On dangerous ground
A construction site can be a lethal place to work. Some 95 workers died last year on sites all over Poland. The result is not as dramatic as it was five years ago, when 145 people died and in general, according to GUS statistics, the number of accidents on sites in Poland has been gradually falling for the last five years. Last year it was 'only' 7,024, compared to more than 11,000 in 2000. However, the fact remains that every three days a person dies on a construction site in Poland.
During visits to building sites in 2004, inspectors from the National Labor Inspectorate (PIP) discovered that on every second construction site regulations concerning the safe execution of work at heights and the safe operation of electrical power equipment and installations were infringed. In half of the companies employing less than 20 people, inspectors from PIP found lapses concerning the measurement of concentration and intensity of the factors and substances harmful for workers' health. Every fourth site exceeded the maximum permissible values established for such agents.
Risk factors
The greatest risk on construction sites is connected with height, digging works, and carrying loads, mechanically or in hand. Often the construction site is not appropriately protected on high storeys, and there are also few precautions taken against falling objects. Another common cause of accidents is the ignorance of the real danger typical of a construction site and workers routinely disobeying safety regulations.
In 2004, inspectors issued 17,000 decisions to stop construction works due to a danger to workers' safety. Some 14,000 workers, including women and children, did not have the qualifications required for risk-posing works and were subsequently directed to different jobs.
Affirmative action
After mining, construction is one of the most accident-prone sectors in Europe. In 2004, the Senior Labor Inspectors' Committee (SLIC), worried by the statistics, decided to draw the attention of labor inspectorates in EU countries to the problem of safety in the construction sector. As a result, in Poland PIP announced a special campaign called "Work safety in construction." This year the campaign will be run on an even bigger scale. As a part of it, PIP has prepared a special program of self-regulation for companies on the basis of which they can identify the most-common threats and lapses. After they remedy the danger areas, a given employer will receive a special certificate by PIP. In April this year, open days were organized simultaneously in all District Labor Inspectorates all over Poland.
The campaign is mainly addressed to employers and people responsible for organizing work, investors, site managers and foreman. As a part of the campaign the National Labor Inspectorate intends to conduct inspections on 1,960 construction sites in Poland and reach 1,000 companies with a preventive program.
Safety in the blood
"Campaigns like this do help. The problem of safety on the construction site is a large-scale problem, strictly related with an undeveloped working culture, especially among the elderly workers who are the bulk on construction sites," says Dariusz Kolasa, a construction supervisor on the Rondo 1 project. "The construction sector has only developed in recent years, those people do not have this self-preservation instinct in their blood."
Kolasa admits that the greatest risk is connected with work on high storeys, but he emphasizes the problem that very often workers are not aware of the dangers they can find themselves in and the dangers they can pose to coworkers. Thus, the method at the Rondo 1 construction involves making people conscious of the risk at their workplace. On every storey of the site luminous posters scream, "who will cry after you are gone?" at the workers.
On the other hand, the project manager at Rondo 1, Henryk J. Kurzyński claims that the height does not really matter. He points to uneven ground, steps and other barriers that can be faced by workers. He also stresses the importance of order on the construction site. "It is not good when there is junk all over the place." Kurzyński used to be a project manager at Złote Tarasy some time ago and he remembers the order there. "It is very clean. The contractor is trying very much to keep the place clean."
Fatal occupation
One foreman at the Złote Tarasy construction site, who said the developer did not want to discuss the details of safety on the site, said: "We have 100 percent safety at Złote Tarasy." Having admitted that the problem of safety on construction sites cannot be ignored, the foreman said that at Złote Tarasy many unconventional methods are used, which are a part of the general policy of Skanska. "We have fewer and fewer accidents and in many cases we have set a precedent in safety proceedings."
Still, it is known that at least one person died when building Złote Tarasy. "There was one fatality at this site. The only one in my career," he admitted sadly. Developers are reluctant to discuss site fatalities as the negative publicity can spoil a developer's reputation.
Rondo 1 also claimed a victim. Kolasa said how stunned the team was, but stresses that the case was not an accident at the working place, but took place because of the worker's inattention. It happened at the beginning of this year, when a worker was found in a container very early in the morning. He came before his working hours and was probably trying to collect scrap. Unfortunately on that rubbish container stood another one with concrete junk. When the man climbed out of the container, he leaned on the other one with concrete, which in turn tilted and crushed him.
Safety first
Safety on construction sites is something investors and developers certainly care about, not just because of the tragic loss of life, but also because dangerous worksites seriously spoil the image of a commercial enterprise. Maybe this is why most of the companies that were invited by the National Labor Inspectorate responded to the institution's appeal. The initiative covered 300 sites all over the country and up to five companies on each construction site responded positively.
