ANALYSIS ON CAUSES FOR ACCIDENTS IN CONSTRUCTION AND ITS SAFETY MEASURES

Abstract

Accidents in construction projects, specifically in building works occurs most frequently. Those accidents may results in fatal, serious injuries or a near miss of workers involved and other consequences such as lost of work days and the industry bad image. Thus accident prevention is required through improving continuously health and safety in construction. Therefore, analyzing the factors leading to accidents is primarily important. The objective of this paper is to sort out the factors causing accidents in construction, rate the different causes and recommend the necessary safety measures to be provided in the workplace. A questionnaire was formulated to conduct survey from various individuals in construction starting from unskilled labor to tradesman. The respondents were around 50. The questionnaire contains two parts, the first part contains the general characteristics of the individual and the second part contains the factors causing the accidents in the construction. The factors were analyzed using SPSS tool. Suitable recommendations are suggested for the safety in the construction workplace. The study concluded that unsafe working conditions, stuck between tools and equipments and scaffolding failure are the most vital factors causing accidents and provision of adequate safety measures for workers on site will improve the performance and also enhance the building industry's productivity.

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IJMTES | International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Science ISSN: 2348-3121
ANALYSIS ON CAUSES FOR ACCIDENTS IN
CONSTRUCTION AND ITS SAFETY MEASURES
M. Ramya1, T.D. Ramadasan2
1(Department of Civil,PG Student,Adhiparasakthi Engineering College,Melmaruvathur,India,ramyamani009@gmail.com)
2(Department of Civil,Assistant Professor,Adhiparasakthi Engineering College,Melmaruvathur,India, tdrdasan@gmail.com)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Abstract—Accidents in construction projects, specifically in building works occurs most frequently. Those accidents may results in fatal,
serious injuries or a near miss of workers involved and other consequences such as lost of work days and the industry bad image. Thus
accident prevention is required through improving continuously health and safety in construction. Therefore, analyzing the factors leading to
accidents is primarily important. The objective of this paper is to sort out the factors causing accidents in construction, rate the different
causes and recommend the necessary safety measures to be provided in the workplace. A questionnaire was formulated to conduct survey
from various individuals in construction starting from unskilled labor to tradesman. The respondents were around 50. The questionnaire
contains two parts, the first part contains the general characteristics of the individual and the second part contains the factors causing the
accidents in the construction. The factors were analyzed using SPSS tool. Suitable recommendations are suggested for the safety in the
construction workplace. The study concluded that unsafe working conditions, stuck between tools and equipments and scaffolding failure are
the most vital factors causing accidents and provision of adequate safety measures for workers on site will improve the performance and also
enhance the building industry’s productivity.
Keywords— Causes for accidents, Questionnaires, SPSS, Safety measures
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. INTRODUCTION
Construction work is considered to be one of the most
hazardous industrial activities in the country. The rate of
injury in the construction industry is higher than any other
industry. Every year many people fall victim to injury, harm
and even death caused by accidents on construction site.
Accident is an unplanned and unexpected occurrence which
upsets a planned sequence of work resulting to loss of
production. Control of accident is vital in the construction
industry employers are required to access risk and take
practical measures to protect, ensure safety and health of
their workers, minimizing risk by means of continuous
surveillance and monitoring of where accidents are likely to
occur. Proper safety is necessary for preventing accidents in
construction. The major causes of accidents are related to
unique nature of the industry, human behavior, difficult work
site conditions, poor safety management which results in
unsafe work methods and procedures. Accidents results in
human losses and substantial economic cost. This study
presents an analysis of construction accidents in Tamil Nadu
along with causes of accidents so that corrective measures
can be taken to decrease causalities, resulting in a safer
construction industry.
2. CAUSES FOR ACCIDENTS
There are numerous and an enumerable cause of accidents
that occurs on site. It is the duty of the site manager or
supervisor to identify these causes and identify the ways of
eliminating them.
The major causes of accidents were identified as:
(i) Individual factors
(ii) Site Conditions
(iii) Falling Hazards
(iv) Unsafe working conditions
(v) Struck by Tools, Equipment and Falling Objects
(vi) Trenching and Excavation Hazards
(vii) Scaffolding Accidents
(viii) Construction Vehicle Accidents
(ix) Stepladder Misuse
(x) Electrocutions and Power Tool Accidents
(xi) Slips and Trips
(xii) Fire
Investigation techniques reporting system identifies what
type of accident occur and how they occurred. This project
focuses on the role of management, human and behavior and
projects nature in construction industry. These accidents in
the building construction results in death and serious injuries
of workers involved and the project aims in understanding
the causes and nature of accidents in building sites. Other
consequences such as lost of work days and the industry bad
image. In order to overcome the effects of accidents, this
project involves the study and analysis of the different types
of accidents in building construction industries.
3. SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION
For many years safety professional have been aware that the
majority of workplace accidents are triggered by unsafe
behaviors, and that their control is one of the keys to
successful accident prevention. However, many
organizations, even those companies with low accident rate
have been frustrated by their inability to control unsafe acts.
Every worker involved in a construction process must
understand their rights and liabilities. The law facilitates the
management of safety and health in a workplace. If an
individual breaks the law, they will be the one personally
liable for the consequences of their actions. The main
distinction in terms of liability here is between civil and
criminal liability. Civil liability gives a person right to obtain
redress from another person, e.g., the ability to sue for
damages for personal injury. For there to be an award of
damages, the injured party has to suffer an actual loss, be it
personal injury, property damage or financial loss arising
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IJMTES | International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Science ISSN: 2348-3121
from tort or contract law. Criminal liability is a more serious
offence that involves imprisonment and more serious
punishment.
Safety at work is a complex phenomenon and a subjective
area of study. This is because industrial safety has undergone
significant changes over the past decade. Safety is a
collective co-operation of all persons involved in the
construction industry ranging from contractor, operatives,
supervisors and even general public. As the saying goes, the
best and most effective way to do any job is through safe
way. Effective safety approaches and remedial actions may
be taken to prevent and minimize reoccurrences in the future
with help of factual statistical data. Moreover, participants in
the construction industry have to learn and understand
applicable legal rules.
4. LITERATURE REVIEW
Construction workers work on unsheltered environment
adverse weather conditions should be avoided because
continuous exposure to adverse weather could lead to general
discomfort and illness [1]. The nature of fall accidents in
construction project a case of Indonesia” the paper involves
fall accident in construction building works are the most
frequent accidents those accidents may results in death and
serious injuries of workers involved and other consequences
such as lost of work days and the industry bad image [2].
The causes of accidents were the poor safety awareness
from top leaders, lack of training, lack of organizational
commitment, lack of technical guidance, uncontrolled
operation, unwillingness to input resources for safety, lack of
certified skill labour, unsafe equipment, lack of first aid
measures, lack of rigorous enforcement of safety regulation,
making such predictions must be based on knowledge about
past accidents [3]. Disasters as related to construction are
events or actions which causes severe damages to
construction products, processes and stakeholders. Various
acts of God that cause casualties on sites are rain, flooding,
wind, earthquake, landslide [4],[5]. It is much easier to carry
out construction works on site during the dry season than the
wet season in event of rain workers on scaffold may lose his
balance and step or slid of the plank hence resulting to fall
[6].
The type of equipment and machineries, site condition,
nature of the industry, management attitude and method, and
human elements can directly influence the safety
performance in construction industry [7]. An
Analysis of accidents statistics is Malaysian construction
sector. The construction industry undoubtedly plays a
significant role in the development process of a country
contributing towards employment and economic growth [8].
Safety related research which tends to be more qualitative in
nature, addressing “what” factors are important for success
as opposed to “how much” is appropriate to achieve
successful safety outcomes [9].
Construction firms adopt safety system that seeks to prevent
the occurrence of accidents rather than essentially managing
accident cases and victims by paying medical bills and
compensation.
Conduction of meta‐ analyses to test hypothesized pathways
between safety climate and related constructs and safety
behaviors, injuries, and incidents [10]. The leading and
lagging relationships between safety climate and four types
of safety incidents, suggesting that safety climate has a
varying “shelf life” depending on the type of incidents being
considered [11] .
Human error was considered to be an undesirable human
decision or action that reduces or has the potential for
reducing the effectiveness, safety or system performance
[12].
Safety training shall be provided by the Contractor to all his
workers as well as those appointed by his sub-contractors
etc, at least once every 6 months, through a faculty which
possess the minimum qualification of Safety Officer as
mentioned in Building and other construction workers
(regulation of employment and conditions of service) Act,
1996 and rules made their under along with minimum
experience of seven years in Construction area 10 in Power
Industry [13].
5. DATA NALYSIS USING STATISTICAL PACK
Raw data collected was first sorted, edited, coded and
then entered into a computer spreadsheet. The data was then
analysed using SPSS (spreadsheet). The response rate for
each item in the questionnaire and site observation schedule
and the overall percentage of returns from the sample size
were also determined. Appropriate graphical representations
were obtained as well. The analysed data was finally
presented using descriptive methods for easy interpretation
and to enable comparisons and inferences to be drawn.
