Safety First, Deadlines Before? Health & Safety

Michael Spiteri

Early in my career in the port sector, I spent a lot of time working on-board cargo vessels tallying and checking conventional and containerized cargo. I've experienced shipping agents and foremen put pressure on stevedores in physically demanding work operations that were hazardous in ship’s holds. Stevedores took lots of chances and efforts because agents and the port operator thought that risks and long hours (occasionally with additional financial incentives) were necessary to complete cargo operations under strict tight schedules. Nevertheless, I’m thankful to be injury-free and realize that my 25 year port work experience paved the way for my career in health and safety.

Construction companies and contractors are also under great pressure to meet schedule targets. In the spirit of competitiveness, it has become a routine phenomenon setting unrealistic deadlines that cannot be met. If the construction industry lets this mentality persist and fester,the adoption of occupational safety measures is frequently pushed to the side as deadlines take precedence, which ultimately lead to a dangerous workplace that is prone to accidents.

Nepal, et al. define schedule pressure short-cuts and lose motivation. Additionally, even though it might not be intended, increased timetable pressure might result in a rise in work defects; a quality problem which worsens construction performance and an inherent impact on the safety of the worker.3

In many cases, it is at the expense of a great effort from the client or developer that deadlines are met, forgoing fundamental health and safety rules and procedures in favour of compliance with deadlines. If projects are delayed, they will invite the additional cost. All project participants, starting from the design phase and continuing through all construction project phases, must be aware of their responsibilities and should work together effectively to address this culture norm.

WE STOCK MORE THAN 600 ITEMS

Planning and Management

Planning is the first step in meeting deadlines. To complete a project successfully, effective planning is crucial. The quality and contract terms for the construction project must be met within a time-frame but safety must not be a subcategory of project productivity and quality. Lack of capabilities, poor site management, insufficient equipment, improper instructions and practises, adverse weather etc. are significant factors that contribute to delays and slow down project progress. Management team must consider these aspects and focus their efforts to overcome lost time and delays without compromising workers’ health and safely.

Communication and coordination are essential.

Encouraging workers and sub-contractors to participate and provide information in meetings with managers is another effective way to deal with deadlines. The objective is to complete the work safely and on schedule.

Design stage

Design complexity must be taken into consideration if projects are met with stringent timelines. There can be risk errors in the design process, omissions, liabilities, insufficient material, costs, client change orders, misinformation in work methods, reworking and disorganization. Depending on the complexity of the tasks, an accelerated pace of work can lead to stress and tiredness.

Human Resources.

We simply cannot ignore under-manning. It is a major problem either due to labour shortage or cost-cutting. This will mean extra workload and long hours. Studies have shown that workers who were exposed to long durations of work may experience fatigue, cardiovascular illness and other health related concerns, which led to safety-related incidents. All health hazards must be closely monitored. A typical reaction to approaching deadlines is to strengthen human resources, skills, assess workplace hazards earlier and organise a roadmap of prevention measures to be implemented were tight deadlines and even tighter margins are present.