Construction Safety Management --- Case Studies
Sample INCIDENT/NEAR MISS/ ACCIDENT Reported by class
INCIDENT
1. LDA Sports Complex, Circular Road, Opposite Minar-E-Pakistan
The excavation for foundation of building is about 30 feet below than surface
level. There was a steep slope to move down for machinery, as water bowser is
necessary to shower the water in foundation on sand to get it compacted, for sand
filling under the foundation of building as designed. One day the water bowser
with tractor moving upward to refill the bowser from outside but unfortunately at
the slope the tractor stopped working and its engine shutdown, the bowser with
tractor stooped by driver but the breaks were jam, so the whole machinery moving
backward freely. The workers at the backside of the slope unknown to this incident
working with their interest, at the same time the others shouting on them to safe
their selves, fortunately, all the workers moved toward sand stakes and the bowser
rest on it. Its central connector which meets the bowser and the tractor broken and
one tire burst, and fortunately no life loss. Even this incident had financial loss
Cost of repair maintenance = Rs. 24,000
Cost of rental bowser time of repair = Rs. 4000/12 hours for 2.5 days = Rs. 20,000
Time wastage and company time wastage cost is about Rs. 5,000.
Total Estimate = 24,000+20,000+5,000 = Rs 49,000/=
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2. Excavation Work Standing on the Excavated Soil the Supervisor Fell Down
In Wah Cant a construction project of a road which is connecting the 22 F sector
area with Chairman Colony was executing. During excavation work of a culvert a
supervising is supervising the excavation work standing on the excavated soil
suddenly the soil slides into the trench and the supervisor fell down and injured
badly. Luckily by timely treatment his life was saved although some major and
minor injuries were observed which takes some time to be recovered.
2. Fall Due To Construction Materials
NEAR MISS
1. Workman Drops A Hammer Off A Scaffold
A workman drops a hammer off a scaffold, which falls 20 m to the ground landing
only a few feet away from another operative. This is a near miss incident. No
accident occurred, no injury, the hammer was returned to the worker and everyone
could continue their work. Following a near miss report, the scaffold was inspected
and found to have missing toe boards where the hammer slipped through. This was
immediately rectified preventing other materials falling and causing accidents in
the future.
Without a near miss reporting system, no manager may ever be aware this occurred
unless they witnessed it. A near miss report would allow management to review
the situation and take action. The hammer may have been accidentally kicked by
the workman as he turned around to pick it up, the hammer went through a gap in
the toe board or a missing scaffold board and fell off the edge. Management can
review the information, look at the circumstances, and take action to prevent
reoccurrence.
2. Worker Stands On A Chair To Reach Some Items On A Shelf
A worker stands on a chair to reach some items on a shelf that are out of reach
from ground level. The chair swivels and the worker jumps down. The worker
steps back up on the chair to retrieve the items. A colleague reports the near miss.
The investigation following the report identifies that the items stored on the shelf
are in regular use, and chairs and other make-shift items are often stood on to reach
them. Storage is rearranged to bring regularly used items within reach of floor
level to reduce work at height, and safer access equipment is provided for those
items out of reach.
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3. Hydraulic Rotary Drilling Rig Caught Fire
Pile boring works were under progress by Hydraulic Rotary Drilling Rig and
during this process, a fault was detected in Radiator Suction Hose Pipe by operator.
The faulty Hosepipe was replaced & Mechanic checked Rig Machine for running
& positioned the Kelley in the vertical position. Thereafter the operator switched
off the Rig Machine & left the site due to change in shift duty. During the site
visit the area by night shift supervisors, the fire was noticed in Rig Machine.
Site Staff immediately tried to extinguish the fire by using the fire
extinguishers but they were unable to control the fire & immediately
intimated to Fire & Safety Dept. Fire & Safety rushed to the incident spot and
controlled the fire.
