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Altrad RMD Kwikform discusses health and safety in high rise construction and how temporary works solutions can create a safer working environment.
High rise construction poses significant health and safety threats to workers, with hazards such as being hit by falling debris and also the risk of falling.
Falls from height are the leading cause of death amongst workers in the UK, with a recent HSE report revealing they accounted for 25% of all fatal injuries over the year. In the construction industry alone, falls from height made up 47% of all accidents, resulting in 29 fatal injuries.
Formwork and falsework have a key role to play in safety in high-rise construction. As well as its enormous potential impact on the productivity of high-rise projects, it can have a major positive influence on safety too.
We recently undertook a survey which uncovered the opinions of leading general and specialist contractors and engineering consultants, to understand areas where temporary works can have a significant impact on improving health and safety in high-rise construction.
There is a clear demand for safer methods of construction, and the survey shows that most respondents felt that both individuals and contractors need to do more, with a clear need for action on multiple fronts – contractor actions, personal responsibilities, and the need for safer methods of construction and for health and safety to be accorded priority.
However, when it came to the most important features of a formwork and falsework system, respondents ranked safety features third behind ease and speed of erection and the labour hours required to assembly assemble? and dismantle.
Safety screen benefits
Preventing falling debris is also essential – even with some form of protection, the result of being struck by an item of relatively low weight can be significant. For example, a 2kg hammer dropped five metres will have an impact force of more than one tonne – or the equivalent of an elephant!
Edge protection systems are vital in mid to high-rise construction projects for ensuring the safety of both the workforce and the public. This is particularly true with a concrete frame as the opportunity for debris to fall over the edge is high unless there is an edge protection system in place.
Safety screens, such as the Altrad RMD Kwikform Ascent-S system, provide perimeter edge protection for site operatives, preventing falls from height, and seal in construction debris and prevent objects from falling.
They also accommodate for various climates, with some systems available to shelter workers from wind and rain and some to provide ventilation, ultimately minimising downtime. They can also help reduce the possibility of workers experiencing vertigo, therefore improving productivity. Multi-level safety screens can help significantly speed up working cycles for contractors too.
safety issues on site, but they can also increase the speed and ease of erection, saving contractors valuable time and money.
Whose responsibility is safety?
It is perhaps surprising – and dispiriting - to see that the need for individual workers to take personal responsibility was the highest rated factor in improving health and safety, rated more important than for contractors to improve site conditions.
Personal responsibility is important, of course, but an employer’s role in providing a safe working environment – and all that it entails in training, equipment etc - is surely paramount?
Formwork and falsework can impact positively on helping to create these safe working environments, while also helping to improve the productivity of high-rise projects. Modern formwork and falsework systems often have integrated safety features – such as working platforms that are protected and sealed off during lifting.
Case in point: Ontario Point
Ontario Point Tower is a 25-storey, 900-apartment residential development sited in the bustling Canada Water area of London. Atlantic Contracts needed to eliminate falling debris due to Ontario Point Tower’s city centre location. They also needed a solution that would protect the site team from the weather, in particular high wind loads.
By using Ascent-S Safety Screens during the construction process, operatives working for contractor Atlantic Contracts, who built the concrete frame, were able to protect the general public from falling construction debris, by constructing a complete seal around the building.
With multiple layers of redundancy, stopping items falling from one floor to the next, the Ascent system also provided construction workers with complete protection from high winds. This in-turn allowed Atlantic to complete the construction of each floor in nearly half the programme time.
Project engineer for Atlantic Contracts, Kevin Dennehy commented: “Due to close proximity of the site to Canada Water underground and bus station, the Altrad RMD Kwikform Ascent screen system was brought onto the site to secure the building for safety purposes. The system has worked extremely well, providing a safe, sheltered working environment for our operatives. By the nature of its design, we can achieve a completely sealed wrap around the whole building, protecting the public below.”
Conclusion
High-rise can be one of the most dangerous types of construction, so contractors need to make sure that they have every confidence in the safety systems selected to help with debris protection. Not only do these prevent health and safety issues on site, but they can also increase the speed and ease of erection, saving contractors valuable time and money.
*This article was originally created for and appeared in Concrete magazine.