Accidents may happen during the course of construction of a building. The reasons for accidents seem to have more in common than diferent.Safety in Building ConstructionQuite often accidents occur during construction of buildings. There can be various reasons for these accidents. These can be carelessness on the part of workers, improper planning and wrong sequence of operations, poor quality of the materials, bad workmanship, and inadequate training with respect to handling of the machinery and equipment. The accidents can be minor or major causing loss of life or impairment to the human body. n turn, there can be !nancial losses and delay in the completion of the project.As such, it is essential to ensure the safety of workers engaged in the construction of buildings and to protect them from the injuries arising out of accidents. n olden times, buildings were normally of smaller si"e and height. #ut nowadays large numbers of multi$story buildings are being constructed for both residential and o%ce purposes. The chances for accidents are more in the case of construction of high rise buildings. The available statistics reveal that about &&' of all the occupational injuries are from the construction industry.Buildings under ConstructionCauses of AccidentsThere are many causes for accidents. These are carelessness of workers in handling of the equipment, technical defects in the equipment, defects in the system planning, bad quality scafolding and formwork, etc. These defects can be broadly classi!ed into(1. Execution of work )se of defective materials *onstruction defects +rong processing of materials2. Role of workers *arelessness )nauthori"ed acts )nskilled working3. Equipent ,efects in the equipment nsu%cient maintenance mproper handling!. "lanning Award of work to incompetent agencies -ack of proper supervision Absence of coordinationClassi#cation of AccidentsAccidents can be grouped under the following headings(1. According to t$e se%erity of t$e in&ury .ajor accident .inor accident Accidental ha"ard2. According to t$e nature of t$e in&ury ,eath Temporary disablement /ermanent disablement /artial disablement3. According to t$e cause of accident 0quipment fault *onstruction site falls Trench collapse *rane failureRole of 'arious Agenciesin Safety (anageent1or ensuring safety in construction,everybody involved has to playtheir role efectively. 2owever, the primary responsibility is that of management. They have to coordinate the work of diferent groups. The concerned groups are(& Eployer $The employer should hold the equipment, premises, and the passages in such a manner that the workers can work without any ha"ard, and su%cient precautions have to be taken to avoid any accident. The employer should ensure that the work is supervised properly and that safety regulations are scrupulously followed. /articular attention should be taken to ensure that persons having physical or mental disorders are not employed.3 )orkers $ +orkers should take all possible steps to protect their individual safety as well as that of their coworkers. They should wear proper dress, helmets, hand gloves, etc. as required and prudent. They should be conversant with the safety regulations, especially when operating machineries.4 *esigners $ The designer should take into consideration the relevant codes of the region when designing the structures. The quality of the materials used for fabrication should be clearly spelled out and the speci!cations should be written without any ambiguity.5 (anufacturer $ The manufacturer of the equipment and machineries should ensure that the materials used are of good quality and due care was taken in every stage of manufacture and assembling.Safety in 'arious Stages of Construction Exca%ation $ 06cavation shall be done with proper care to the safety of workers, avoiding disturbance to adjoining property and underground electric cables, water supply lines, sewage pipes, etc. The e6cavated materials and other items should be removed from the work site as early as possible so that it should not act as a hindrance to the ongoing work and workers can move freely. /roper signals and warning boards should be erected so that people will be aware of the work and will take necessary precautions. "iling for foundations $ /iling is adopted for deep foundations of high rise buildings. There are bored piles and driven piles. 7u%cient precautions should be taken so that no damage is caused to the adjoining structures. )alls $ 7cafolding used for wall construction should be checked to see their strength and stability. /latforms must be rigid and non$slippery. The ladders should also be fabricated from strong and sturdy materials, and the joinery and bracing should be properly done and secured. +orwork of roo#ng $ The formwork should be designed and fabricated properly so that they do not collapse during the course of construction. All vertical members shall be properly joined and braced.Safety Bene#tsAccidents cause !nancialhardships to the worker as well asto the contractor. The worker willhave to meet the e6pensestowards the treatment while the contractor will have to replace the defective equipment and machinery. The accidents may retard the progress of work which will lead to price escalation.n addition to the !nancial losses, the injured worker will have to undergo both physical and mental hardships. This is certain to keep the morale of the workers down, and also in the eyes of the general public, the image of the company will be at a lower ebb