ENSURING HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT (HSE)COMPLIANCE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The purpose of this paper is to introduce the

foundations on which appropriate health and safety

management systems may be built. Occupational (work-

related) health and safety is relevant to all

branches of industry, business and commerce including

traditional industries, information technology

companies, the National Health Service, care homes,

schools, universities, leisure facilities and

offices. It is particularly important for the

construction industry.

1.2 In United Kingdom for example, construction is a

large industry which accounts for 10% of the gross

domestic product. It employs 2.2m people and produces

activity worth over £90 billion each year. The

construction industry has a world reputation for the

quality of its work but it remains one of the most

dangerous in Britain. In 2004/05, the fatal injury

rate (per 100 000 workers) was 3.4 while the

industrial average was 0.8.

1.3 Before a detailed discussion of health and safety

issues can take place, some basic occupational health

and safety definitions are required:

Health – the protection of the bodies and minds of

people from illness resulting from the materials,

processes or procedures used in the workplace.

Safety – the protection of people from physical

injury.

Welfare – the provision of facilities to maintain the

health and well-being of individuals at the

workplace. Welfare facilities include washing and

sanitation arrangements, the provision of drinking

water, heating, lighting, accommodation for clothing,

seating (when required by the work activity), eating

and rest rooms. First aid arrangements are also

considered as welfare facilities.

Occupational or work-related ill-health – is

concerned with those illnesses or physical and mental

disorders that are either caused or triggered by

workplace activities. Such conditions may be induced

by the particular work activity of the individual or

by activities of others in the workplace. The time

interval between exposure and the onset of the

illness may be short (e.g. asthma attacks) or long

(e.g. deafness or cancer).

Environmental protection – arrangements to cover

those activities in the workplace which affect the

environment (in the form of flora, fauna, water, air

and soil) and, possibly, the health and safety of

employees and others. Such activities include waste

and effluent disposal and atmospheric pollution.

Accident – defined by the Health and Safety Executive

as ‘any unplanned event that results in injury or ill

health of people, or damage or loss to property,

plant, materials or the environment or a loss of a

business opportunity’.

Near miss – is any incident that could have resultedin an accident.

2.0 ORGANISATIONAL HSE REQUIREMENT

2.1 Occupational health and safety affects all

aspects of work. In a low hazard organization, health

and safety may be supervised by a single competent

manager. In a high hazard construction site or

manufacturing plant, many different specialists, such

as engineers (electrical, mechanical and civil),

lawyers, medical doctors and nurses, trainers, work

planners and supervisors, may be required to assist

the professional health and safety practitioner in

ensuring that there are satisfactory health and

safety standards within the organization.

2.2 The government or construction client who

commissions the work is a very important agent in the

drive for improved health and safety standards. He

should insist on good evidence of the health and

safety record and performance of a contractor at the

tendering stage and ensure that health and safety

standards are being met on site. He should also

require that all the people working on the site are

properly trained for their particular job.

2.3 There are many obstacles to the achievement of

good standards. The pressure of performance targets,

financial constraints and the complexity of the

organization are typical examples of such obstacles.

However, there are some powerful incentives for

organizations to strive for high health and safety

standards. These incentives are moral, legal and

economic.

3.0 OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS OF HSE COMPLIANCE

3.1 The objective is to ensure that the risks to

health and safety of workers are properly controlled.

In terms of corporate responsibility, it is working

to encourage organizations to:

Improve health and safety management systems to

reduce injuries and ill health;

Demonstrate the importance of health and safety

issues at top management level;

Report publicly on health and safety issues

within their organization, including their

performance against targets.

3.2 The benefits of effective management of health

and safety:

Is vital to employee well-being;

Has a role to play in enhancing the reputation of

businesses and helping them achieve high-

performance teams;

Is financially beneficial to business.

3.3 Effective health and safety performance comes

from the top; members of the top management have both

collective and individual responsibility for health

and safety. They need to examine their own

behaviours, both individually and collectively,

against the guidance given, and, where they see that

they fall short of the standards it sets, to then

change what they do to become more effective leaders

in health and safety.

3.4 Why top management members need to act:

Protecting the health and safety of employees or

members of the public who may be affected by

their activities is an essential part of risk

management and must be led by the management.