In June this year, the National Labor Inspectorate ran detailed inspections of construction sites in Poland. Similar controls were conducted in all EU countries. After another round of such visits in September, the Senior Labor Inspectors' Committee will collect and compare the results.
During visits to building sites in 2004, inspectors from the National Labor Inspectorate (PIP) discovered that on every second construction site regulations concerning the safe execution of work at heights and the safe operation of electrical power equipment and installations were infringed. In half of the companies employing less than 20 people, inspectors from PIP found lapses concerning the measurement of concentration and intensity of the factors and substances harmful for workers' health. Every fourth site exceeded the maximum permissible values established for such agents.
Risk factors
The greatest risk on construction sites is connected with height, digging works, and carrying loads, mechanically or in hand. Often the construction site is not appropriately protected on high storeys, and there are also few precautions taken against falling objects. Another common cause of accidents is the ignorance of the real danger typical of a construction site and workers routinely disobeying safety regulations.
In 2004, inspectors issued 17,000 decisions to stop construction works due to a danger to workers' safety. Some 14,000 workers, including women and children, did not have the qualifications required for risk-posing works and were subsequently directed to different jobs.
Affirmative action
After mining, construction is one of the most accident-prone sectors in Europe. In 2004, the Senior Labor Inspectors' Committee (SLIC), worried by the statistics, decided to draw the attention of labor inspectorates in EU countries to the problem of safety in the construction sector. As a result, in Poland PIP announced a special campaign called "Work safety in construction." This year the campaign will be run on an even bigger scale. As a part of it, PIP has prepared a special program of self-regulation for companies on the basis of which they can identify the most-common threats and lapses. After they remedy the danger areas, a given employer will receive a special certificate by PIP. In April this year, open days were organized simultaneously in all District Labor Inspectorates all over Poland.
The campaign is mainly addressed to employers and people responsible for organizing work, investors, site managers and foreman. As a part of the campaign the National Labor Inspectorate intends to conduct inspections on 1,960 construction sites in Poland and reach 1,000 companies with a preventive program.
Safety in the blood
"Campaigns like this do help. The problem of safety on the construction site is a large-scale problem, strictly related with an undeveloped working culture, especially among the elderly workers who are the bulk on construction sites," says Dariusz Kolasa, a construction supervisor on the Rondo 1 project. "The construction sector has only developed in recent years, those people do not have this self-preservation instinct in their blood."
Kolasa admits that the greatest risk is connected with work on high storeys, but he emphasizes the problem that very often workers are not aware of the dangers they can find themselves in and the dangers they can pose to coworkers. Thus, the method at the Rondo 1 construction involves making people conscious of the risk at their workplace. On every storey of the site luminous posters scream, "who will cry after you are gone?" at the workers.
On the other hand, the project manager at Rondo 1, Henryk J. Kurzyński claims that the height does not really matter. He points to uneven ground, steps and other barriers that can be faced by workers. He also stresses the importance of order on the construction site. "It is not good when there is junk all over the place." Kurzyński used to be a project manager at Złote Tarasy some time ago and he remembers the order there. "It is very clean. The contractor is trying very much to keep the place clean."
Fatal occupation
One foreman at the Złote Tarasy construction site, who said the developer did not want to discuss the details of safety on the site, said: "We have 100 percent safety at Złote Tarasy." Having admitted that the problem of safety on construction sites cannot be ignored, the foreman said that at Złote Tarasy many unconventional methods are used, which are a part of the general policy of Skanska. "We have fewer and fewer accidents and in many cases we have set a precedent in safety proceedings."
Still, it is known that at least one person died when building Złote Tarasy. "There was one fatality at this site. The only one in my career," he admitted sadly. Developers are reluctant to discuss site fatalities as the negative publicity can spoil a developer's reputation.
Rondo 1 also claimed a victim. Kolasa said how stunned the team was, but stresses that the case was not an accident at the working place, but took place because of the worker's inattention. It happened at the beginning of this year, when a worker was found in a container very early in the morning. He came before his working hours and was probably trying to collect scrap. Unfortunately on that rubbish container stood another one with concrete junk. When the man climbed out of the container, he leaned on the other one with concrete, which in turn tilted and crushed him.
Safety first
Safety on construction sites is something investors and developers certainly care about, not just because of the tragic loss of life, but also because dangerous worksites seriously spoil the image of a commercial enterprise. Maybe this is why most of the companies that were invited by the National Labor Inspectorate responded to the institution's appeal. The initiative covered 300 sites all over the country and up to five companies on each construction site responded positively.
In June this year, the National Labor Inspectorate ran detailed inspections of construction sites in Poland. Similar controls were conducted in all EU countries. After another round of such visits in September, the Senior Labor Inspectors' Committee will collect and compare the results.
