“Enabling Growth Through Education”
IIMT Studies, Ahmedabad
Welcome All participants
4th Ranked e-Learning
Institute of India
Faculty :Indu Pandey
Subject: Building Materials and
Construction
Topic: Protection Against Hazards
Module Code :GPCE100102
❑ Learning outcomes
In this session students are going to learn
about
➢ Safety measures to be taken during
various construction activities.
❑ Introduction
➢ Accident can be defined as an unforeseen
circumstance or event which happens abruptly to
cause damages to property and injury to the
person(s) involved.
➢ Any of such occurrences that may interrupt or
interfere with the orderly progress of activities in a
construction site can therefore be termed as an
accident.
❑ Safety Measures to Prevent Construction Accidents
➢ The following safety measures will therefore
serve to reduce the accident rate in mixing and
placing of concrete used in the casting of
footings, foundation walls, floor slabs, beams,
columns, retaining walls, sidewalks, driveways,
and patios in a building project.
➢ Wear sturdy work gloves, long sleeves, and full length
trousers to protect your hands, arms, and legs. Indirect
contact through clothing can be as serious as direct contact,
so promptly rinse out wet concrete or mortar from clothing.
➢ Wear rubber boots when placing and handling concrete for
slabs and flatwork, because you may sometimes have to
stand in the wet mix to spread and screed the concrete.
➢ Make sure the boots are high enough to prevent concrete
from getting inside them.
➢ To protect your eyes from cement dust and from splattered
mortar or concrete, wear safety glasses or goggles.
➢ Since masonry involves heavy lifting, be careful to avoid
back strain and injury—always bend your knees, keep your
back straight, and lift with your legs.
➢ Small, shallow concrete footings can sometimes be formed
by earth trenches if the soil is stable, but most concrete work
requires building forms to shape and hold the mix until it
hardens.
➢ The deeper the concrete, the greater the pressure it
will exert on the formwork, so don’t be afraid to use an
extra stake or two to help ensure that forms will not
bulge or bow out of shape during the pour.
➢ On residential projects, it is more common to use
wheelbarrows or buggies to move the concrete from
the mixer to the forms.
➢ A brief description of different types of
construction activities, their associated
hazards and safety measures to be taken for
prevention of accidents are highlighted in the
next slide.
❑ Rock Blasting
➢ The blasting works involve risks related to storage,
transportation, handling and use of explosives, blasting
accessories and agents. The hazards involved during
blasting are fly rock, dust, fumes, ground vibration etc. from
an explosion that may cause personal injuries, damage to
adjacent property etc.
Major safety measures to be taken during blasting are:
i) The blaster should be a qualified and competent
person for carrying out blasting work. He should know
about the dangers involved.
ii) Blasting in the open site should only be carried out
during the fixed hours every day/fixed day in the week.
Workers & residence of adjacent property should be
informed about the blasting so that they will not be
unnecessarily disturbed by it.
❑ Excavation
➢ Excavation is among the most hazardous construction
operations.
➢ Excavations are needed for the foundation of structures,
installation and repair of utility lines, replacement of
water and sewer lines etc.
➢ An excavation may be defined as any man-made cut,
trench, or depression in the earth’s surface formed by
earth removal.
Minimum safety requirements stipulated during excavation
work are as follows:
i) Means for rapid access should be provided. All trenches 120
cm or more in depth should at all times be supplied with at
least one ladder for every 30 m along the trench. Ladder
should be extended from bottom of the trench to at least 1 m
above the surface of the ground.
ii) Workers should not be exposed to dangers of being buried
by excavated material or collapse of shoring. Measures to
prevent dislodgment of loose or unstable earth, 11 rock or
other material from falling into the excavation by proper
shoring should be ensured.
❑ Trench
Main hazards associated with trench work are:
i) Collapse of the sides;
ii) Worker being struck by falling materials;
iii) People falling into the trench;
iv) Unsafe means of access;
v) Vehicles falling into the trench;
vi) Workers being electrocuted.
Important Control measures required to prevent the above
hazards are:
i) Underground utilities (such as water pipelines, sewers, gas mains,
electrical conduit system) should be located and protected,
wherever necessary, before the start of excavation.
ii) Material should not be kept near the trench.
iii) Shoring (supporting the sides of the trench) and/or proper slopes
to the trench walls should be provided.
❑ Work at Height
Majority of the accidents at construction sites are related to fall
of persons working at a higher elevation.
Important measures to be taken to prevent the above hazards are:
i) Guard rails should be fitted to the working platform and should be
secured to prevent their outward movement.
ii) The platform should be strong enough to bear the loads of
workmen & materials.
iii) The ground should be checked for firmness & if necessary base
plates should be used for support.
iv) Toe board should be fitted on the working platform to arrest fall of
materials /tools.
v) Frequently used tools should be tied to the worker else
kept inside a covered & secured toolbox on the platform.
vi) Persons should not be allowed to work under the
scaffold and if at all it is necessary to carry out work, then
safety net should be provided to arrest the fall of materials
& tools.
END