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IJMTES | International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Science ISSN: 2348-3121
Fig.1. Frequency Analysis
Fig.2. Frequency Distribution
The above graph represents the frequency distribution of the
age of the respondents. 6.7 percent of the respondents belong
to the age group between 31 to 35 years and above 40 years.
The majority of the respondents, 46.7 percent are between
the age group 25 to 30 years. Also 20 percent of the
respondents belong to the age group below 25 years and age
group between 36 to 40 years.
Figure.3 shows the desktop view of SPSS software for the
chi-square test.
Fig.3. Chi-Square test
Fig.4. Occupation of the Respondents
The above table represents the frequency distribution of the
occupation of the respondents. 23.3 percent of the
respondents belong to Site Engineer. 20 percent of the
respondents belong to Junior Engineer. 10 percent of the
respondents are belonging to Project manager and labour.
Followed by 6.7 percent of the respondents belongs to
General Manager, Supervisor, Executive Engineer, Mason
and Contractor, Also 3.3 percent of the respondents are Field
Surveyor.
Based on the responses from the various personnel in
construction, the data was analysed and arrived at the
following values using chi-square test.
Table.1. Chi-Square test
Factors Mean SD Chi-
Square p-
value
Individual Factors 2.987 0.621 9.333 .407
Site Conditions 3.613 0.525 12.000 .151
Falling Hazards 3.473 2.282 10.333 .412
Unsafe Working Conditions 3.056 1.175 24.600 .002
Struck by Tools, Equipment and
Falling Objects 2.825 0.746 20.000 .018
Trenching and Excavation Hazards 2.929 0.662 10.133 .683
Scaffolding Accidents
2.917 1.053 19.133 .039
Construction Vehicle Accidents
3.040 1.878 19.400 .079
Stepladder Misuse
2.833 0.844 13.200 .280
Electrocutions and Power Tool
Accidents
2.793 1.022 12.000 .528
Slips and Trips
3.420 2.744 5.400 .714
Fire 2.843 0.481 18.533 .100
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IJMTES | International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Science ISSN: 2348-3121
Chi-square test was used to find the most preferred
contributory factors causing accidents in construction
workplace. The results of the technique and the chi-square
(χ²) statistic are presented in above table. It is found that
among the twelve factors three factors have significant
outcome like unsafe working conditions the χ² = 24.600 is
highly significant at 0.002 level, regarding struck by tools,
equipment and falling objects the χ² =20.00 is significant at
0.018 and scaffolding accidents the χ² = 18.133 is significant
at 0.039 level. Remaining nine factors do not significant
outcome.
Table.2. Respondents Opinion about Other Queries
Sl.
N
o.
Other
Quarries Mea
n SD Mean
Rank
Friedm
an Chi-
square
value
and
signific
ant
Multip
le
Compa
rison
Test
1 Improper
design 2.5
0
1.106 6.05
77.571
P=.000
12,14
13, 6
9,8,11,
10
2, 3, 7,
1
4, 5
2
Appropriat
e personal
safety
procedures
were not
specified
2.5
7 1.251 6.63
3
Lack of
supervisio
n and
control on
worker’s
adherence
to wear
safety
items
2.5
3 .973 6.53
4
Safety
regulations
were not
followed
2.2
3 1.073 5.38
5 No safety
engineer at
side
2.1
3 1.074 5.20
6
Manageme
nt is
pushing
work
regardless
of workers
ability
2.9
7 1.129 8.50
7
Safety
items were
not
available
at site
2.4
3 1.165 6.37
8 Absence
or lack of 2.7
7
1.223 7.52
weekly
safety
meetings
9
Training
program
for the
implement
ed job at
site
2.9
0 1.242 7.80
10
Written/
known
procedure
for
assigned
job
2.6
7 .994 7.00
11
Lack of
appreciatio
n after the
completion
of job
2.7
7 1.040 7.35
12
Worker
not
wearing
personal
protective
equipment
3.9
3 .785 10.8
7
13
Worker
was
suffering
from
health
problems
3.4
7 1.432 9.12
14
Physical
fatigue
caused the
accident
3.9
3 .740 10.6
8
Table.2 represent Friedman’s test that was used to find the
most preferred other queries on contributory factors causing
accident among respondents.
