Managing Risks Assignment with VINCI Construction UK (GC01142)

Unit 1: LO 4

4.1 Identify risk within your place of work

I have been working at VINCI Construction UK. VINCI Construction UK is a national construction and facilities VINCI Construction UK and is the largest British subsidiary of VINCI. VINCI Construction UK has strong relationships with other VINCI companies and subsidiaries and, as a result, can leverage ideas, skills, and entrepreneurial flair to deliver top-quality work in all sectors. The VINCI name symbolizes the best in innovation, creativity, and technological mastery, befitting for a Group that harnesses a culture of innovation to deliver technical expertise in tackling the most complex of projects. In 2016/17, construction was found to be the main industry for fatal injuries to workers. Construction hazards are heavily dependent on the type of construction work that is being carried out. For example, working on scaffolding presents entirely different hazards in working with asbestos. There is a common hazard in the construction industry and it is working at height.

Each year falls consistently account for the greatest number of fatalities in the construction industry. A number of factors are often involved in falls, including unstable working surfaces, misuse, or failure to use fall protection equipment and human error. Studies have shown that using guardrails, fall arrest systems, safety nets, covers, and restraint systems can prevent many deaths and injuries from falls. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that, in 2015/16, just over a quarter of worker fatalities were from a fall from height. This put working at height as the most common cause of fatal injuries to workers. Building construction, usual infrastructure projects, and demolition work routinely involve tradesmen working at height. Height-related work fatalities and injuries account for countless accidents per year. The odds for height-related risks are increased by added access and mobility restrictions. To counter this, companies usually provide (safety awareness) training and safety equipment for employees who are required to work at height.

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4.2 Identify the source of the risk

According to Boyle (2016), Work at height is work in any place, including a place at, above or below ground level, where a person could be injured if they fell from that place. Access and egress to a place of work can also be work at height. There are many sources in VINCI construction UK from which working at height hazard can arise.

Examples of work activities that are classified as working at height:

• Working on trestles
• Working on a flat roof
• Erecting falsework or formwork
• Working on a ladder
• Working at ground level adjacent to an excavation;
• Working on formwork within an excavation
• Working near or adjacent to fragile materials

Work at height takes place across a diverse range of industries and many hazards will be specific to each working environment. However, a common cause of many accidents is a failure to take sufficient precautions, especially when carrying out work at relatively low heights (from zero to six meters). This is because workers sometimes fail to plan properly and underestimate the risks involved in working at this height. They don’t secure themselves or the equipment properly or they may use equipment in inappropriate areas where the ground isn’t secure.

4.3 Assess the impact and likelihood of the risk

Impacts on Health

In accordance with Bishop (2013), in the UK, upwards of 4000 people each and every year receive serious injuries from falls while working at height. Injuries from falls when working at height are a major cause of workplace fatalities – with most such accidents occurring in the construction industry. Remarkably most major injuries arise from falls of less than two meters. The consequences of injuries sustained in falls from height at work can, even if they aren’t fatal, be quite devastating for the victims.

Shortfall distances can result in very painful strains, sprains, cuts, bruises, and fractures, but falls from very high places often result in injuries that are tragically and irreversibly life-changing. To be injured thus is appalling enough, but to know that your accident was probably the result of an easily avoidable lapse in risk management on the part of your employer can be deeply upsetting. It is little wonder that once the initial medical trauma has been dealt with, many workplace fall victims decide to determinedly exercise their right to claim compensation and sensibly seek advice from a specialist accident claim solicitor in order to pursue this goal. The average human body is usually robust and resilient enough to survive the physical knocks and bumps to be expected in life relatively unscathed.

However falls from height in course of employment are unfortunately of a different magnitude altogether and usually not expected – and the combination of the initial shock, the fall distance, and nature of the surfaces impacted with can inflict really extensive damage to an employee’s body.

In VINCI Construction UK injuries are often caused by falls from:

• ladders
• incomplete scaffolding
• roofs and roof edges – particularly fragile roofs
• gangways and catwalks
• vehicles
• not using the right access equipment

• The poor selection, use, and maintenance of equipment cause fall.

For example, using a ladder because it’s easier than erecting a tower scaffold can be dangerous. Ladders should only be used for low-risk, short-duration work, e.g. work which takes minutes not hours to complete.

According to Bishop (2013), in a similar initiative this time last year, over 1,100 construction sites failed safety checks with one of the most common problems being the standards adopted for such work. VINCI Construction UK should advise them to ensure that they continue to implement the correct procedures where such work is required.

4.4 Identify the ways to minimize the impact and likelihood of the risk

According to Health and Safety International (2018), when planning any activities which may involve working at height, the following hierarchy of control measures should be considered by VINCI Construction UK:

• Avoidance where possible, of working at height
• Working from an existing place of work, or using an existing means of access and egress
• Provision of suitable work equipment to prevent a fall occurring, e.g. edge protection
• Provision of work equipment to minimize the distance and consequences of a fall, e.g. fall arrest systems
• Instruction and training and/or other means

• Consider using aerial lifts or elevated platforms to provide safer elevated working surfaces;
• Erect guardrail systems with toe boards and warning lines or install control line systems to protect workers near the edges of floors and roofs;
• Cover floor holes; and/or

• Use the correct ladder for the task.
• Have a competent person visually inspect a ladder before use for any defects such as:
  • Structural damage, split/bent side rails, broken or missing rungs/steps/cleats and missing or damaged safety devices;
  • Grease, dirt or other contaminants that could cause slips or falls;
  • Paint or stickers (except warning labels) that could hide possible defects
• Make sure that ladders are long enough to safely reach the work area.
• Mark or tag (“Do Not Use”) damaged or defective ladders for repair or replacement, or destroy them immediately.
• Never load ladders beyond the maximum intended load or beyond the manufacturer’s rated capacity.
• Be sure the load rating can support the weight of the user, including materials and tools.
• Avoid using ladders with metallic components near electrical work and overhead power lines.

Where possible, working at height should be avoided, usually by carrying out tasks from the ground. Some practical examples include using extendable tools to remove the need to climb a ladder. Other examples include the installation of cables at ground level, lowering a lighting rig to ground level, or assembly of edge protection on the ground.

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