SAFETY MANAGEMENT ISSUES IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY …
Transcript of SAFETY MANAGEMENT ISSUES IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY …
SAFETY MANAGEMENT ISSUES
IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH
MAHBUB UL ALAM MOHAMMAD JAMAL
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
DHAKA BANGLADESH
JANUARY 2015
SAFETY MANAGEMENT ISSUES
IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH
A PROJECT REPORT
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ENGINEERING IN CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
BY MAHBUB UL ALAM MOHAMMAD JAMAL
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
DHAKA BANGLADESH
JANUARY 2015
iii
The project report titled ldquoSafety Management Issues in Construction Industry of Bangladeshrdquo submitted by Mahbub Ul Alam Mohammad Jamal Student No 1009042308 (P) and Session October 2009 to the Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka has been accepted as satisfactory in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering ( Civil and Structural ) on 28th January 2015
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
______________________________________
Dr Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Chairman
(Supervisor)
______________________________________
Dr AFM Saiful Amin Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Member
______________________________________
Dr Mohammad Al Amin Siddique Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Member
iv
DECLARATION
It is hereby declared that except where specific references are made the work embodied in this
paper (including photographs and illustrations) is the result of investigation carried out by the
author under the supervision of Dr Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil
Engineering BUET
Neither this paper nor any part of it is concurrently submitted to any other institution in
candidature for any degree
________________________________________________
Author
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all I would like to convey my deepest gratitude to Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving me
the opportunity and allowing me to complete this study
I would wish to express my sincere appreciation and profound gratitude to my supervisor Dr Syed
Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology (BUET) for his unremitting guidance encouragement and constructive criticism
at every stage of this study
I would also wish to convey my honest gratitude to Mohammad Shahabuddin Khan Joint Police
Commissioner (Crime and Ops) DMP for his kind assistance and cooperation in providing
important data which was a great support in writing this paper
I also want to express my heartiest thanks to Mohammad Omar Faruq Program Manager OSHE
and his team for providing valuable data and information and resource material from time to time
which greatly enriched and assisted in developing this project report
And finally thanks go to all the people and personals at the construction sites both managers
engineers and workers alike for sharing their opinions and practical experiences that helped to
bring out the actual scenario in the building construction sites
vi
ABSTRACT
The construction industry undoubtedly plays a significant role in the economic development of a
country However statistics have proven this field to be highly hazardous
Construction workers are backbone of this industry as this sector is less mechanized and more
labor intensive Thus ensuring workers safety becomes a major consideration However little
research has taken place in this field and demands extensive study to realize its importance at
national level to keep on track with the international standard
This paper aimed to examine the status of safety management in the construction sites in
Bangladesh particularly focussing on Dhaka the capital city An attempt was taken to identify the
root causes of accidents explore the risk-prone activities and locate the factors affecting
construction site safety
The study involves two phases Firstly fatality data were collected from the Police authorities
(Dhaka Metropolitan Police) and OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and
Environment Foundation) to analyze and categorize the accidents occurring in this sector From
data analysis it was found that falling from heights and electrocution were the two prime reasons
for fatalities together accounting for 71 of the total fatality count But taking some basic safety
measures could have eliminated these casualties
Secondly thorough field survey was conducted to examine and infer on the issues of welfare
facilities safety equipments and other factors affecting construction safety along with their relative
importance For this people associated in this industry ie the workers and employersrsquo personals
were interviewed and subsequent mathematical analysis was done using rigorous statistical tools
on the basis of their responses Analysis was carried out using Chi-square and Ranking by
Importance Index method The Chi-square was used to infer whether significant differences exist
in responses from the respondents while the Ranking by Importance Index helped in establishing
their significant relative importance The Chi-square test proved that both parties (ie workers and
employers) agree that the safety and welfare facilities are not provided upto the standard whereas
the Ranking by Importance Index identified some key factors governing the safety of the workers
on a priority basis
vii
CONTENTS
Title Page
DECLARATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
11 General
1
12 Background of the study
1
13 Objective of the study
2
14 Scope of the study
2
15 Research methodology
3
16 Structure of the dissertation
3
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
21 Introduction
5
22 Concept of safety culture
5
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
6
231 Planning
6
232 Preconstruction phase
