INGENIEUR
and construction processes are interlinked,
with the process being dictated by the design
and decisions from the client and the design
team. For example, if the client decides that a
certain percentage of his building will use an
Industrialised Building System (IBS), pre-assembly
off-site or on-site allows the work to be performed
at a more convenient working height, without
space limitations.
Ability to influence safety and health is highest
during planning and design stage
Figure 4: Risk imbalance among construction
project team.
construction industry practices, such as risk
sharing, risk management, risk prevention and
working as a team.
Risk is controlled by those who work with it or
have control over it
In reality, many construction project teams are
fragmented into small sub-contractors, each
working mainly on its own. The ‘project team’
comprises a fluid combination of dedicated, long-
term team members (particularly from the client
organisation and its key advisers) and transient,
shorter-term members (for example, suppliers,
contractors, sub-contractors and workers) who
often make up the majority of the workforce. It is
this group who is mostly at risk of harm during the
construction phase.
The current construction practices are such
that those with the most power or control are
at least risk, whilst those with least power or
control are at the most significant risk, as shown
in Figure 4. And it seems only fair and equitable,
that those with greater power take their share
of the ownership of risk environment which they
have created. Frequently, construction design
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OSHCIM Guidelines advocate that the safety and
health agenda be moved upstream to the design
process because it is just good business sense
to spend more time, resources and effort at the
beginning of the project phase. The intent is to
have all foreseeable hazards and risks dealt with
in the conceptual and detailed design stages. As
shown in Figure 5, the ability to influence safety
and health decreases as the project progresses,
while the costs of implementing safety and health
changes increase. The influence of the project
team when dealing with risks, is larger at the
start of the project and tend to decrease during
the project implementation. Likewise, the costs
are minor at the project start and tend to increase
during project execution.
In essence, the objective of managing hazards
and risk in the design phase is to maximise
the opportunity of avoiding hazards. Effective
management of risk enables informed decisions
and action taken with regards to the whole life cost
and planning of the project. It also capitalises on
the knowledge and experience of the construction
team up front when it can be most effective and
avoid wasted time or effort due to changes in
design later in the project life cycle. This makes
completion on time, within budget and quality
more likely – unrealistic timelines and allocating
insufficient funds are two of the most significant
contributors to poor control of risk on project.
Prevention is key
It should be everyone’s business in the
construction industry to prevent death, injury
and ill health of workers or members of public.
Construction work must proceed without causing