Construction work is a hazardous land-based job. Some construction site jobs include: building houses, roads, tree forts, workplaces and repair and maintain infrastructures. This work includes many hazardous task and conditions such as working with height, excavation, noise, dust, power tools and equipment. The most common fatalities are caused by the fatal four: falls, being struck by an object, electrocutions, and being caught in between two objects.[1][2] Construction work has been increasing in developing and undeveloped countries over the past few years. With an increase in this type of work occupational fatalities have increased. Occupational fatalities are individuals who die while on the job or performing work related tasks.[3] Within the field of construction it is important to have safe construction sites.
Major Safety Hazards
The leading safety hazards on construction sites include falls, being caught between objects, electrocutions, and being struck by objects.[17] These hazards have caused injuries and deaths on construction sites throughout the world. Failures in hazard identification are often due to limited or improper training and supervision of workers.[18] Areas where there is limited training include tasks in design for safety, safety inspection, and monitoring safety.[18] Failure in any of these areas can result in an increased risk in exposing workers to harm in the construction environment.
Falls are the leading cause of injury in the construction industry, in particularly for elder and untrained construction workers.[17][19] In the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Handbook (29 CFR) used by the United States, fall protection is needed in areas including but not limited to ramps, runways, and other walkways; excavations; hoist areas; holes; form-work; leading edge work; unprotected sides and edges; overhand bricklaying and related work; roofing; precast erection; wall openings; floor openings such as holes; residential construction; and other walking/working surfaces.[20] Other countries have regulations and guidelines for fall protections to prevent injuries and deaths.
Motor vehicle crashes are another major safety hazard on construction sites. It is important to be cautious while operating motor vehicles or equipment on the site. A motor vehicle should have a service brake system, emergency brake system, and a parking brake system. All vehicles must be equipped with an audible warning system if the operator chooses to use it. Vehicles must have windows and doors, power windshield wipers, and a clear view of site from the rear window. All employees should be properly trained before using motor vehicles and equipment.
Other hazards found on construction site include asbestos, solvents, noise, and manual handling activities.[
Personal Protective Equipments
Hard hats, steel-toe boots and reflective safety vests are perhaps the most common personal protective equipment worn by construction workers around the world. A risk assessment may deem that other protective equipment is appropriate, such as gloves, goggles, or high-visibility clothing.[61]
Construction Safety Informatics
Li (2019) proposes that there are three generations of construction safety informatics which are relevant to construction safety enhancement:
1. The first generation of construction safety informatics consisted of technologies that relied completely on control by human beings; for example, structural equation modelling requires the work of an analyst.
2. The second generation of construction safety informatics included smart features such as the Internet of Things which can send information to human operators, without human intervention — from sensors, etc. Yet, these “smart” tools cannot learn and improve on their own capabilities.
3. The third generation of construction safety informatics uses state-of-the-art AI, to mimic human behavior and think, act, learn and improve on its own decision making. All that is required is that the relevant information is fed to these systems, so that they can be ‘taught’ [67]