Construction Site Workers’ Awareness on Using Safety Equipment: Case Study

Abstract

Abstract. Construction sector is an important sector and contributed significantly to national development. However, this sector poses higher risk to accident. This is due to fact that construction site can be considered as a dangerous zone to workers and to the public. Due to the variety of cases occurs on site, the contractor will usually have to pay the cost related to accidents in the form of higher insurance premium. Despite various measures, accidents still occur at construction sites. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is one of the important means to protect the wearer from hazards in the workplace. Since this equipment is the last frontier of the wearer from worksite hazards, it is important to select it based on the job scope and the intended protection. Therefore, this study was formulated to find out the level of knowledge and awareness of construction workers on PPE usage. It was also important to know what make the workers would want or do not want to use the PPE. It was found in this study that the level of awareness and knowledge among workers on the proper use of PPE is moderate. Construction sites accident can be further be reduced with proper implementation of PPE voluntarily by all workers.

Health and safety issues among construction workers in Bangladesh

“…A study in Malaysia had found similar results. 11 In the Malaysian study, most of the participants were below 40 years old and only 1% were over 48. A study in Nepal also found similar characteristics.…”

An investigation into occupational health and safety of scaffolding practices on construction sites in Malaysia

“…The alarming rate of scaffolding accidents led to a special committee (the Position Paper Committee) in 2013 by the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia, 2015). Yet, there have been more studies and reports on accidents relating to scaffolding on construction sites in Malaysia (Abas et al, 2020;Ayob et al, 2018;Williams et al, 2017;Ulang et al, 2014;Keng and Abdul Razak, 2014;Lee et al, 2018;CIDB, 2018). As much as the findings and recommendations for the studies are helpful, the studies tend not to go into the level of detail necessary to provide systemic explanations of the causes and remedial actions required for scaffolding accidents on construction sites.…”

The Guatemalan Construction Industry: Approach of Knowledge Regarding Work Risks Prevention

“…Likewise, in China, Chia-Fen and collaborators determined that the smallest construction companies presented a higher incidence of falls from heights owing to a lack of experience, of training and the generalized practice of not using personal or collective protection equipment [ 51 ]. In this regard, various authors have reported that not using personal or collective protection equipment is a major source of accidents in the construction sector [ 18 , 21 , 22 ]. Regarding the work clothing used by workers in Guatemalan construction, 37.0% of companies reported that they use T shirts and hi-viz jackets, 16.0% T shirts, hi-viz jackets, and a uniform or canvas trousers, 14.0% use only hi-viz jackets and 12.0% T shirts and a uniform or canvas trousers.…”

“…In this sense, Arévalo indicates that knowing the economic repercussion of accidents, from the design phase and its prevention measures, would make it possible to delimit a more efficient security management system in the company from its origin, as well as deepen the prevention and study of accidents, and provide enough personal protection equipment (PPE) [ 16 ]. Complying with PPE use and availability, which may depend on the size of the organization and the type of training for its use [ 17 ], as well as other security measures, is required to reduce injuries and fatal accidents among construction workers [ 18 , 19 , 20 ] or among visitors to the construction site [ 21 , 22 ].…”