Part 2: The main causes of accidents in construction

Not only should this alert the building owner or occupier to potential hazards, but should also assist when carrying out a risk assessment.

The main causes of accidents in construction are:

1. Falls from ladders - Direct falls from ladders; ladders slipping outwards at the base or falling away at the top; use of defective ladders; over-reaching situations.

2. Falls from working platforms - Unfenced and inadequately fenced platforms; inadequate and defective boarding and absence of toe boards.

3. Falls of materials - Small objects, such as bricks and hand tools, dropped from a height; inadequate or absent toe boards and barriers; incorrect assembly of gin wheels for raising and lowering materials; incorrect or careless hooking and slinging of loads; failure to install catching platforms (fans); demolition materials being thrown to the ground.

4. Falls from pitched roofs and through fragile roofs - Unsafe working practices such as 'running the roof'; use of inappropriate footwear; failure to provide edge protection; failure to provide and use safety harnesses and crawl boards; stacking of materials on fragile roofs.

5. Falls through openings in flat roofs and floors - Failure to cover openings or provide edge protection; failure to replace covers/edge protection; covers not clearly marked to indicate floor openings below.

6. Collapses of excavations - Failure to support excavations; inadequate timbering and shoring; shifting sand situations; water in large quantities, e.g. flash floods; timbering collapses due to materials stacked and equipment located too close to the edge; failure to reinstate structural supports after damage.

7. Transport - Falls from vehicles not designed to carry passengers, e.g. dumper trucks; crushing by reversing vehicles; poor maintenance of site vehicles; operation of vehicles and machinery, particularly lifting appliances, by inexperienced persons; overloading of passenger-carrying vehicles; poor standards of driving on site roads; mud on roads.

8. Machinery and powered hand tools - Failure to adequately guard all moving and dangerous parts of machinery, e.g. power take-offs; dangerous woodworking machinery, particularly circular saws; portable hand tools with rotating heads, e.g. angle grinders; defective and uninsulated electric hand tools.

9. Housekeeping - Trips and falls over debris accumulated during construction.

10. Fire - Inadequate fire protection measures; uncontrolled welding and burning activities; burning of site refuse.

11. Personal protective equipment - Failure to provide and enforce the wearing and use of safety helmets, full-face protection, eye protection, safety boots, etc.

12. Work over water and transport over water - Failure to provide barriers, life jackets or buoyancy aids and rescue equipment; defective and inadequate boats; overcrowding of boats.

13. Work involving hazardous substances - Failure to prevent or adequately control risks from exposure to and/or use of hazardous substances, e.g. gas, lead, asbestos; poor levels of personal hygiene; failure to undertake health risk assessments, air and gas monitoring and health surveillance; inappropriate personal protective equipment e.g. respiratory protective equipment.

14. Manual handling operations - Failure to provide mechanical handling aids; failure to undertake risk assessments; inadequate information, instruction and training.

15. Underground services - Damage to services during excavation and exploratory work; failure to consult existing service plans and establish location of service lines; unsafe digging and excavating practices.

16. Confined spaces - Risks of asphyxiation and anoxia; failure to operate a Permit to Work system; inadequate ventilation; failure to provide and use breathing apparatus; inadequate air monitoring; inadequate communication systems.