THE CANTERBURY REBUILD SAFETY & TRADE SUPPLEMENT
• WORKER FATIGUE HIGHLIGHTED AS A PRIORITY
• CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AT RISK OF EXPOSURE TO SILICA DUST
• RANZ CANTERBURY HEIGHT SAFETY ACCORD
• WHERE DO WE PARK THE AMBULANCE?
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Christchurch construction workers at risk to high levels of silica dust A report detailing silica dust exposure to those involved in construction was released to the Christchurch building industry recently. Silica dust has been known for centuries as a cause of the lung disease, silicosis. Commissioned by WorkSafe New Zealand because of concerns raised during the postearthquake rebuild, the main findings of the study show: a lack of knowledge of the risk of silica dust, a lack of efficient dust suppression methods, a large number of construction workers not using respiratory protection, and sampling results of silica exposure in particular tasks exceeded national and international work place exposure standards. “Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of respirable crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring of the lungs,” says WorkSafe NZ project
manager (Occupational Health), Canterbury Rebuild Programme, Donna Burt. “Preliminary data suggests that a review of current control measures being used by the construction industry needs reviewing to ensure that workers are protected from adverse respiratory effects,” she says. WorkSafe departmental medical practitioner, Professor Bill Glass says, “The study showed that workers performing selected ‘at risk’ tasks in the construction industry are being exposed to levels of silica dust which exceeds national and international standards”. The main sources of excessive exposure have been shown to occur when using concrete polishers and grinders. High exposure levels are associated with other tasks including cutting concrete, drilling, crushing and cutting Linea board. “The results of this study, together with extensive data from international studies,
suggest that action is required to reduce silica exposure in the New Zealand. This could include a review of current work practices and working with industry to agree on best practice standards for the management of silica dust,” Professor Glass says.
WorkSafe, together with industry, is currently reviewing work practises for the management of silica dust exposure. WorkSafe is establishing a clean air assessment programme which will include the management of silica dust.
WorkSafe NZ highlights worker fatigue as safety priority WorkSafe’s Canterbury Rebuild Health and Safety Programme director, Kathryn Heiler says that work related and non-work related fatigue is a significant potential hazard facing the construction industry that needs to be carefully managed. “We’re seeing a combination of more extended working hours combined with intensive work which can compromise the quality and quality of recovery time. Anything that reduces sleep quantity and quality can result in impaired work performance. Where this impacts on safely critical risks it has the potential to cause serious harm in the workplace,” she says. What is worker fatigue? Work related fatigue can be a result of work and non-work-related factors or a combination of both. Poorly designed work schedules can limit the amount of time that workers can physically and mentally recover from work, while working at night or starting very early in the morning can disrupt the body’s normal sleep cycle. Long commuting times can further exacerbate the problem.
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PUBLISHER: Gary Collins BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Clive Greenwood CO-ORDINTATOR: Carolynne Brown WORKSAFE EDITORIAL : Lee Howden
THE REBUILD SAFETY & TRADE SUPPLEMENT – SEPTEMBER 2015
ACC EDITORIAL: Nikki Hawkey EDITORIAL: Jonathon Taylor DESIGN: Jarred Shakespeare PRINTING: Inkwise
Some job demands can also cause fatigue. Jobs that are physically or mentally strenuous, repetitive monotonous, or require continued physical effort can increase the risk of fatigue. Fatigue in construction Across construction, safety critical work that can be affected by fatigue includes working at heights, driving mobile plant and equipment and electrical work. Across Canterbury rebuild worksites are busy and demands are great. Well rested and fit workers will be at less chance of harm and injury. Kathryn says management of fatigue is a shared responsibility. “Employers have a duty to ensure work schedules and job demands are organised to allow for adequate recovery time and minimise the chances of task related fatigue. WorkSafe New Zealand has a factsheet on Fatigue in Construction on its website: http://www.business.govt.nz/worksafe/ information-guidance/all-guidance-items/ fatigue-in-construction-fact-sheet Check out the Canterbury Rebuild Safety Charter's information on impairment, including fatigue, here: http:// safetycharter.org.nz/industry/improvingyour-charter-performance/impairment/
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NEW ZEALAND ROOFING ASSOCIATION
Where do we park the ambulance? For some the parking space for the ambulance is at the bottom of the cliff. Well it’s much better to have a fence at the top of the cliff. Ponder that. In the media recently there has been plenty of noise about the costs associated with preventing falls from height. There were accusations of these controls costing hundreds of millions of dollars annually and there have been no gains in productivity. The hundreds of millions of dollars annually is a gross exaggeration. If we average out 20,000 houses annually at $5000 dollars for scaffold/ edge protection, my maths suggests a much lower number.
BRANZ were commissioned by the Scaffold and Rigging Assn of New Zealand (SARNZ), to do a cost-benefit analysis of scaffolding in the residential sector. The Roofing Assn of NZ (RANZ) also contributed funds to this report. That the report stated that gains were marginally ahead of costs - then the use of scaffolding shows that industry has taken the right approach. This will only improve as innovation and greater acceptance of productivity gains become more apparent. I personally cannot condone any backing down on what I believe to be a practical response to the falls from height that have been an all too common occurrence in the construction sector until the last couple of years.
And anyway, in a first world country is there an acceptable attrition rate when people are hurt or killed, when cost is your measure of compliance?
Having suffered a fall accident (time in intensive care), and also having had an employee fall and the subsequent prosecution by the Dept. of Labour at the time, I can also bring very real experience to any conversation or view regarding height safety in New Zealand.
As to the lack of productivity claims - the media attempted to discredit a BRANZ report.
While having worked for Dimond (a Fletcher’s business) for the last two years, I was fortunate
to be exposed to probably one of the highest levels of health and safety compliance in the country. Being part of Fletchers I also saw incidents from across the business and overseas. As I have moved back to being self employed, I have had time to reflect on the total health and safety approach and areas I believe NZ has to look at and realign the priorities. Prosecution by balance sheet (what your business can pay) does not change behaviour. Having to comply should be the same whatever the size of the business.
So the challenge for industry and Worksafe is how we get a larger element of common sense and individual responsibility into what we do. Hopefully the proposed changes to Health and Safety legislation later this year lead us down this path. Probably the simplest way of considering working at heights would be to consider would you let your partner or children work at heights without some sort of protection? Keep it safe and let’s make sure everyone goes home every night.
If an experienced staff member deliberately overrides a standard operating procedure, then proceeds to injure themselves - why is the business at fault? Our staff are not five year olds - yet businesses are expected to control their staff like five year olds to prevent accidents.
Article supplied by Graham Moor, president of Roofing Association of New Zealand
RANZ Canterbury Height Safety Accord By Graham Moor
RANZ, the organisation’s past president, Mark Tinning (from Graham Hill Roofing) and myself have been working with our Canterbury members to establish a HeightSafety Accord. True to their Canterbury roots, our members are after clarity (read black and white) and level playing field. We have drafted a document which we will shortly put in front of the Canterbury Worksafe team for their input.
Quite simply, this is a one page document that outlines the applicable controls for working heights. Scaffold/edge protection, fall through protection, bump rails, mobile elevating work platforms, harness use, short duration work, competency and training are included in this accord. In “black and white” this accord establishes what the expectations are when RANZ members in Canterbury are working at height.
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THE REBUILD SAFETY & TRADE SUPPLEMENT – SEPTEMBER 2015
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