Expert Speak/Industry Interaction
Mr. Raviraj Gulannanavar, Assistant General Manager-EHS, Brigade Group
Diverse techniques for strong basic safety culture
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Mr. Raviraj Gulannanavar, Assistant General Manager-EHS, Brigade Group exclusively tells Built Expressions that separate trained and qualified team is a must to ensure all the construction activities are executed without any defilement.
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BE: How important is EHS factor at a construction project and how is it accommodated at tendering stage?
RG: Safety is a critical item on all construction projects for multiple reasons including protecting the welfare of employees, providing a safe work environment and controlling construction costs. Construction workers are exposed to a wide variety of health hazards on the job. Exposure differs from trade to trade, from job to job, by the day, even by the hour.
Incorporating Environment, health and safety into tendering and the tender documents, and adequately assessing the Environment, health and safety credentials of potential contractors, is one way we introduce health and safety into a project in the early stages.
Potential contractors are requested to outline their approach regarding Environment, health and safety for the work as defined in the tender documents – outlining how they will deal with specific risks and hazards during the project (Essentially a preliminary Site-specific Environment, Health and Safety Plan).
BE: What are the best safety practices to be adopted at a construction site based on your experience as a reputed builder?
RG: The best Safety practices we have adopted at both the corporate and project level for creating a strong safety culture by incorporating the 5 principles as under:
1. Demonstrate safety leadership
Accountability is practiced at all levels of the organization. Leading indicators are examined and measured. The leadership elements include strong management commitment, EHS policies and principles, challenging goals and plans and high performance standards set and reviewed.
2. Communicate safety information
Employees and workers undertake induction training incorporating safety roles and responsibilities. Kick-off meeting with the contractor addressing the EHS requirements to be implemented, monitored at all levels. Safety posters and signage in different languages are displayed at sites for effective communication to workers.
3. Manage safety risks
Risk management is a proactive process that helps you responds to change and facilitate continuous improvement in safety performance. Hazards Identification and risks assessment (HIRA) is carried out for all construction activities in different stages and we have written operational control procedures to be followed during execution to minimise the risk. All activities are monitored by the supervisors to check for any unsafe acts and unsafe conditions to take immediate corrective measure.
4. Establish safety practices.
Best EHS practices are established and shared among all the Staff during monthly Engineers meets. The winner of Helmet of Honour for the month is given a chance to present the best practices followed in the site.
5. Continuously Improve Safety Performance
We have monthly review based on the 30 point checklist ‘Helmet of Honour Rating’ methodology. Rating scores are circulated to all staff and contractors to concentrate and improve the areas of concern. Monthly EHS statistics are collected across all the projects to check the leading and lagging indicators. Half yearly management reviews based on the system audit.
BE: How can one achieve ‘Zero Accident’ completion of a project? What are the kinds of strategies adopted in your projects to achieve this status?
RG: One can achieve ‘Zero Accident’ by including different techniques in a strong basic safety program. The high-impacts zero injury techniques followed by us are:
a) Management commitment for safety is essential to convey to others in the firm that costs, schedule, and quality do not take priority over safety. The commitment must be sincere and it must somehow be conveyed to the worker level. Without this clear communication, safety performance will very likely be compromised.
b) Staffing for safety is essential on large projects. It requires full-time safety personnel to ensure that the safety needs of the projects are being satisfied. These safety personnel form the core of the training program on the project and they will provide the day-to-day safety support for the field personnel.
c) Pre-project and pre-task planning continues to play a vital role in jobsite safety. Site specific safety programs ensure that the projects have a safe start and the pre-task safety plans ensure that the daily tasks are performed with safety integrated into the daily work routine.
d) We are certified for the integrated management system on ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007 management system.
Following are the PDCA cycle according to the standard:
e) Safety education is a major component of jobsite safety. The training and education of workers should begin with formal jobsite orientation of every worker. Regular Toolbox talks to address the potential hazards such that they can prevent it. EHS training can modify worker safe behaviour; as is true in most settings, the learning process is never completed. This training tends are be focused on the needs of individuals, whether they are field workers, supervisors, or managers.
f) Worker involvement is perhaps the area in which the most significant changes have taken place in recent years. This is essentially based on the view that workers are not just a valuable resource to be protected but also a resource that can contribute to achieving the goal of zero accidents. They are involved in Hazard identification and risk assessment, incident investigation.
h) Subcontract management implies that the safety agenda of the general contractor must extend beyond its own employees. If the safety program is to be effective, we involve the subcontractors whereby they are included in the orientation training, regular Toolbox talks to address the potential hazards such that they can prevent it. EHS training can modify worker safe behaviour; the safety planning, etc.
i) Accident/incident investigations must be conducted diligently to identify the root causes. Near misses are included in those events that are to be investigated. These near misses are to be regarded as inexpensive "wake-up calls" that may be instrumental and very valuable in avoiding costly injuries.
