best performing sites – defined as those sites that prevented falls from heights – all had active safety representatives on site.
Additional findings
Other notable findings were also identified by the study. For instance, it was found that the most significant predictor of good safety performance was company size. In other words, the larger the construction company (defined by its annual turnover), the better its safety standards were. Furthermore, it was revealed that when a construction company was found to have good safety standards on site, such standards were evident across the board. Therefore, the sites that had good protection against falls from heights also maintained favourable personal protective equipment practices, along with good housekeeping standards and the relevant documentation. This suggests that a uniform and effective approach to safety management was employed in such companies to ensure the adequate control of all potential hazards on site.
Commentary
If extrapolated across the entire construction industry, these improvements can be interpreted both positively and negatively. In the positive sense, notable improvements have been observed in construction site safety, especially in the area of training, the wearing of personal protective equipment and safety representation. Safety documentation remains unchanged, with both studies showing a high degree of compliance. However, some of the results could also be interpreted negatively, in the sense that despite well publicised and funded safety initiatives by Ireland’s social partners and the construction industry, the majority of sites in this latest study were still found to be unsafe in terms of the adequate prevention of falls from heights.
Tony Dobbins, IRN Publishing