6
233 Construction phase
7
2331 Organizational structure
7
2332 Site layout
7
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
7
234 Construction management 8
viii
Title Page
2341 Time management
8
2342 Quality management
8
2343 Health safety and environment
8
2344 Cost management
8
2345 Protection of public and workers
9
24 Socio - economic impact
9
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
10
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
11
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
11
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
13
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city 14
271 Shuttering (formwork)
14
272 Scaffolds
15
273 Electric wires
15
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
15
275 Safety net
16
276 Safety belt
16
277 Overhead protection
16
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
16
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings) 17
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
17
2711 Excavation and foundation work
17
2712 Piling and deep foundation 17
2713 Housekeeping
18
2714 Stair facilities
18
2715 Welding and cutting
18
28 Concluding remarks 22
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
SAFETY MANAGEMENT ISSUES
IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH
A PROJECT REPORT
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ENGINEERING IN CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
BY MAHBUB UL ALAM MOHAMMAD JAMAL
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
DHAKA BANGLADESH
JANUARY 2015
iii
The project report titled ldquoSafety Management Issues in Construction Industry of Bangladeshrdquo submitted by Mahbub Ul Alam Mohammad Jamal Student No 1009042308 (P) and Session October 2009 to the Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka has been accepted as satisfactory in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering ( Civil and Structural ) on 28th January 2015
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
______________________________________
Dr Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Chairman
(Supervisor)
______________________________________
Dr AFM Saiful Amin Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Member
______________________________________
Dr Mohammad Al Amin Siddique Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Member
iv
DECLARATION
It is hereby declared that except where specific references are made the work embodied in this
paper (including photographs and illustrations) is the result of investigation carried out by the
author under the supervision of Dr Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil
Engineering BUET
Neither this paper nor any part of it is concurrently submitted to any other institution in
candidature for any degree
________________________________________________
Author
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all I would like to convey my deepest gratitude to Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving me
the opportunity and allowing me to complete this study
I would wish to express my sincere appreciation and profound gratitude to my supervisor Dr Syed
Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology (BUET) for his unremitting guidance encouragement and constructive criticism
at every stage of this study
I would also wish to convey my honest gratitude to Mohammad Shahabuddin Khan Joint Police
Commissioner (Crime and Ops) DMP for his kind assistance and cooperation in providing
important data which was a great support in writing this paper
I also want to express my heartiest thanks to Mohammad Omar Faruq Program Manager OSHE
and his team for providing valuable data and information and resource material from time to time
which greatly enriched and assisted in developing this project report
And finally thanks go to all the people and personals at the construction sites both managers
engineers and workers alike for sharing their opinions and practical experiences that helped to
bring out the actual scenario in the building construction sites
vi
ABSTRACT
The construction industry undoubtedly plays a significant role in the economic development of a
country However statistics have proven this field to be highly hazardous
Construction workers are backbone of this industry as this sector is less mechanized and more
labor intensive Thus ensuring workers safety becomes a major consideration However little
research has taken place in this field and demands extensive study to realize its importance at
national level to keep on track with the international standard
This paper aimed to examine the status of safety management in the construction sites in
Bangladesh particularly focussing on Dhaka the capital city An attempt was taken to identify the
root causes of accidents explore the risk-prone activities and locate the factors affecting
construction site safety
The study involves two phases Firstly fatality data were collected from the Police authorities
(Dhaka Metropolitan Police) and OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and
Environment Foundation) to analyze and categorize the accidents occurring in this sector From
data analysis it was found that falling from heights and electrocution were the two prime reasons
for fatalities together accounting for 71 of the total fatality count But taking some basic safety
measures could have eliminated these casualties
Secondly thorough field survey was conducted to examine and infer on the issues of welfare
facilities safety equipments and other factors affecting construction safety along with their relative
importance For this people associated in this industry ie the workers and employersrsquo personals
were interviewed and subsequent mathematical analysis was done using rigorous statistical tools
on the basis of their responses Analysis was carried out using Chi-square and Ranking by
Importance Index method The Chi-square was used to infer whether significant differences exist
