INGENIEUR
Figure 2: Accident is an iceberg of human miseries and financial losses. (For every unit of accident
cost that appears on the surface, about 8 to 36 units of accident costs are beneath the surface)
an ‘unnecessary’ activity, or not a priority;
performance will deteriorate, nonsensical safety
and health practices will proliferate and, worst
of all, safety and health performance is likely to
worsen.
The economic downturn cannot be a pretext
for not ensuring safety and health, but it is a
great opportunity to reinvigorate common sense.
A proportionate approach to safety and health
will help a business to succeed in a variety
of ways and all stakeholders in a project can
play an essential role in making this a reality.
Although each fatality is a disaster and a tragedy
for those directly involved, they represent only
the tip of an iceberg of pain, suffering, physical,
financial and emotional loss that continue to
afflict many thousands of construction workers
(as well as hundreds of members of the public)
every year.
Accidents are usually multi-causal, with a
rare combination of factors needing to coincide
to give rise to an incident. Underlying each of
the causal factors are a range of circumstances,
factors and influences determining the extent
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to which they undermine safety, as shown in
Figure 3. Workers’ actions, for example, are
influenced by their attitudes towards safety,
their knowledge and skills, supervision provided
and their alertness and health condition. These,
in turn, are affected by the effectiveness of
safety and health committees, peer pressure,
education and training, working hours, payment
schemes, previous injuries or ill-health, and so
on.
The existence of hazards on site is a
consequence of influences such as planning and
preparation, supervision, housekeeping, project
management and a safety culture. Considering
materials and equipment, the suitability, usability,
condition and ultimately safety of these are the
results of their design, selection and supply.
The accident model highlights the importance
of workers having the knowledge, skills and
experience to prevent accidents in the construction
industry. As accidents in construction in Malaysia
have usually been associated with low-skilled
foreign workers, the industry stakeholders must
re-look at their business models 9 .
The Bank Negara Malaysia Annual Report 2017 as available online at http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=en_
publication&pg=en_ar&ac=40&en
VOL
VOL 79
55 JULY-SEPTEMBER
JUNE 2013 2019