Failure to include health and safety as a key

business risk in top management decisions can

have catastrophic results.

Many high-profile safety cases over the years

have been rooted in failures of leadership.

Health and safety law places duties on

organizations and employers, and top management

can be personally be liable when these duties are

breached. Members of the top management have both

collective and individual responsibility for

health and safety.

4.0 CONSTRUCTION BEST PRACTICES: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

4.1 Safety is implicit in best practice – and best

practice results in both time and cost benefits.

There is no bad safety –only bad safety management.

Safety management is a vital part of best practice

and through it both client and contractor benefit.

4.2 The key elements of a health and safety

programme are:

utilising the most stringent of governmental,

international and local requirements

involving senior level management

providing an on-site safety manager, certified in

the relevant Country

involving local health and safety personnel.

4.3 While the project is in preparation, the

following should be considered:

Contractor prequalification, including a

background check and insurance review

Pre-employment procedures, including drug and

alcohol screening and site safety orientation,

plus specific task orientation with a middle

management foreman

Employee training, including a suitable duration

of class time

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation/first aid emergency

procedures

The presentation of a job hazard analysis. This

allows the workers to organise their tasks

effectively by identifying hazards and preparing

a plan to control them

All protection and working in confined spaces –

the areas of most concern.

The beginning of the construction phase triggers

daily activities such as:

A crew safety meeting

Communication of health and safety information

among employees

Supervisor safety meetings, which devolve

accountability to front line supervisors.

4.4 Emergency plans must be established with

strategies in place for:

heavy lift activities

scaffold tagging, grounding [earthing]

barrier identification and tagging

100 per cent fall protection

hazardous materials labelling

hearing conservation and protection

respirator systems.

5.0 IMPLEMENTING GOOD PRACTICE CONTRACTOR HEALTH AND

SAFETY IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES.

5.1 The key issues are:

Communication – the need to be able to speak and

listen to local people in their own language, not

via interpreters

The local availability of suitably safe and

reliable equipment. In some cases, stopping work

due to refusal to accept substandard equipment,

though unpalatable, may be the best long term

solution

Community and/or government expectations for

infrastructure development and education or

training as part of the contract, with the

consequent widening of the extent of health and

safety issues to be managed, and the competent

resources required

The flawed assumption that health and safety

standards always need to be raised in the local

workforce.

5.2 For both clients and contractors, good practice

solutions include:

The use of a core, highly skilled, management

team which is familiar with, or can become

familiar with, local culture and expectations

Supplementing this with skilled local people,

training them elsewhere if necessary to ensure

that good practices are more readily transferred

The setting of high personal standards by

management team members, showing that all members

of the workforce are valued, and sharing a vision

for national and/or local development including

continuous health and safety improvement

Providing brief, practical and relevant training

related to daily hazards, rather than long

courses

Making sure that the local workforce feels

valued, for example by providing family welfare

facilities6.0 SAFETY IN FMW

6.1 The Safety & Security Management Division was

created by the present Head of Civil Service of the

Federation, Alhaji Goni Aji, OON, when he was the

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry in 2011. The

Division is gradually ensuring that the Ministry is HSE

Compliant through its activities. Some of the

activities are:

a)Formation of Safety Marshalls for the Ministry: ASafety Marshal is a Federal Ministry of Works staffspecifically trained on Health & Safety and saddledwith the responsibility of ensuring the safety andsecurity of staff of the Ministry during emergency.

b)Conduction of quarterly drills for the SafetyMarshalls.

c)Conduction of evacuation drill for the Ministry.The Purpose of the Drills is to familiarize theoccupants of the building with the signals,evacuation routine, lock-down procedures and exits,so that in case of an emergency there shall be nohesitation or confusion in leaving the building.

d)Provision of insurance cover for the Ministry’sassets.

e)Conduction of regular fire risk assessment for theMinistry in conjunction with the Federal FireService.

f)Presently working with the major contractors towardensuring timely release of earth moving equipmentfor the opening of access ways during any nationalemergency like air mishap, flooding, etc as theMinistry is the lead agency for public works.

g)Regular release of safety and security tips to allstaff during festive periods.

h)Preparation of travel advisory and security surveyfor the Ministry’s staff participating in majorconferences outside Abuja.

i)Regular release of newspaper reviews on safety andsecurity issues in order to improve the safety andsecurity consciousness of staff especially in thelight of the present security challenges facing thecountry.