in responses from the respondents while the Ranking by Importance Index helped in establishing
their significant relative importance The Chi-square test proved that both parties (ie workers and
employers) agree that the safety and welfare facilities are not provided upto the standard whereas
the Ranking by Importance Index identified some key factors governing the safety of the workers
on a priority basis
vii
CONTENTS
Title Page
DECLARATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
11 General
1
12 Background of the study
1
13 Objective of the study
2
14 Scope of the study
2
15 Research methodology
3
16 Structure of the dissertation
3
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
21 Introduction
5
22 Concept of safety culture
5
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
6
231 Planning
6
232 Preconstruction phase
6
233 Construction phase
7
2331 Organizational structure
7
2332 Site layout
7
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
7
234 Construction management 8
viii
Title Page
2341 Time management
8
2342 Quality management
8
2343 Health safety and environment
8
2344 Cost management
8
2345 Protection of public and workers
9
24 Socio - economic impact
9
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
10
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
11
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
11
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
13
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city 14
271 Shuttering (formwork)
14
272 Scaffolds
15
273 Electric wires
15
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
15
275 Safety net
16
276 Safety belt
16
277 Overhead protection
16
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
16
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings) 17
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
17
2711 Excavation and foundation work
17
2712 Piling and deep foundation 17
2713 Housekeeping
18
2714 Stair facilities
18
2715 Welding and cutting
18
28 Concluding remarks 22
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
iii
The project report titled ldquoSafety Management Issues in Construction Industry of Bangladeshrdquo submitted by Mahbub Ul Alam Mohammad Jamal Student No 1009042308 (P) and Session October 2009 to the Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka has been accepted as satisfactory in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering ( Civil and Structural ) on 28th January 2015
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
______________________________________
Dr Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Chairman
(Supervisor)
______________________________________
Dr AFM Saiful Amin Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Member
______________________________________
Dr Mohammad Al Amin Siddique Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dhaka
Member
iv
DECLARATION
It is hereby declared that except where specific references are made the work embodied in this
paper (including photographs and illustrations) is the result of investigation carried out by the
author under the supervision of Dr Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil
Engineering BUET
Neither this paper nor any part of it is concurrently submitted to any other institution in
candidature for any degree
________________________________________________
Author
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all I would like to convey my deepest gratitude to Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving me
the opportunity and allowing me to complete this study
I would wish to express my sincere appreciation and profound gratitude to my supervisor Dr Syed
Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology (BUET) for his unremitting guidance encouragement and constructive criticism
at every stage of this study
I would also wish to convey my honest gratitude to Mohammad Shahabuddin Khan Joint Police
Commissioner (Crime and Ops) DMP for his kind assistance and cooperation in providing
important data which was a great support in writing this paper
I also want to express my heartiest thanks to Mohammad Omar Faruq Program Manager OSHE
and his team for providing valuable data and information and resource material from time to time
which greatly enriched and assisted in developing this project report
And finally thanks go to all the people and personals at the construction sites both managers
engineers and workers alike for sharing their opinions and practical experiences that helped to
bring out the actual scenario in the building construction sites
vi
ABSTRACT
The construction industry undoubtedly plays a significant role in the economic development of a
country However statistics have proven this field to be highly hazardous
Construction workers are backbone of this industry as this sector is less mechanized and more
labor intensive Thus ensuring workers safety becomes a major consideration However little
research has taken place in this field and demands extensive study to realize its importance at
national level to keep on track with the international standard
This paper aimed to examine the status of safety management in the construction sites in
Bangladesh particularly focussing on Dhaka the capital city An attempt was taken to identify the
root causes of accidents explore the risk-prone activities and locate the factors affecting
construction site safety
The study involves two phases Firstly fatality data were collected from the Police authorities
(Dhaka Metropolitan Police) and OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and
Environment Foundation) to analyze and categorize the accidents occurring in this sector From
data analysis it was found that falling from heights and electrocution were the two prime reasons
for fatalities together accounting for 71 of the total fatality count But taking some basic safety
measures could have eliminated these casualties
