Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
12.2 Safety
A successful contract must never compromise on safety for the sake of
commercial gain. CRL has been awarded the RoSPA (Royal Society for the
Prevention of Accidents) Gold Award for ten consecutive years but this has
not been at the expense of profitability.
Safety, or rather 'health and safety' as it is now referred to (illustrating
the importance of protecting people's physical and psychological wellbeing),
now forms an integral part of the construction process from the earliest
planning stage right through to the use, maintenance and end of life of a
building or structure.
To help us through this process we have the likes of the Construction
(Design and Management) Regulations, coupled with the vast variety of
ACoPs (Approved Code of Practice) and industry guidance now available
(mostly free).
With all this information the industry is well equipped to fully understand
the acceptable health and safety standards, individual roles and responsibilities
and expected outcomes.
Clients, designers, principal contractors and contractors (not forgetting
the CDM coordinator for the larger projects) are working together on
projects and taking their responsibilities seriously, although there is still
room for improvement.
The site teams too have developed over the years with developments in
safety culture, and are becoming much more aware that their employers
will not compromise on health and safety. The site teams are now far better
equipped with knowledge, consultation, modern equipment and personal
responsibility.
The role of the Safety Advisor is changing. In the past there was much
less legislation and the safety 'officer' would simply carry out quick site
inspections and write a scathing report. With sites now better trained and
managing their own health and safety in the first instance, the Safety Advisor
is free to provide support and advice, to carry out on-site testing for the likes
of noise, vibration and CoSHH substances and to assist in health surveillance
programmes.
The management of health and safety has improved, but still has much
to achieve to further reduce accidents and incidents of ill-health in the
construction sector.
In the future industry will need to embrace health and safety challenges
arising from developments in technology which may include the likes of
nanotechnology and emissions from electromagnetic fields.
12.3 Quantifying the work
Projects used to be tendered on a lump-sum basis which relied on the
experience of the estimator to value the works. This made it difficult to