6.2 As HSE compliance requires top management

commitment, it is good to place on record that the

present Permanent Secretary has been very supportive of

the activities of the Safety & Security Management

Division by giving timely approvals and release of

funds for our programmes. We know that he will also

support us in our plans to commence the inspection of

project sites as HSE Compliance is one of the

conditions stated in the Ministry’s tender document to

be fulfilled by contractors before winning a contract.

7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 It’s now generally recognised that health and

safety management should embrace – in a holistic way

– the interactions between the working environment,

equipment, systems and procedures, and the people in

the organisation. Effective risk management depends

partly on the behaviour of individuals in an

organisation.

7.2 A significant number of accidents can be traced

to unsafe behaviours. Poorly designed equipment or

operations, poor systems and poor working conditions

can all encourage unsafe behaviours, but these

behaviours are not inevitable. An organisation’s

attitudes and values regarding safe working are

important factors that influence its approach to work

and ultimately its health and safety performance. Put

another way, it’s not enough to provide safe

equipment, systems and procedures if the culture

doesn’t encourage healthy and safe working.

8.0 PRAYERS

The Conference is called upon to note the immense

benefit of implementing HSE Compliance to government,

the companies and the host community and approve as

follows:

1.The setting of up of Safety & Security Management

Division in all Ministries of Works in the

federation for the implementation of health and

safety programmes.

2.That all staff of the Ministries undergoes basic

health and safety courses.

3. That provision is made in all contracts as part

of Project Administration for ensuring HSE

compliance and to foster safety audits, impromptu

visits to ascertain unsafe acts and unsafe

conditions existing on sites in all projects.

4. Enough resources and time allocated for training

and competence development for the staff of

Safety & Security Management Division.

THANK YOU.

The Director

Central Workshop & Equipment

Federal Ministry of Works HQ

Abuja.

Sir

Re: DEPLOYMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AND SAFETY

MARSHALLS TO THE MINISTRY.

Following the flag off of the “NEW

CENTENARY, CLEANER ENVIRONMENT” campaign by the

Government and the subsequent deployment of two

Specially Trained officers of the Environment Ethics

and Safety Corps saddled with responsibilities of

help raising the standard and sustainability of

environmental ethics, sanitation and hygiene in the

workplace through behavioural modification strategies

which would be of an immense importance and cannot be

overemphasised thereby helping to conserve the

environment in line with best practices, thereby

synergising and integrating them into MDA’s safety

Marshall activities is vital and a welcome idea

geared at contributing to Mr President’s

transformation Agenda in becoming among the top 20

economies in line with Vision 20- 2020, Hence the

need to support these activities as it relates

directly to health and wellbeing of the citizens in

the country is encouraged.

2. To this end, the following Environmental Ethics

and Safety Marshalls deployed to the Ministry namely

are:

i. Francis Okereke .O

ii. Isaac Janet

3. Apparently, to enable the deployed personnel

perform their duties effectively, it was extensively

debated that they will need to have some incentives

or welfare facility such that to enable them cater

for their transportation an feeding, and recommended

allowances further encouraging them to be dedicated

to providing services to the Federal Ministry of

Works and align with us.

4. For these reasons stated above it was proposed

that an allowance of N20, 000: 00 each was estimated,

thereby summing up to N40, 000:00(Forty thousand

naira only) proposed, or as deemed fit by management

to cater for their basic transportation for all and

sundry to support the workers upkeep enabling the

program to emerge successful.

5. Kindly accept the assurances of the Deputy

Director S&SM.

THANK YOU

.

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WORKS

CENTRAL WORKSHOP AND EQUIPMENT DEPARTMENT

SAFETY & SECURITY MGT. DIVISION

17th April 2014

To: Honourable Minister

Permanent Secretary

All Directors

All Federal Controllers of Works

All Participants

CONFERENCE OF DIRECTORS OF ELECTRICAL/MECHANICAL

ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS IN THE FEDERATION HOLDING IN

YENAGOA, BAYELSA STATE FROM 21 ST – 25 TH APRIL 2014.

