Health & Safety Management

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Health & Safety Management
Title: Serious accidents on fall of person in working at height in renovation work are
resulted from workers’ failing to use fall arresting systems provided by the
employers
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1. INTRODUCTION
The construction industry has experienced tremendous growth over the last
decades, and this has led to an increase in company profits, growth in product demand
and financial accessibility in Britain and the rest of the world. The building and
construction enterprise significantly contributes to the economy of a country. However,
the industry has been labelled as one of the most hazardous industry across the globe
(Yu et al. 2003). Construction projects are considered hazardous due to the complex
nature of their working sites and use of labour – since most of the construction activities
are labour intensive. The projects are also described as short-term and transitory since
the personnel involved in the construction projects are usually engaged temporarily, and
a considerable proportion of this workforce is multilingual. Thus, constructions workers
are highly exposed to occupational accidents, deaths and injuries that may lead to
permanent disabilities because the workers spend most of their time at the construction
sites. Accidents that occur in the construction sites include falling, tripping and slipping.
Studies, however, indicate that falls from the heights (FFH) are the most common
construction accidents compared with other types of accidents such as electric shocks,
hits by falling objects and vehicle collisions (Marr & Thau 2014; NSW Business Chamber
2012).
According to van der Molen & Frings-Dresen (2014), falls are construction
accidents that cause serious injuries of 62% and fatalities of 36%. This indicates that falls
from heights generate more than one-third of construction injuries and are the primary
cause of multiple injuries and deaths encountered on the building site. For instance, in
2013, fall from heights contributed to more than 40% of occupational injuries in Britain 
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and 37% in Hong Kong. Various studies have been conducted to ascertain the factors
that cause falls in the construction sites however the multidimensional relationship of
factors has received little attention from scholars. Extensive literature review on the
subject has focused mainly on limited interventions such as research on workers'
behaviour while in construction sites, factor influencing falls and prevention measures and
solutions to falls
Construction fatalities is a topic that has attracted the attention of several
researchers'. For example, (NSW Business Chamber 2012) conducted a study that
focused on factors that lead to falls in construction sites. Marr & Thau (2014) have gone
a step further to carry out a study on the significance of postural stability metrics in
development. The studies done in the past have however failed to address major factors
that lead to falling from heights as well as coming up with recommendations or solutions
that can aid in mitigating fall incidents in the construction sites. The present overview has
covered several causes of falls from heights including a justification for legislations
associated with FFH and safety measures designed to prevent FFH.
1.2. Factors that contribute to people falling from heights during renovation work
FFH injuries occur mostly at the construction site when workers at the site execute
dangerous tasks. The riskiness of the tasks varies although scaffolding and roofing are
reported to be the most hazardous jobs that lead to FFH. Roofing workers are
predisposed to fall-related accidents due to the use of brittle roofing materials and
pressure from large tools and equipment used. In other cases, factors such as task
complexity and diversion of workers attention while handling tasks at significant heights 
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can lead to FFH.
According to Fung et al. (2010), individual variables also play a fundamental role
in the FFH accidents. This is based on personal characteristics of construction workers
such as their education level, demographic attributes such as age, gender. Physical and
human behaviour characteristics and health issues such as chronic ailments. In most
cases, demographic characteristics of workers such as age, weight and gender are
strongly linked with an individual's health, education and experience level. For instance,
fatigue can be related to weight since workers who are overweight tend to get exhausted
quickly and, this is one of the leading causes of FFH. To add to this, older workers are
prone to FFH more easily as compared to young workers due to their age. Another
demographic factor is knowledge level whereby constructors that lack education skills
tend to have limited knowledge in safety measures. This makes them have a poor working
practice, poor communication and tolerance skills and capabilities.
Worker's beh