By employing the nine key topic areas of safety achievement, firms can be expected to realize significant savings through the reduction of injuries. The cost of investing in a solid safety program will pay off handsomely through the substantial reduction realized in the costs attributed to injuries.
BE: Do you envisage the requirement of a separate trained and qualified team to monitor safety aspects during the construction process?
RG: Even though safety is a line responsibility and all the execution team members are trained in all aspects of EHS, at some point of time due to work pressure, monitoring on-going various activities at different locations or to achieve the targets, site engineers may not be able to monitor all the safety aspect may evade the safe work procedures. Separate trained and qualified team foresees and ensures that all the construction activities are executed without any defilement.
BE: Is there any specific budget allocated to construction safety aspects in each project? If so, as a thumb rule what percentage of the total construction cost is it?
RG: For construction safety aspects specific budget need to be allotted for various EHS implementations and monitoring. Normally it is 1% to 2 % of the total construction cost.
BE: According to you, which are the potential hazards at construction sites?
RG: Potential hazards at construction sites are as follows:
a) Electrical Equipment’s and Installations
b) Excavation and Trenching
c) Falling Object
d) Working at Heights
e) Scaffolding works
f) Heavy Construction Equipment Plant and Vehicles
g) Confined Spaces
h) Long Work Hours
i) Trips and fall
BE: Can you describe the role of Personal Protective Equipment in maintaining safety? What kind of safety equipments are provided to workers at site?
RG: The Safety precedence sequences to be followed are as follows:
- Hazard elimination (It should be the first step)
- Substitution
- Use of Barriers (Isolation, Segregation)
- Use of work procedures and warning signs
- Use of personal protective equipment (This should be the last resort)
Personal protective equipment’s like Safety Helmet, Shoes, Gloves, ear-plugs Goggles, Nose mask, Safety Harness for height works (Belts and harnesses are referred to as “active fall arrest” equipment)., are provided to workers at site depending on the nature of work.
The preceding four controls are for the entire workforce. But PPE is for the individual worker, depending for its effectiveness on the worker individually putting them on, wearing them, maintaining them, and using them every time they are needed, correctly.
Because the worker may not use PPE correctly out of ignorance, negligence, carelessness, over-confidence, or oversight, it is relegated to the last position in the hierarchy. While they are essential, they may be only applied to the individual worker and cannot be depended upon as a general risk control method.
BE: Do you think construction safety is professionally viewed in India? Your comments on the same…..
RG: In many countries, including India concept of safety is still not part of the professional’s imperative. There is also the deeply ingrained feeling myth that safety concerns will lead to greater cost and reduced productivity.
Over the last few decades, it has been proved that safety evaluation and control save money provided; professionals place worker injury and death at the top of their list. Otherwise, it may become (and remain) a legal necessity and an industry statistic. The truth however is that investment in safety is like planting a tree close to the compound wall: The fruit will be slow in coming, not immediate; and the branches will grow beyond the property, not just one-on-one, which should be quite acceptable for the industry and the nation.
BE: Since most of the developers are going high-rise under which stage you feel that it’s critical for workers to be monitored for safety?
RG: Safety to be monitored at all stages of construction from site cleaning to handing over the key to the customer. In high rise building hazards and risk add up due to height works, climatic condition, late night works; working on scaffolds, fatigue symptoms. For a particular project, there is frequent change in the number of workers and the composition of the labour force at any site. At any one time, a project may include a large proportion of inexperienced, temporary and transient workers who may not be fluent in the common language. Training them creating awareness on the hazards and risk associated with the activity and control measures to be followed is a critical stage in high rise building construction. Although construction work often must be done in teams, it is difficult to develop effective, safe teamwork under such conditions.
BE: What in your experience are the First Aid Provisions to be made compulsory on construction sites?
RG: First Aid provisions are to be made compulsory on construction site not to gratify the statutory requirement. In our experience it could mean the difference between life and death. Providing immediate and effective first aid to any person who have been injured or become ill at the workplace may reduce the severity of the injury or illness and promote recovery.