ADVANCED SURVEY AND TRAVEL ADVISORY.

The Safety & Security Management Division of

the Central Workshop and Equipment Department will

with delight welcome you to the aforementioned

Conference taking place in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State -

…………………………

S&SM are committed to continue working tirelessly to

ensure your health and safety throughout the

conference. We seek your continuous support and

cooperation during your stay.

THREAT OVERVIEW

Currently threat levels in Yenagoa are low.

Most Incidences reported recently are theft, armed

robbery, and kidnapping though few and mostly not

within the State Capital. Though events in Yenagoa

had been held, success stories had been attributed to

those events as they were concluded hitch freely.

On this regard we are optimistic and strongly

anticipate the overall success of the Conference.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

Considering the manifestations of high levels

of Insecurity evident in most

Parts of the Country, the following pro-active

measures were put in place so as to ensure the safety

and security of participants at the conference.

Adequate provision of security operatives at

venues of the conference, lodges and strategic

security deployments wherever necessary.

Participants are advised to avoid disclosing

information of any kind to a strange or

unfamiliar persons

Ensure you carry along your valuables which

cannot be declared to the Hotel Mgt. i.e. don’t

leave valuables in the Hotel.

Desist from staying out late at night, late

nights can be volatile

Avoid travelling at night else whenever you have

to.

EMERGENCY HELPLINES

Director CW&E(FMW)……………………………08033331511

Director E&ESL(FMW)…………………………...080

LOC CHAIRMAN…………………………………08033102523

Federal Controller of works……………………….080

DDS&SM………………………………………….08063417490

DSS Control number……………………………...07038590975

Police Control number…………………………….08037104989

TRAVELLING BY AIR

Those travelling from Abuja/Lagos-Porthacourt from

20st & 21nd April 2014, Departures are:

Arik AIR Ovaland AIR

Sunday

Monday

Those travelling from Porthacourt to Abuja /Lagos on

25th & 26th April 2014, Departures are:

Arik AIR Ovaland AIR

Friday

Saturday

TRAVELLING BY ROAD

For those intending to travel by road it is advised

to start journeys very early in the morning so as to

avoid travelling at Night.

The Abuja-Lokoja-Okene-Auchi road is under

construction with heavy traffic to and from the

Southern part of the country. Heavy duty vehicles and

equipment ply the roads posing great hazard to road

users. Road accidents and robbery incidents were

recorded mostly at Nights.

Major Routes leading to Yenagoa are as follows:

I. Abuja-Lokoja-Okene-Auchi-Ugheli-Yenagoa.

II. Lagos-Ore-Ugheli-Yenagoa.

III. Ibadan-Akure-Ugheli-Yenagoa.

IV. Those from Eastern part will come through Owerri

V. Those from the North Eastern part shall Navigate

Lafia-Benue-Enugu-Owerri-Yenagoa.

NOTE: Those moving by road are advised to take off on

Sunday 20thApril 2014.

ROUTE INFORMATION

The road from the Onitsha to Owerri is a dualised

way, free from heavy traffic, with trailers and heavy

duty vehicles with commercial motorcyclist plying the

routes.

The road from shaganmu-Ore-Ugheli is characterised by

heavy traffic also plying the route. Lagos-shaganmu

overhead bridge traffic could be very tight and pose

serious traffic troubles.

CONFERENCE VENUE

The conference venue is Matho Crystal Hotel Ltd,

Osaje Hall Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The Hall is fully

conditioned and fortified with safety equipment and

adequate exits.

Welfare facilities, male and female restrooms, with

the Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa, within the city

to enable cater for emergencies.

Adequate security has been deployed within and around

the venue and within the city to enable a hitch free

and safe event.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATION

Matho Crystal Hotel has been chosen as the major to

accommodate the dignitaries at the conference. Other

hotels recommended for your stay within the city of

Yenagoa. They are attached as annex 1.

SAFETY & SECURITY MGT. DIVISION WISHES YOU A SAFE & SECURE

CONFERENCE IN YENAGOA.

Engr F.O. Ebuzoeme

DD/S&SM Div.