Secondly thorough field survey was conducted to examine and infer on the issues of welfare
facilities safety equipments and other factors affecting construction safety along with their relative
importance For this people associated in this industry ie the workers and employersrsquo personals
were interviewed and subsequent mathematical analysis was done using rigorous statistical tools
on the basis of their responses Analysis was carried out using Chi-square and Ranking by
Importance Index method The Chi-square was used to infer whether significant differences exist
in responses from the respondents while the Ranking by Importance Index helped in establishing
their significant relative importance The Chi-square test proved that both parties (ie workers and
employers) agree that the safety and welfare facilities are not provided upto the standard whereas
the Ranking by Importance Index identified some key factors governing the safety of the workers
on a priority basis
vii
CONTENTS
Title Page
DECLARATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
11 General
1
12 Background of the study
1
13 Objective of the study
2
14 Scope of the study
2
15 Research methodology
3
16 Structure of the dissertation
3
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
21 Introduction
5
22 Concept of safety culture
5
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
6
231 Planning
6
232 Preconstruction phase
6
233 Construction phase
7
2331 Organizational structure
7
2332 Site layout
7
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
7
234 Construction management 8
viii
Title Page
2341 Time management
8
2342 Quality management
8
2343 Health safety and environment
8
2344 Cost management
8
2345 Protection of public and workers
9
24 Socio - economic impact
9
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
10
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
11
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
11
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
13
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city 14
271 Shuttering (formwork)
14
272 Scaffolds
15
273 Electric wires
15
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
15
275 Safety net
16
276 Safety belt
16
277 Overhead protection
16
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
16
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings) 17
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
17
2711 Excavation and foundation work
17
2712 Piling and deep foundation 17
2713 Housekeeping
18
2714 Stair facilities
18
2715 Welding and cutting
18
28 Concluding remarks 22
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
iv
DECLARATION
It is hereby declared that except where specific references are made the work embodied in this
paper (including photographs and illustrations) is the result of investigation carried out by the
author under the supervision of Dr Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil
Engineering BUET
Neither this paper nor any part of it is concurrently submitted to any other institution in
candidature for any degree
________________________________________________
Author
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all I would like to convey my deepest gratitude to Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving me
the opportunity and allowing me to complete this study
I would wish to express my sincere appreciation and profound gratitude to my supervisor Dr Syed
Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology (BUET) for his unremitting guidance encouragement and constructive criticism
at every stage of this study
I would also wish to convey my honest gratitude to Mohammad Shahabuddin Khan Joint Police
Commissioner (Crime and Ops) DMP for his kind assistance and cooperation in providing
important data which was a great support in writing this paper
I also want to express my heartiest thanks to Mohammad Omar Faruq Program Manager OSHE
and his team for providing valuable data and information and resource material from time to time
which greatly enriched and assisted in developing this project report
And finally thanks go to all the people and personals at the construction sites both managers
engineers and workers alike for sharing their opinions and practical experiences that helped to
bring out the actual scenario in the building construction sites
vi
ABSTRACT
The construction industry undoubtedly plays a significant role in the economic development of a
country However statistics have proven this field to be highly hazardous
Construction workers are backbone of this industry as this sector is less mechanized and more
labor intensive Thus ensuring workers safety becomes a major consideration However little
research has taken place in this field and demands extensive study to realize its importance at
national level to keep on track with the international standard
This paper aimed to examine the status of safety management in the construction sites in
Bangladesh particularly focussing on Dhaka the capital city An attempt was taken to identify the
root causes of accidents explore the risk-prone activities and locate the factors affecting
construction site safety
The study involves two phases Firstly fatality data were collected from the Police authorities
(Dhaka Metropolitan Police) and OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and
Environment Foundation) to analyze and categorize the accidents occurring in this sector From
data analysis it was found that falling from heights and electrocution were the two prime reasons
for fatalities together accounting for 71 of the total fatality count But taking some basic safety
measures could have eliminated these casualties
Secondly thorough field survey was conducted to examine and infer on the issues of welfare
facilities safety equipments and other factors affecting construction safety along with their relative
importance For this people associated in this industry ie the workers and employersrsquo personals
