ABSTRACT
Analysis of all identified hazards and assessment of risks influencing project performance from the highway and railway construction industries in the Eastern part of Nigeria was conducted for reducing the dangers of a specific task and the risk of injury to workers. Likert scaling using mean index formula was used to calculate the data gotten through a questionnaire survey administered by self to the construction industries after a mini training on health, safety and environmental culture in the construction industries. The level of hazards and risk were determined using qualitative method of data analysis adopting the use of matrix analysis table. Based on the literature cited, five types of hazards and six types of risks with their sub titles were selected from projects relating to construction. Three companies were targeted and selected randomly from each state in order to obtain equal representation of the entire companies within the area of study. A total of 160 questionnaires were distributed to staff working with the selected construction industries. For various reasons, 44 did not respond reducing the sample size to 116. The respondent’s rate of 72.5% was obtained. The distribution and collection was carried out within a period of two months. (February – April 2014). The reliability tests were performed on the scale of each hazard and risk using the cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient which measures the consistency of items in responses to questions. Among the five types of hazards listed, social, physical and chemical hazards have the highest hazard level. While among the six types of risk listed, social, political and construction risks have the highest level of risk..The results support the literature illustrating that lack of awareness of safety regulation, inadequate safety performance, lack of job security, work overload, dry cement, dust, vibration and sun are the most hazardous and most prevalent risks in the construction industries within the studied area
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Hazard is a source or a situation with a potential to cause harm, including human injury or ill health, damage to property, damage to the environment, or a combination of these. Risk is a measure of likelihood that the harm from a particular hazard will occur, taking into account the possible severity of the harm. According to Ugbor (2011), in a work place various types of hazards exist. It may be categorized as, chemical hazards, physical hazards, biological hazards, social hazards and mechanical hazards. Chemical Hazards: these hazards are common in work environment where chemicals are used. Chemical hazards are often airborne and can appear as dusts, fumes, mist, vapour or gases. Chemical hazards also occur in liquid or semi-liquid state such as glues or adhesives, tar or as powders such as dry cement. Physical hazards: these are hazards in work site that affect the physical health condition of the workforce. Physical hazards are present in every construction project. These hazards include noise, heat and cold, radiation, vibration and barometric pressure.
Biological Hazards: these are hazards which are pathogenic in nature and are transferred to the workforce through biological agents. Biological hazards are presented by exposure to infectious micro-organisms, to toxic substances of biological origin or animal attacks. Social Hazards: these are hazards due to lack of job security and satisfactory working environment, work overload or pressure and job stress. Mechanical hazards: these hazards are found in using machine, tools and equipments on site, such as saw blades. A mechanical hazard is a harmful or danger posing situation that involves machines mostly in a working environment. The machines that have
transformed construction into an increasingly mechanized activity have also made it increasingly noisy.
According to Ugwu (2011), risk can be categorized as follows: Physical risk, construction risk, design risks, political risk, financial risk, etc. Physical risk: this includes land slide, rain flooding, snow, wind, cold and such unusual elements as well as earthquakes, windstorms, hurricane and rainstorm. Construction risk: these are the various forms of risk that occur during the construction stage of a project work. It includes delay in possession of site, equipment breakdowns, quantity, availability and productivity of a project labour. Design Risks: these are risks due to improper structural analysis by structural engineers; design risk can arise as a result of the following: incomplete design scope, availability of information, new technology, innovation application, level of detail required and accuracy, interaction of design with method of construction.
Political risk: this is as a result of uncertainties that exist due to political unrest for instability of the location of the site works such as civil disorder, change of political tenure, boundary grievances, and communal restiveness due to perceived inadequate compensation, change in law, war and revolution. Financial Risk: this refers to uncertainties that may eventually lead to unexpected monetary asset including physical and human losses which is always costly.
Hazard analysis and risk assessment are important parts of the planning stage of any health, safety and environmental management system in a project construction. To embark on a project construction which involves many workers, it is necessary to ensure Health and environmental safety. Hughes and Ferrett (2009) say: “Hazard analysis (job safety analysis), is a technique to identify the dangers of a specific task in order to reduce the risk of injury to workers”. Risk
assessment is the process of analyzing the level of risk considering those in danger, and evaluating whether hazards are adequately controlled, taking into account any measure already in place. Successful health, safety and environmental management state that, the essence of the planning process which is the analysis of hazard and risk assessment is to minimize risk. In the Joint Professional on safety 2011 Edition it is stated that the outcome of hazard analysis and risk assessment is the identification of unacceptable risk and different types of hazards.
