Personal safety, manual tasks

Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) can protect a person from injury, and can save time and money.

PPE in the building and construction industry may include:

hard hats
boots
hand protection
eye protection
hearing protection
respiratory protection
protective clothing.

Manual tasks are a big part of construction work and include activities such as driving heavy machinery, pushing a wheelbarrow, holding a plasterboard sheet while it is attached to the ceiling or using hand tools.

Manual tasks cover any activity where you are required to grasp, manipulate, strike, throw, carry, move (lift, lower, push, pull), hold or restrain an object or body part.

Sun exposure and hazardous substances

People who work in the sun for all or part of the day have a high risk of developing skin cancer.

Many of the substances used on a construction site are potentially hazardous. Different hazardous substances have different health effects and safe use requirements.

Hazardous substances of particular concern in the building and construction include:

-silica dust
-asbestos
-lacquers, polyurethanes, enamels and solvents used in spray painting.

Confined spaces and emergencies

In some construction workplaces there will be areas which are very high risk environments such as silos, vats, pipelines, trenches, pits and crawl spaces.

Working in confined spaces can be extremely dangerous. Part 15 of the workplace health and safety regulation 2008 must be followed.

emergencies happen on construction sites. Fire, explosion, structural collapse, gas leaks, as well as serious injury or death can occur.

Details about emergency procedures must be outlined in the principal contractor's construction safety plan and during site specific induction.

Noise

In the demolition and construction industry a number of activities are notoriously noisy, for example, rock breaking during demolition work or the operation of a jack hammer. The use of vibrating wacker plates, electric tools, explosive powered nail guns and vibrators during concrete pours, all cause specific noise problems for the operators and workers in the vicinity in relation to maintaining their hearing ability.

In the demolition and construction industry, a large variety of power tools, equipment and plant is used on a daily basis. Rock breakers, jack hammers and similar types of equipment on demolition sites cause noise levels ranging between 100 - 120dB(A) at the operators' ears. Because of their impulsive nature and the way our ears operate, the noises from these rock breakers and jackhammers are potentially more hazardous to our hearing than excessive noise from operating machines or power tools for example.

Explosive powered nail guns on construction sites may cause peak noise levels well in excess of 140dB(C) at operator ear level.

Electric saws, routers and planers can cause noise levels ranging between 90-100dB(A) at the operator ear level.

Typically a large number of power tools are used for short periods at a time, for example to cut a piece of wood. However, these activities occur many times per day and accumulate to a significant exposure during the day.

Almost all trades on demolition and construction sites are exposed to excessive noise on a daily basis, with form workers, dogmen, concreters, line hands, steel fixers and carpenters having the highest exposures.

The noise levels they are exposed to are comparable to those in a nightclub or hotel where loud music is produced.

Typical noise sources

Some typical noise sources in the demolition industry at operator ear level include:

Rock breaker at 3 metres
on concrete 90 - 92dB(A)
on steel beam 98 - 101dB(A)
Drott operating at 4 metres 93 - 94dB(A)
Jack hammer 100 - 110dB(A)
Rotary screw compressor 88 - 90dB(A)

Some typical noise sources in the construction industry at operator ear level include:

Angle grinder 95 - 105dB(A)
Back hoe 84 - 89dB(A)
Explosive operated nail gun 125 - 147dB(A)
Wacker plate compactor 94 - 97dB(A)

A further risk to hearing is caused by combinations of noise sources in the ambient noise levels on construction sites.

Noise control measures

As with all risk exposures in the workplace, risk management must be applied through a hierarchy of control measure, i.e. elimination, substitution, engineering and/or administrative controls, and as a last resort, (or as an interim measure!), reliance on protective equipment.

Noise on construction or demolition sites should, wherever possible, be controlled through engineering and/or administrative noise control measures.

Examples of controls for demolition work include:

efficient silencers or exhausts fitted on jack hammers, excavators, back hoes, dumpers etc. In extreme noise sensitive areas so called 'critical residential type mufflers' can be fitted as a replacement of existing exhausts. Noise reduction of about 15dB(A) can be achieved this way
hiring compressors with acoustical grade casings
keeping enclosure panels on compressors closed.

Examples of controls for construction work include:

maintaining pneumatic tools in optimum condition and keep air lines leaking
fitting silencers or mufflers
keeping power saw blades sharp
using vibration damped blades
clamping material to be cut
using partial acoustic enclosures, which can easily be moved around the site.

Where noise control cannot be achieved through these measures an employer should provide suitable personal hearing protectors as well as proper instruction in their use so that exposed workers can perform their work in a manner which is safe and without risks to their health and safety.

Unprotected exposure to excessive noise for as little as two minutes a day can cause permanent hearing damage. Permanent hearing damage is just that, permanent. There is no cure.