ACCIDENTS
1.0 Ladder Trolley Touched By The Electric Wires Of 32,000 KVA
The accident was occurred in 2014. I was heading my team from head office of
Consultants. In parallel, the external electrical works being carried out in society
was supervised by the Employer’s engineering wing. One fine morning, I was on
my routine site visit of said housing society. I was on inspection of a field density
test of water bound macadam of one road with my team. Contractor’s quality
control team was performing the said test.
All of a sudden, a hue and cry was hear by myself and we saw that fire flashes near
electric pole just about 300 meter away. We all ran towards the incident site. Just
within a minutes, we reached at the spot. The scene of accident was horrible due to
which I even now feel terrifying when I think about that.
The top side of electric ladder trolley was touched by the electric wires of
32,000 KVA passing over. One worker was crying loudly who was outside of
trolley but he was caught by his feet which was burning. Two other workers
were laying inside the trolley cage and are just burning and no human voice
was heard from them. That scene was too much horrible. Immediately, lot of
people nearby inclusive of security management of society was there. In the
meantime, cop of 1122 was also reached at spot. The steps were taken
immediately to cope with the situation arise there by some of people there is
listed as hereunder;
1. Start throwing stone, wooden log, plastic log etc. towards electric wires to
make possible for disassociation with top of electric ladder trolley so that
electric connection between electric wire and trolley may be disconnected.
This effort worked after short interval during which the person outside
the trolley was pulled. The person was in his senses to some extent but
one of his leg was badly burnt. He was immediately sent to nearby
hospital by the 1122 cops.
2. Management called to concerned WAPDA officials to disconnect the
electricity of that main line but that was not under control of them. They
told that they were contacting the concerned officials of power grid
station. The main line electricity control was with them. Further they told
that after disconnecting of electricity, the effect of electricity will be
removed completely after 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Called for fire brigade immediately to cope with the situation.
After assurance of disconnection of electricity in main line passing over, fire
brigade and 1122 rescue cops by adopting all safety measures moved towards
the two persons who were under cage of electric ladder trolley. They picked
both outside and put on cots there. Both unlucky guys were badly burnt even
some parts were converted like bunt coal. Their bodies are not in proper
shape. Alas, even leg of one person was de-attached while transporting from
accident site to cots which was hardly 100 ft away.
I cannot forget the horrible and terrifying scene of that moment in rest of my
life. Both guys were dead but for the sake of confirmation, Society’s doctor
also confirmed that they were dead. In the meantime, we were informed that
the third guy who was already sent to hospital for treatment, was also died
and his dead body was also arrived on spot.
Every person present there was in great shock and through grief. All three
persons were died and no one can do nothing for them.
Reasons of Accident
Three guys are basically worker of electrical works sub-contractor. The scope of
work comprises of following;
i. Laying and fixing of Employer’s supplied electric wire on poles on newly
built area of society.
ii. Pulling the wire on poles to its desired stretch.
This work was under supervision of Society engineering wing and Project cost was
Rs 500,000/= (Labor rate only).
Three unlucky guys were on routine laying of wire on poles. The road was
basically about 2 km long on which wire was laid. Just before end of road of about
100 meter, Main WAPDA line was passing over the road. The workers were laying
wire on poles from one side of road. When they reach near wire, they lower down
their trolley and passed under the main WAPDA cables. When they finished laying
of wire from one side of road, they moved the trolley to other side of road (Main
boulevard road). The three workers again started to lay the wire from other side of
the road. When they lay wire on one pole, then two workers pulled the trolley from
inside cage of trolley while third worker pushed the trolley from outside the cage.
According to my understanding, all three guys forgot to lower down their trolley
while again passing under the WAPDA main line on other side of the road due to
which this awful accident occurred and loss of three precious lives happened.
It was observed that the said accident was avoided if following measures were
taken by the sub-contractor or his representative;
1. A permanent supervisor was to be deputed to monitor worker’s activities.
2. Some sort of paint lining was made around the hazardous part so that workers
may alert prior to crossing dangerous area.