According to Nicholas (1997), negligence to hazard causes accident in the course of carrying out a project, An essential elements of site planning is the layout of the site, but due to lack of forethought (hazards analysis) many sites rapidly degenerate into a confused site. This leads to a corresponding reduction in health, safety and environmental standards and an increase in accident. During the site planning stage, hazards analysis and risk assessment are needed to ensure that there is safe access to and around the site for both pedestrians and vehicles. Care must be taken during the planning of traffic routes so that workers and vehicle are kept apart as much as possible and also make sure that other major hazards such as noise and vibration hazards associated with piling work and crane hazards during lifting operations are addressed. It has been well documented that a large number of accidents occur in the construction industry (Bust et.al. 2008). In modern society, the construction industry has been defined as a dangerous profession (Liao et.al 2008). Risk assessment methods are used to decide on priorities and to set objectives for eliminating hazards and reducing risk (Nicholas, 1997). Risks are eliminated through selection and design of facilities, equipment and processes. If risks cannot be eliminated, they are minimized by the use of physical controls. Risk assessment is the determination of quantitative or qualitative value of risk related to a concrete situation and a recognized hazard. Nicholas (1997) states that Quantitative risk assessment requires calculation of two components
of risk: the magnitude of the potential loss and the probability that the loss will occur in the engineering works under study. A sophisticated risk assessment and hazard analysis are often made by the safety engineer or manager when it concerns hazard to life, environments or machine functioning.
Risks with a large potential loss and a low probability of occurring are often treated differently from the one with a low potential loss and high likelihood of occurring (Camino, 2008). In theory, both are nearly equal in priority, but, in practice, it can be very difficult to manage when faced with the scarcity of resources especially the times in which to conduct the risk management process. Hazard identification, analysis and risk assessment enables safety professionals and construction workers to understand a safe workplace in a construction industry (Simon, 2006). Once hazards are known, it can be reduced or eliminated before any one gets hurt (Bust 2008). Risk assessment provides a clear framework by which all available information is used. Assessment of risk is made by combining the severity consequence with likelihood of occurrence in a risk matrix. Risk that fall into the “unacceptable” category (e.g. high severity and high probability) must be mitigated by some means to reduce the level of safety risk. A hazard can be in single existence or combination with other hazards (sometimes called events) and the conditions become actual functional failure accidents. The main goal of hazards analysis and risk management is to provide the best selection of means of controlling or eliminating the risk.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It has been well documented that a large number of accidents occur in the construction industry. The construction industry operates in a very uncertain environment where conditions can change due to the complexity of each project (Sanvido et.al, 1992). Risk is associated to any project
regardless of the industry; and it differs between projects since every project is unique especially in the construction industry (Gould and Joyce, 2002), hence should be of interest to any project manager. Therefore, adequate comprehensive knowledge of the commercial, political, construction and operations uncertainties and risks associated with a project determines the success/delivery of such project and in some cases the viability of the organization. This practice has not been commonly used in the (Nigerian) construction industry; although more of the construction companies are starting to become aware of the Risk Management Process (RMP) but have not adopted the use of established models and techniques for risk management, (Klemetti, 2006).
1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The main objective of hazards analysis and risk assessment is to help the employer or self employed person to know and determine the measures required to comply with their legal duty and to reduce the residual risk to as low a level as reasonably practicable. The above main objective is achieved in the following specific objectives:
(1) To ensure that all hazards and effects are formally identified and assessed in a structured manner.
(2) To analyze the level of risks and hazards considering those in danger.
(3) To determine the parties who may be at risk, such as customers, contractors etc.
(4) To draw the attention of workers and eliminate lack of attention, lack of experience and inadequate information, instruction and training.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This Study would be carried out in such a way that it would be able to provide answers to the following questions.
What are the purposes of hazard analysis and risk assessments?
What kind of risks and hazards occur the most during the execution of a project?
To what extent do hazards and risks affect the projects objectives?
1.5 SCOPE AND LIMITATION
This study is on the hazards analysis and risk assessment of health, safety and environmental aspects of highway and railway projects in the Eastern States of Nigeria. The study is restricted to job hazards analysis and risk assessment, safety guidelines, safe work practices, safe handling of machines and first aid practices.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE
This study contributed towards developing a positive health, safety and environmental culture in the construction industry, thereby ensuring that the companies’ assess a work site and identify the existing hazards or potential hazards before work begins at the site or prior to the construction of a new project. After this research it is hoped that hazards and risks will be of paramount importance to most of the construction industries in the Eastern part of Nigeria, thereby reducing significantly, the potential for accidents in the individual working practices as those that affect both the unsafe acts committed and unsafe conditions created. Finally to motivate construction workers in using the provided skills to achieve and maintain high level of safety performance in the areas for which they are responsible, knowing that hazards identification is the crucial first step of risk assessment and correcting the unsafe conditions and processes.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIROMENTAL HAZARDS AND RISKS IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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