Essay on Workplace Observation Report

Introduction including an overview of the area inspected and activities taking place:

The above-mentioned report follows the health and safety inspection of the huge construction project of SHALIMAR CONSTRUCTION. It is a real estate company in Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. There are indoor & outdoor activities, storage of raw materials, site visitors, client consultation, and marketing of shops & apartments are performed. At the construction site, 120 employees are working including office staff, workers, supervisors, and helpers. The total investment of the project is approximately a hundred million rupees. The mall of Sargodha consists of 9 floors, 400 shops, and 150 apartments. I inspected the construction site and warehouse at the work site from 12:00 pm to 02:00 pm noon on Thursday 10 – 01 – 2019.

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No. of activities are performed by the workers at a site such as ground-level excavation, manual handling of raw materials, and paint outside the building by the use of scaffolds, spray guns, and cherry pickers. Carpenters are working on the ground floor with bench-mounted circular saws without any safety guards. Indoor activities are performed as the welding of lift fitting with power welding a wet floor. Vehicles are loading and unloading materials in the warehouse and reversing in corners/blind spots without bank men. At the site, workers perform manual handling of carrying cement, bricks, and iron rods. Without sign boards and barricades, workers doing excavation near the main power supply line transfer. In the warehouse indoor activities are safe stacking, and storing of construction materials like cement, bricks, welding rods, LPG cylinders, iron rods, and wood to separate storage areas. Poor ventilation at cement storage and inadequate lighting at the warehouse.

Some workers wear personal protective pieces of equipment. Good welfare facilities are provided by the employer. The supervisors, HSE advisors, site engineers, and manager performed their work and wore different colors of helmets. Every floor is maintained by fire fighting lines, smoke detectors, and sprinklers.

The report is an inspection report that highlights the areas on the construction site regarding health and safety hazards and reduces accidents and incidents. To maintain a safe system of work, safe plant and equipment, and a safe environment must be provided. Finally, check whether it meets the legal standards or not.

Executive Summary:

I thank SHALIMAR CONSTRUCTIONS for awarding me the opportunity to carry out the safety and health inspection. It is highly appreciated that the construction site has good practices such as;

1. Separate toilet facilities for both workers men and women. Toilets are clean and maintained by the provision of cold/hot water facility, washing soap/liquid, etc.
2. A water drinking facility is provided on each floor for the employees with the option of cold and hot as per need.
3. At the site, each floor has minted fire fighting lines, sprinklers, and smoke detectors.
4. At the work area, adequate first aid treatment is provided to the employees.
5. The provision of separate lockers and restrooms is also admirable.

At the construction site, I also observed some major hazards, and the management should look at and rectify those issues which are as;

1. The scaffold is not operated by competent and well-trained persons. It is erected on uneven surfaces no proper guard rails are present and braces are not fitted properly. Toe boards have huge gaps which can lead to the collapse of the scaffold. People and objects fall from height.
2. The worker is painted outside of the building on the 5th floor. He didn’t have any edge protection or safety harness. He is using only a boatswain chair and spray gun.
3. The workers are working in the highly dangerous area where the main electrical power supply lines are present and the excavation job is under process. A little mistake of anybody leads to serious injuries, electric shocks, and burns, and in some cases, there are chances of death.
4. Welding of iron rods to fix the lift can cause a huge explosion because LPG gas cylinder storage is near the work. It can lead to huge explosions, fires, and burns of persons and property.

Therefore I recommended the management of the organization to improve the information level of workers, training level, proper instructions, and adequate supervision. And also provides a safe system of work, safe methods of work especially on scaffolding, excavation, fire, electrical and chemically related work, a safe environment, and safe materials and equipment

Main findings of the inspection:

1. Collapse of scaffold and fall of materials and persons (Observation No. 2 & 22)

Major accidents may occur in the work area due to the collapse of the scaffold, falling from the edges, and falling materials. The workers used scaffolding carelessly in the work area using uneven subsurface use for different heights, not properly placing braces, and broken-out riggers causing for the falling of objects and performance. Falling from height leads to head injuries, cuts, muscle stress, and pains. New scaffold materials incurred the cost of Rs. 60,000/.

2. Caves and excavations (Observation No.1)

At the work area workers excavated a trench of 20 feet. Here the vehicles are to be parked because it is an Act of law and the need for time to reduce the risks of accidents. I found that there is no protection in the shape of the anger sign board around the excavation and people slip and fall into the excavation.

The cost incurred on barricades is Rs. 30,000/-.

3. Respiratory and chemical hazards (Observation No. 10)

The paintwork is performed on the 5th floor outside the building by using spray guns. Due to cold weather paint takes more time to dry rather the summer season. The spray particles and droplets present in the atmosphere of the parkiareared may be inhaled by the workers which leads to suffocation and respiratory problems and alleadads to acute problems. It can also cause skin cancer, asthma, and a burning sensation in the eyes.

The cost incurred on Respiratory protective equipment, coveralls, and goggles is around Rs. 60,000/-.

4. Fire Hazards (Observation No. 12)

At the construction site, workers are performing the welding rods which are nearer to the LPG gas cylinders storage area and there is a risk that any spark of welding can contact with LPG gas leading to a huge explosion, fire, burns, and property damage. Here the organization may contact the loss of causalities and damage of property cost Rs. 10,00,000/- and other indirect costs and civil and criminal fines by the courts and other enforcement authorities and also the loss of goodwill of the organization.

The cost incurred on fire extinguishers and fire retardant materials is Rs. 70,000/-. Also, provide proper training and instructions to the workers.

5. Electrical hazards (Observation no. 19 & 21)

In the working area, the main electric power supply is located near the excavation area and it is unprotected neither by danger sign boards nor by barricades which can lead to electric shocks, electric burns, electrocution, and ultimate death. The secondary effects are falls from height, bone fractures, serious injuries, and head injuries.

Management should allocate adequate resources for proper signage barricading the high voltage electric cables and isolating the area which would cost Rs. 80,000/-

Conclusions:

I observed my health and safety knowledge and found major issues at this construction site. The major finding of this organization needs immediate action for the safety of workers and employees from HSE management. There are electric shocks and burns, people falling from excavation, collisions of vehicles with other vehicles and pedestrians, fire explosions, and following the safety and health policy and rules. Other safety pertain to noise, vibration, manual handling, biological and chemical effects, stress, poor lighting, inadequate ventilation, and heat control adequate control measures.

The employer provides adequate welfare facilities such as first aid provisions, a water drinking facility on each floor, a separate toilet facility, separate rest rooms, smoker zone areas, and a sea parade locker facility which is why workers seemed happy.

Finally, it’s my humble request to the management, that if any accident/incident may take place on the construction site take immediate action for the adequate recommendation for the implementation of safety and health culture.