3. Proper safety shoes, helmet, gloves etc. was neither provided by the sub-
contractor nor highlighted by the Society engineering wing. Further, no
supervisory staff of Employer’s take care of such hazardous area/zone.
Action Taken by the Society Management
Following steps were taken by the Society Management under instructions by the
CEO of the Society;
a. Rs. 50,000/- was immediately transferred to the parents of the deceased
persons for hiring of rented vehicles to come to society for receiving of dead
bodies.
b. Booked 03 AC fitted ambulances for transportation of dead bodies from
Lahore to DG Khan. All payment regarding ambulances were paid by the
society.
c. Checque of Rs. 1,000,000/- for each deceased was given to parents of
deceased as compensation.
2.0 Collapsed Pedestrian Bridge Crushes a Lorry On The Ring Road
I saw a collapsed pedestrian bridge crushes a lorry on the Ring Road in the
Harbanspura area in Lahore. A portion of the pedestrian bridge constructed
around two years ago on Ring Road by a sub-contractor collapsed near Pir
Naseer Chadian Village Stop, Harbanspura on Thursday, crushing to death a
dumper truck driver. One employee and five motorists were fatally injured,
and another employee permanently disabled, when the bridge fell as the
motorists waited for the traffic light underneath the bridge and as the
employees were performing work activities on top of the bridge structure. The
bridge at the present stage of construction consisted of a four concrete truss
spanning approximately 160 feet.
It was placed over the piers just five days prior to the collapse. The traffic from
Lahore airport to Harbanspura section of Ring Road remained suspended for
rescue work for several hours. It was opened around 11am.
The North Cantonment police took the owner of the company, which constructed
the bridge, into custody and registered a murder case against him on the complaint
of Ring Road Authority’s Director Operations and Maintenance. Chief Minister
Shahbaz Sharif constituted a four-member committee led by the Chief Minister
Inspection Team chairman to probe the incident. The concrete bridge was cast at a
nearby off-site location using what is known as national logistic cell (NLC) and
then transported to its final location.
The contractor claimed that the dumper truck first hit the bridge’s girder
which slipped a few feet away and then fell on the vehicle. It was out of
question that the bridge automatically collapsed owing to poor design and
construction. Khalid further claimed that he had proofs of clearance certificates
issued by the agencies concerned and said the bridges were constructed according
to specifications and design.
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3. Concrete Pedestrian Bridge on Canal Bank Road Near Punjab University
Collapsed
As I was working on site a concrete pedestrian bridge on Canal Bank Road near
Punjab University collapsed after being struck by a truck carrying heavy
machinery here on 11 June 2018, after a similar incident on the Ring Road. The
truck was transporting a section of a bridge and an industrial cooling unit
from Karachi to the dry port at Mughalpura. Part of its cargo was protruding
at a height of above 16 feet, the height of the bridge, and crashed into it at
high speed, knocking down a concrete section of the pedestrian overpass at the
Punjab University Hostel No 15. The truck had passed under five new steel
pedestrian bridges on the same road which are 18 feet high, as per our
construction drawings.
Muslim Town police registered a case against the truck driver, Liaqat Khan, on the
complaint of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Deputy Director Zafar Iqbal,
under Sections 324 (attempted murder), 427 (mischief causing damage of Rs 50 or
more) and 279 (rash driving) of the Pakistan Penal Code. Police officials said that
no one had been hurt in the incident. Haji Riaz, the driver’s cousin, said that the
arrest of Liaqat Khan was unjust. Khan was not the one to have loaded the truck in
Karachi, so it was unfair to blame him, he said. He had spoken to his cousin in
custody, the driver, however, ignored the height cautions while transporting the
heavy machinery on the road which had many underpasses and pedestrian
overhead bridges. When the trailer reached near PU New Campus, the generator
hit the pedestrian bridge, a police official said.
