I read an interesting article “Construction: Blueprint for action” located on SHP (Safety & Health Practitioner) and that got me onto a train of thought about the construction industry in general, Manufacturing Techniques and Design for Inherent Safety in Construction.

Construction sites have a lot of history.  They are generally a landscape inhabited by hard men in hard hats and any females on the site are twice as hard as the men. Workers are set in their ways, they will resist change of any kind and there is a macho culture as far as safety is concerned.   Safety is for wimps.   
Traditionally the unions are very strong and are generally instrumental in advocating for increased safety –
As in most industrial environments, everybody is an instant expert after an incident with a detailed explanation of what should have been done to avoid it.

Helsingin Sanomat is the biggest daily subscription-based newspaper in Scandinavia and recently published an article titled “More workers have died in construction-site accidents than a year ago”      I was particularly interested in this paragraph, and I quote:
"By this time last year, six people had lost their lives in construction site accidents.  The old-fashioned tough-guy attitude still dogs the branch, experts say. A “real man” does not need a helmet or a safety harness. Such labourers have even been admired by the site foremen and the management of construction firms.”   and this, in many ways does epitomise the rough, tough construction worker.

However new methods can and do creep in,  and when this happens they can be wholeheartedly embraced, for example pre formed concrete Tilt Panel Construction.  
Typically legislation (of some sort) and company policy dictate a process to address the degree of OH&S which will be employed on the site  

Usually a whole range of trades are let loose on the construction at various stages to install their particular goods and services. This is often referred to as Project Management.  Generally the largest lumps of plant or services get installed first and the rest work around each other to literally fit in where they can.

Generally the sites resemble organised chaos but at the end of the day it usually all comes together and the client owns a bright, shiny new building.  How it got to that stage and what lurks under the skin is something better not known because freshly painted walls and newly washed ceiling panels cover everything so that no one outside of the installation crews is any the wiser.  
That is until there's a need for repair or modification.  I've been there ,  scratching my head and gazing into a roof space through the beam of a flashlight into a crazy mass of ducts, cables and pipes.  Thinking “where on earth do I start”.  But lets not go there,  that's for another day

My background is Mechanical and Process engineering and invariably there is a need for construction,  so I have a good understanding of the process.  
As many readers would be aware, the Hazop Process  (Hazard and Operability) has been used by the big players in the Process and Manufacturing industries for many years, being developed by ICI in the early 1960's.  This process looks at the whole project, from the very beginning and if a full blown Hazop was to be performed on an industrial building project, then I'm quite sure that the the majority of safety issues would be addressed at the design stage.  The key point being that safety in a Hazop is always the Major Priority. But it comes at a cost.  As do construction site accidents.
Back in the early days ICI realised that killing and injuring its workers was not good for business and hence the Hazop was born.

However I digress.  The construction industry world wide is a fairly unique animal and  traditionally there has been two very distinct sides to the process i.e. The Designers design the building and the Builders build it. Never the two shall meet.  
The reality is that all of the work on the sites can be done and done safely – But At What Cost.  
The correct way is a Risk Assessment, Job Safety Analyses (the names change but the intent is the same – ie a mini Hazop) of the job at hand and an action plan which incorporates a practical Safe Work Method Statement.

The reality is that work on the site is “time and cost” driven and many corners are cut.  Invariably cutting corners means reduced safety.  So yes, there is an enormous potential for improved Construction Site Safety through managed Modular Building Techniques, Design for Construct Methodology and Design for Inherent Safety.

Modular buildings have been around for many years and construction sites are littered with them for site offices and services.  Mobile homes (many of which are not so mobile) are a feature of holiday destinations or cheap housing everywhere in the world.  So the concept of factory built sub assemblies is not ground breaking.  The challenge is to use these techniques to “factory build” sub assemblies,  transport them to site and assemble them with simple, manageable systems.  Obviously a limiting factor is the physical size of a sub assembly for road transport but ultimately this becomes a design issue.

It would seem that there is a huge potential for improvement and innovation in this area of the construction industry and it follows that this will deliver major improvements in site safety. However there needs to be an underlying driver.   A force which will drive change
The need to comply with legislated safety requirements is always a very good driver.  
Cutting costs and improving efficiency is also a very good driver.
But in both cases it is not “just going to happen” – it needs to be “made to happen”.  The underlying principles hold true regardless of the continent.
In simple terms, all work, fabrication, assembly etc which can be factory produced in a controlled, more cost effective environment is good.  I believe that the focus needs to be directed to find “A Better Way” and others in the industry think so too.

Crown House Technologies in the UK has been actively rewriting the rule book in this area for many years

In Australia, Melbourne developer Jack Haber is poised to ship almost 100 ready-made apartments - complete with kitchen appliances, built-in wardrobes, carpets and fresh paint - from a factory in China to be stacked together for a revolutionary Northcote project.

Also in the UK, developers, Vision Modular Structures/Fleming Developments UK have just completed the tallest modular building in Europe. It is 805 modules which where factory built and transported to the site for construction.

These are just a small number of companies who have recognised the need and are driving change.

• Construction sites have many opportunities for improvement in OH&S
• Modular building Techniques with a focus on Design for Inherent Safety can provide many improvements to safety on construction sites.
• Accidents don't just happen,  there is always a cause and the more the causes are eliminated by good design, the safer the site will be
• Companies need to work hard to change the exiting macho culture and place safety as the number 1 priority:  If the job can't be done safely – It doesn't get done until it can be done safely