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Cost Effectiveness on Building Construction Safety Measures and Regime for Hong Kong Research Synopsis Introduction Safety on building construction sites in Hong Kong has remained a major concern despite improvements have been recorded. Throughout the decades the accident rate in the Hong Kong construction industry has been high. In the nineties, construction accident was peaked at over 300 accidents per 1,000 workers each year. Since the turn of the century, the safety performance of the high-risk construction industry has improved significantly and has continued to improve (Labour Department, 2005). The figures on accident rates in the construction industry have been decreasing rapidly since 2000. The accident rate per 1000 workers fell from 149.8 in 2000 to 60.3 in 2004. The accident figures and the accident rate in 2004 was the lowest ever recorded over the past years. However, the construction industry still has the highest number of fatalities and accident rate when compared with other industries. The fatality rate per 1000 workers increases from 0.33 in 2002 to 0.39 in 2003. Also, high premium on insurance and the ability to raise adequate coverage have become issues of concern to many construction practitioners. It is widely believed that there is room for further improvement. In the past, the Hong Kong government's attitude towards construction safety was based on enforcement of safety ordinances. The principal legislation for safety and health at work in Hong Kong is the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (FIUO), Cap. 59. Under the Ordinance, 27 Regulations have been made to prescribe detailed safety and health standards on work situations, plant and machinery, processes, and substances. The FIUO is enforced by the Labour Department. The focus of the FIUO was originally standards setting and enforcement. Since the mid 80s new regulations were introduced under the FIUO to launch a number of safety initiatives. On 20 June 2005, the Real Estate Developers Association (REDA) and Hong Kong Construction Association (HKCA) jointly launched a Safety Partnering Programme to improve the safety performance of the industry. A marked improvement in safety performance is observed since the turn of the century. With the current improvement in safety performance, it is timely to evaluate how these various safety measures and initiatives contribute to the effectiveness of safety performance and the overall safety regime. Many stakeholders in the building construction industry have already taken positive measures to improve safety on construction sites. All workers must have undergone basic safety training before they are allowed to work on site. The Authorized Person, the Registered Structural Engineers and the Registered Contractor are required to submit their site supervision plan to Buildings Department before commencement of site works. The designersˇ¦ role in providing a safe workplace during construction and subsequently during maintenance, as stipulated in the Construction (Design Management) Regulations in the UK, has been recommended by Tangˇ¦s Report and pilot studies have been undertaken in selected projects to evaluate the effect. The HKSAR departments and very recently the developers have initiated the pay for safety scheme, an incentive to contractors in maintaining the construction site as a safe place to workers. Also, dialogue with the insurance industry has been introduced though results have yet to be explored and measured. Factors leading to the high accident rate in the Hong Kong building construction industry have been identified by many researchers. However, the impact of various factors, the extent for further improvement, the effectiveness of safety measures and the overall safety regime remain largely untouched. Further, in view of the vast amount of money invested in insurance premiums and accident prevention such as implementation of training scheme and site supervision plan, it would be worthwhile to investigate the cost effectiveness of all current safety related measures and the local safety regime. Also, the role of the insurance industry on construction safety deserves special attention since a safe work place will bring benefits to all. The Research Needed This research is to identify factors leading to construction accidents and to evaluate the impact of various safety measures on the cost effectiveness of the safety regime. The findings will include but not limited to the appraisal and ranking of the factors which should particularly receive immediate attention in effort and monetary terms, and justify the cost effectiveness of implementing various safety measures for the local regime. Research Tasks and Objectives
Deliverables A report containing:
Time Frame Management and Monitoring The research team will appoint a Team Leader who is responsible for the overall direction, programme and progress of the work. CII will appoint a Task Force with the responsibilities of overseeing the selection of the research team and monitoring the progress of the research. The Research Team and the Task Force will remain in close contact and formal progress meetings will be held regularly at three-month intervals. Forms of Submission Proposals should be submitted on the Standard Research Proposal Application Form, in accordance with the Guidelines and Procedures on the Selection of Project Proposals. |
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