Page 58 - Municipality Magazine

SAFE T Y
Issue No. 526 - 2021 - Ras Al Khaimah Municipality Magazine

at the site. The success of any project design, safety devices are introduced.
depends on the complexity of the In the case is not able to get rid of
planning and decisions that are the infection by previous way,
made on-site. Often times, then warnings, instructions
the role of many of the con- and training solutions are
tractors is not clear, some the last recent.
contractors may try to Designing for con-
transfer their responsi- struction worker safety
bility of safety to others. can reduce worker inju-
ries and eliminate com-
3. Design profes- mon safety hazards; the
sional’s roles in benefits lead to a reduc-
influencing safety: tion in liability potential
Professional designers and project costs.
can influence on construc-
tion safety by making better 5. Risk Assessment:
choices in the design and plan- The essential and major part
ning stages of any project. This of the planning stage is risk as-
will lead to a fewer number of deci- sessment. There are methods for risk
sions that must be taken on site by contrac- assessment used to decide on priorities as
tors and workers which may lead to accidents. well as to eliminate hazards and reduce risks. Wherever
Research of Behm, M. (2005) suggests that the de- possible, risks are eliminated through design (DFCS &
signers could have a strong impact on construction DFS) or selection equipment, facilities and processes.
safety. Figure (1) illustrates the ability to influence the If risk cannot be eliminated, it is minimized by using of
safety versus time; where the perfect time to influence any physical controls or through systems of work and
of the safety during the construction is the phase of the personal protective equipment (PPE) as a last resort.
idea and design. The risk assessment shall be sufficient and suitable, it
should cover both employees and non-employees who
may affected by the employer’s undertaking (e.g. con-
tractors, students, members of the public, patients, cus-
tomers etc.)

The risk assessment should:
- define the significant risks and to ignore the trivial
ones,
- identify the measures needed to comply with any
related statutory provisions,
- valid over a reasonable period of time and remain
appropriate to the nature of the work.
Figure 1. Time/Safety Influence Curve

4. Design for Workers Safety: 6. Safety Method Statement:
The designing for construction workers safety It is a written document to ensure health and safety
(DFCS) is an extension of the design process for Safety at every work procedure and sequence of operations. It
(DFS) for the construction projects. This process starts can result from the risk assessment carried out for the
with identifying the hazard(s). After that the engineer- objective or operation and the control measures identi-
ing procedures and measures are applied to get rid of fied. In case that the risk is low, a verbal statement may
the hazard(s) or minimize the risk; it will be start with suffice. The principal contractor should obtain the all
eliminating the hazard(s) through engineering design. relevant method statements and risk assessments from
If the hazard(s) cannot be eliminated by engineering all subcontractors to monitor their health and safety
performance.

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