COVER FEATURE
OSHCIM Guidelines to improve Occupational Safety Performance
By Ir . Dr Noor Nabilah Sarbini Faculty of Civil Engineering , Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Ir . Ts . Dr Mohd Fairuz Ab Rahman Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia
COVER FEATURE
The construction sector is divided into two main sub-sectors — building operations and engineering construction . Construction is an important economic sector , especially in providing essential infrastructure to the country . The sector contributes 4.5 % of the country ' s gross domestic product ( GDP ), equivalent to RM15.4 billion . There are approximately 1.16 million workers employed in this sector , about 7.7 % of the overall national workforce .
However , in the delivery process , infrastructure projects are often riddled with issues such as inferior quality , cost overruns , delayed completion , and poor occupational safety and health ( OSH ) performance . The dynamic nature of the construction work environment results in a relatively higher rate of labour-related casualties and injuries [ 1 ]. Construction sites are risky locations due to factors such as a dynamic work setting , substantial usage of complex machinery and heavy equipment , and a variety of operations [ 2 ]. To reduce the risks of injury and casualties , prevention in the early stages has emerged as one of the best possible options . The reason is that as construction projects progress from the design phase to the construction phase , the chances of avoiding and mitigating the risk of accidents decrease exponentially , as demonstrated in Figure 1 .
Prevention through design ( PtD ) was introduced as an initiative to minimise significant failures in OSH performance in the construction industry [ 3 ]. It is a method to design out construction and maintenance hazards such as occupational injuries , illness , and fatalities to workers through the incorporation of preventative concerns in every design aspect that can influence site personnel .
Figure 1 : Ability to influence safety in a construction project ( DOSH , 2017 )
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