4. A Portion of The Bridge Fell on The Trailer.
This caused a traffic mess on one of the busiest roads of the city. The accident also
damaged a major part of the trailer as well as generator, the police official said and
added a crane was dispatched from the Orange Line project which shifted the
machinery to Mughalpura. The bridge was under construction the Lahore
Development Authority’s Urban Development wing, with NESPAK acting as
consultants. Officials of the Constructions and Works Department said that heavy
traffic was not supposed to be allowed on Canal Bank Road. Traffic Police
officials said that the Punjab government had given permission for heavy traffic to
ply on the road because of ongoing construction work at various main roads.
Construction safety standards are rarely enforced in Pakistan
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5. Nishat Emporium Mall.
I had worked as a site and planning engineer at Nishat Emporium Mall. Nishat
Emporium Mall was one of the Pakistan’s largest construction projects having plot
area of 144 canals. The construction work was divided into 9 different zones. I was
working on the first zone which has over 4 basement floors with a ground floor and
12 other floors.
The Labor moving on one of upper floors on a material shifting lift. They had not
worn personal protection equipment and also had not followed any instruction
given by the safety supervisor in the morning session. As lift was moving from
ground floor to 8th floor with the laborers on it, the brakes of the lift failed and
the lift fall down in high speed. Two labors got injured badly. The labors fall
down and their lower limbs suffered a great deal of injury. The leg of a labor
was amputated while the bones of other labor were fractured at the knee
point.
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6. WASA Faisalabad:
I am working in water and sanitation agency WASA Faisalabad as a sub engineer.
My posting is in operation and maintenance (O&M) directorate. The de-silting
work of sewer lines has been started now a days because of monsoon season is
about to coming in next months. In Pakistan the de-silting work is usually
done with manually method instead of developed countries where de-sliting
work is carried out with help of machinery. In manual method a sewer-man is
being lay down in manhole with basket and plate to put silt it.
A de-silting work of 42 inch diameter sewer line near Jaranwala road Naimat
colony is under process 5nos of sewer-man teams are working at site under the
supervision of Assistant director O&M WASA-F. During de-silting work a sewer-
man name Mr. Patras Masih has completed de-silting from a manhole and his team
starts pulling up him from manhole. The depth of sewer line is about 20 feet. The
rope has been broken at the height of 13 feet up from manhole bed. The sewer-man
Mr. Patras badly feel into manhole and flow toward downstream with pressure of
sewerage water. There is a alarming situation at site and we stop de-silting work
from other manhole and prepare most expert sewer-man to enter into manhole for
pulling up injured sewer-man. Assistant director quickly call rescue 1122 service
to reach. Due to badly fell from a serious height the gas mask has been broken due
to this the sewer-man Mr. Patras Masih has been expired at site. The department
announce a 500000 rupees check to the family of late Mr. Patras Masih.
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7. Teenager Worker Dies In Emporium Mall Ceiling Fall
A young worker died during repair work at the Emporium shopping mall in Johar
Town, rescuers said on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as 19-year-old
Muhammad Usman, an electrician. The boy was trying to repair electric wires
on the 4th floor when the ceiling collapsed on him, he sustained severe electric
shocks and fell on second floor from the top. According to one of the
supervisors, the boy sustained multiple head injuries and died on the spot. The
body was shifted to hospital and an investigation was under way.
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8. Crane Collapse during Pile Cage lowering for Lahore-Sialkot Motorway
On the July 19, 2019 Crane Collapse during Pile Cage lowering for Lahore-Sialkot
Motorway. KATO 50 to NK500 Mobile crane engaged in driving piles cages with
a vibratory for the construction of the new LSM Bridge RD 59+310. The crane
collapsed and fell over the existing Span. The incident occurred on Sialkot side.
The 256 foot-long boom of the crane fell over the existing Span due to carne boom
collapsed & 2 girder of bridge span also collapsed.
Estimation of the financial implications was Girder of bridge: 2*1.5 Million
Crane boom: 1 Million and many other.
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9. Climbing Work Platforms Collapsed Under Construction Building.