The results of the technique and the chi-square (χ²) statistic
are presented in Table 16. It is found that the χ² = 19.468 is
significant at 0.001 level. On examination of the mean ranks
obtained by each other quarries of the respondents, it is seen
that worker not wearing personal protective equipment and
physical fatigue caused the accident is the most important to
other quarries perceived by the respondents while occur the
accident in site area followed by the second level Worker
was suffering from health problems and management is
pushing work regardless of workers ability, followed by the
third level training program for the implemented job at site,
absence or lack of weekly safety meetings, Lack of
appreciation after the completion of job and Written/ known
procedure for assigned job, followed by fourth level
Appropriate personal safety procedures were not specified,
Lack of supervision and control on worker’s adherence to
wear safety items and Safety items were not available at site,
Improper design and finally fifth level importance to Safety
regulations were not followed and No safety engineer at side.
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IJMTES | International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Science ISSN: 2348-3121
6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
From the analysis of the data given by various respondents it
found that the unsafe working conditions, stuck by tools and
equipments and scaffolding failure are the most significant
factors causing accident in the jobsite. Also from the querries
other than the major factors it is found from the analysis that
workers no wearing personal protective equipment, physical
fatigue during the work and the health problems of the
workers significantly causes tje accidents to occur in
construction workplace.
The owners of projects are the primary consumers of
construction services, the sources of project finances, and, in
many cases, the end users of the facilities. They are often at
the pivotal position of the projects. Traditionally, owners
have not been directly involved in construction safety, often
in order to avoid economic losses and legal entanglements
resulting from injuries. With the increase of accident costs
and legal cases involving owners as the third-party
defendants, owners have come to realize the importance of
safety [14]. As for improving workers' performance and
hence their safety at the sites, it is important to educate and
explain safety principles and their importance in every
industry and workplace. Also the employers should be
provided with training courses and programs to increase
attention to safety and to prepare plans for sudden accidents
and disasters. The management should observe the
performance of inexperienced workers to see if they need
further orientation and/or training [15].
Specific strategies for reducing the likelihood or negative
consequences of human errors can be achieved by selecting
people with the capabilities and skills required to perform a
job. This will result in fewer errors being made and proper
training of personnel [16].
Guidelines on construction design and management must be
followed. Code of practice in construction at highly
hazardous workplace is recommended [17]. As far as safety
is concerned increased attention should be directed towards
determining the effects of weather on construction site
accident frequency [18], [19]. Dealing with the extreme
weather conditions in building project can be done through
reorganizing the business hours to suit the difficult weather
conditions, especially in summer, and adopting the two shifts
at construction sites [20].
7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this paper various causes for accidents in construction
workplace are identified. According to the statistical
analysis, it is found that, most common accidents types in
Tamil Nadu occurs due to unsafe working conditions (64%),
struck by tools, equipment and falling objects (52%) , and
scaffolding accidents (48%).
The survey therefore recommends that:
The reinforcement bars after used in construction site has to
be evacuated immediately. Required quantity of rebars has to
be placed in jobsite rather than additional. Sloping, benching,
shoring techniques help the workers from accidents due to
open excavations. Suitable personal protective equipment
like Goggles of face shield for the protection of eyes shall be
provided for worker engaged in welding, cutting, chipping,
grinding or similar operations which may cause hazard to his
eyes. Use of earplugs/muffs and anti-vibration gloves shall
be ensured to protect the workers from the impact of
exposure to such dangers.
Protect yourself from being pinned between equipment,
Materials, or Other Objects. It is necessary to be aware at all
times that equipment around you and stay a safe distance
from it. Never place yourself between moving materials and
an immovable structure, vehicle, or stacked materials make
sure that all loads carried by equipment are stable and
secured Stay out of the swing radius or cranes and other
equipment. Wear a seatbelt, if required, to avoid being
thrown from a vehicle and then potentially being crushed by
the vehicle if it tips over
Standards for scaffolding material and jointing method,
workers housing and amenities are to be necessarily
provided. Scaffolds and their components shall be capable of
supporting without failure at least four times the maximum
intended load. Any scaffold damaged or weakened from any
cause shall be immediately repaired and shall not be used
until repairs have been completed. Scaffolds and other
devices mentioned or described in this section shall be
maintained in safe condition. Scaffolds shall not be altered or
moved horizontally while they are in use or occupied. An
access ladder or equivalent safe access shall be provided.
The poles, legs, or uprights of scaffolds shall be plumb, and
securely and rigidly braced to prevent swaying and
displacement.
8. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to thank head of the department Mr.
A. Krishnamoorthi for his valuable guidance to carry out this
project successfully and also to my professors, respondents
who supported me by providing the necessary data.
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IJMTES | International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Science ISSN: 2348-3121
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