A 12-story steel framed building with concrete floor slabs was under construction
and the exterior of the building was to be clad with glass curtain walls. When
during the disassembly, one of the mast climbing work platforms collapsed. The
mast supporting the platform partially collapsed. At the time of the incident,
there were four employees on the platform perched near the 9th floor. All four fell
to the ground with the falling mast and platform. Three were killed and the
fourth fell on the roof of a portable toilet, and suffered severe injuries. When
you or a loved one suffers a catastrophic construction work accident it is
essential that the proper steps are taken to secure the safety of the injured person as
well as his legal rights. Since the injury occurred during work or as a result of work
duties, the victim is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. However, to obtain
full benefits that cover medical costs and time away from work, he must perform
certain steps to guarantee his well-being and his claim’s viability.
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10. Girder Launcher Launching; Driver of Crane was Absent
I was present on construction site at Shadman Lahore. An Activity of girder
launching was under progress.
At that day the driver of crane was absent, so his helper was operating the
crane that day. As he was unskilled and unfamiliar with the complications of
operating the machine. He lifted the girder from trailer at wrong angle due to
which the supporting wire attached to girder was broken and the girder fell
down. Due to falling from specific height the girder got damaged and
developed cracks.
Following implications occurred at that time on site:
Due to jerk the lifting boom of crane got damaged 3 lacs, repairing cost
The girder was damaged and wasted as it was cracked 9 lacs, the cost of
huge girder
The reputation of company was degraded
Fine was imposed 5 lacs
Cost of removing the damaged girder 50k
Total financial cost of this failure was: 17,50,000/-
ESTIMATE OF THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATION
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11. A 46-Year-Old Helper Was Injured When He Fell From An Extension
Ladder On a Concrete Block Foundation Retaining Wall.
A 46-year-old helper in a small construction industry was fatally injured when he
fell from an extension ladder onto a concrete block foundation retaining wall. The
victim had been employed for one year as a part-time helper and driver. A three-
man crew was working on a project that involved renovating a semiprivate
recreation club 4 miles from a nearby town. On the afternoon of the incident, the
team was tearing off shingles from the intact section of the clubhouse. A new 32-
foot, two-section non-self-supporting fiberglass extension ladder was used to
access the roof, and was extended an estimated 25 feet, about 3 feet beyond the
roof eaves. Near the end of the workday, the helper announced to the owner that he
was bringing a tarp up to the roof because rain was expected that evening. The
owner, working on the opposite side of the roof gable where he could not see the
ladder or victim, heard the clatter of the ladder falling. He went over the roof gable
to see the helper lying on the foundation retaining wall of the structure. The victim
had fallen an estimated minimum distance of 10 to 12 feet. The owner immediately
called 911. Emergency medical services arrived to find the victim unconscious. He
was transported to a nearby district hospital approximately 30 miles away and died
four hours later. Financial Implication:
Progress is count down by 40 percent loss amounting 5 million $ a day.
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Financial Implications in Pakistan
Construction worker fell from a ladder. He spent eight weeks recovering
from cracked and bruised ribs. His medical expenses amounting to Rs.
30,000/- were covered by company.
A crane operator hit a nearby worker causing injuring to his foot. Total
expenses incurred Rs. 20,000/-
A worker trips over a live electric wire causing him burns. He was provided
with first aid and expense was Rs. 5000/-
Due to incorrect lifting technique bricks were carried to first floor by
throwing them. Hence a brick fell on a nearby worker causing him 3 stitches
in head and recovery period was 6 weeks. Expenses were Rs. 6000/-
Lack of Guarding and insufficient sign boards showing construction work
under progress caused slippery surface unknown to nearby public.
A worker was not wearing safety shoes upon whom a brick fell and he got
injured. Medical expenses were Rs. 5000/-
Due to lack of cleaning, a worker slipped from stairs injuring him. Recovery
period was 6 weeks and expenses were Rs.10,000/-
A 5-gallon bucket of paint falls from heights, landing close to a worker
(without injury or property damage).
While working on a third-floor roof, one worker throws an object to another,
causing him to lose his balance in an attempt to catch it. Fortunately he was
tied to safety rope preventing him to fall.
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Investigation Report FIRE IN THE MAINTENANCE WORKSHOP
THE INCIDENT
On Saturday (15:30) a fire broke out in the maintenance workshop inside the
warehouse of spare parts which reached the offices of Engineering.
Security staff attended the alarm signal in the panel of fire detection system and
then went to the maintenance area, where observed smoke inside the workshop,
giving alert to Factory Brigade and Public Firefighters.
Fire started in the lower level of the store and quickly spread to the first floor.
Inside the technical warehouse had stored combustible material such as rubber,
plastic, wood, board, etc. Firefighting time was 4 hours approximately.
No injured or neighborhood affected. Electrical power supply was interrupted for
approx. 60 % of the site because of damaged cables.
THE CAUSES
According first evaluation of a Firefighters inspector, is suspected that the fire
started in the office furniture of warehouseman due to short circuit. The furniture’s
are covered with cloth.
THE EFFECT
• Damage of 13.8 kV, 440 V and 220 V cables required shut down of
electrical supply.
• Partial and temporal suspension of site services during caused interruption
of production units.
• Loss of all technical materials, engineering offices, documents, drawings,
computers, printers, hand tools, technical documentations, legal
documentation and registers, etc.
• Damage to infrastructure (civil work)
• Collapse of the inside warehouse structure (mezzanine).
• Damage of the wall separating the maintenance work shop and the
transformer room
• Damage exterior lighting circuit.
• Local Telephony – CANTV, Lync Telephony, Internet and Intranet
shutdown
• Interruption of operations by equipment failure and availability of destroyed
spare parts
Areas affected by fire (red zone) Engineering Offices;
Ground
floor -
Spare
parts
warehouse
External walls/ power wirelines
PRELIMINARY LEARNINGS THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTING FOR
OTHER SITES
Safety Deviations detected:
There was no concept to seggregate technical material according to their risk
of fire power. Only compressed gases and flammable materials are stored
separately.
The office inside the warehouse was built with non-fire resistant walls
(drywall), metal and glass. Furniture covered with cloth (no fire resistant).
The walls of technical material warehouse were made of concrete blocks
without fire resistance. These walls separated the storage from the
transformer room, offices and diesel oil tank.
The mezzanine of offices and storage of electrical materials was made of
metal structure. This design puts risk to other site facilities (electrical
transformation units, emergency electrical generator, offices) in case of fire.
Tank of main water reserve is out of service because needs some
maintenance works. Water drills went out of service due power shutdown. It
was required to supply additional water through tank trucks for
extinguishing additional incipient fires in affected zone and supply some
water for basic services.
Public firefighters response took over 20 min, probably affected by direct
communications troubles as the centralized emergency number (911) has to
be used.
Low firewater availability, affected in addition by non-availability of
firefigthers tank truck (it is broken).
Delays to access inside maintenance warehouse due lack of key and
breaking lock tools.
Unknown procedure to shutdown power supply in fire affected area by first
personnel in place
Failures in access control during emergency.
Lack of communications by cell phones to international calls. Dificulties to
achieve internet connection with Factory net through cell phones.
Detection and alarm system worked properly but no sprinklers in site(safety
concept)
Analysis for workshop area design
LESSONS LEARNED
Electrical installations should be checked periodically. Special attention
given to condition of junction boxes (for ex.: lack protective cover plates),
improper splices and joints, protective wire cover and breaker switch.
Site should have a procedure to shut down power supply and all energies and
emergency personnel (fire brigadiers, ESHA) should be properly trained. A
SOP well detailed should be prepared and be available in the area for use in
emergency case.
Risk assessment for this kind of storage has to be done and the safety
concept of storage for technical material warehouses and buildings should be
reviewed.
Improve safety checks in non production/ services areas.
Guarantee fast access to any company area in emergency case for first responders