were interviewed and subsequent mathematical analysis was done using rigorous statistical tools
on the basis of their responses Analysis was carried out using Chi-square and Ranking by
Importance Index method The Chi-square was used to infer whether significant differences exist
in responses from the respondents while the Ranking by Importance Index helped in establishing
their significant relative importance The Chi-square test proved that both parties (ie workers and
employers) agree that the safety and welfare facilities are not provided upto the standard whereas
the Ranking by Importance Index identified some key factors governing the safety of the workers
on a priority basis
vii
CONTENTS
Title Page
DECLARATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
11 General
1
12 Background of the study
1
13 Objective of the study
2
14 Scope of the study
2
15 Research methodology
3
16 Structure of the dissertation
3
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
21 Introduction
5
22 Concept of safety culture
5
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
6
231 Planning
6
232 Preconstruction phase
6
233 Construction phase
7
2331 Organizational structure
7
2332 Site layout
7
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
7
234 Construction management 8
viii
Title Page
2341 Time management
8
2342 Quality management
8
2343 Health safety and environment
8
2344 Cost management
8
2345 Protection of public and workers
9
24 Socio - economic impact
9
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
10
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
11
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
11
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
13
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city 14
271 Shuttering (formwork)
14
272 Scaffolds
15
273 Electric wires
15
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
15
275 Safety net
16
276 Safety belt
16
277 Overhead protection
16
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
16
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings) 17
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
17
2711 Excavation and foundation work
17
2712 Piling and deep foundation 17
2713 Housekeeping
18
2714 Stair facilities
18
2715 Welding and cutting
18
28 Concluding remarks 22
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all I would like to convey my deepest gratitude to Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving me
the opportunity and allowing me to complete this study
I would wish to express my sincere appreciation and profound gratitude to my supervisor Dr Syed
Ishtiaq Ahmad Professor Department of Civil Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology (BUET) for his unremitting guidance encouragement and constructive criticism
at every stage of this study
I would also wish to convey my honest gratitude to Mohammad Shahabuddin Khan Joint Police
Commissioner (Crime and Ops) DMP for his kind assistance and cooperation in providing
important data which was a great support in writing this paper
I also want to express my heartiest thanks to Mohammad Omar Faruq Program Manager OSHE
and his team for providing valuable data and information and resource material from time to time
which greatly enriched and assisted in developing this project report
And finally thanks go to all the people and personals at the construction sites both managers
engineers and workers alike for sharing their opinions and practical experiences that helped to
bring out the actual scenario in the building construction sites
vi
ABSTRACT
The construction industry undoubtedly plays a significant role in the economic development of a
country However statistics have proven this field to be highly hazardous
Construction workers are backbone of this industry as this sector is less mechanized and more
labor intensive Thus ensuring workers safety becomes a major consideration However little
research has taken place in this field and demands extensive study to realize its importance at
national level to keep on track with the international standard
This paper aimed to examine the status of safety management in the construction sites in
Bangladesh particularly focussing on Dhaka the capital city An attempt was taken to identify the
root causes of accidents explore the risk-prone activities and locate the factors affecting
construction site safety
The study involves two phases Firstly fatality data were collected from the Police authorities
(Dhaka Metropolitan Police) and OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and
Environment Foundation) to analyze and categorize the accidents occurring in this sector From
data analysis it was found that falling from heights and electrocution were the two prime reasons
for fatalities together accounting for 71 of the total fatality count But taking some basic safety
measures could have eliminated these casualties
Secondly thorough field survey was conducted to examine and infer on the issues of welfare
facilities safety equipments and other factors affecting construction safety along with their relative
importance For this people associated in this industry ie the workers and employersrsquo personals
were interviewed and subsequent mathematical analysis was done using rigorous statistical tools
on the basis of their responses Analysis was carried out using Chi-square and Ranking by
Importance Index method The Chi-square was used to infer whether significant differences exist
in responses from the respondents while the Ranking by Importance Index helped in establishing
their significant relative importance The Chi-square test proved that both parties (ie workers and
employers) agree that the safety and welfare facilities are not provided upto the standard whereas
the Ranking by Importance Index identified some key factors governing the safety of the workers
on a priority basis
vii
CONTENTS
Title Page
DECLARATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
11 General
1
12 Background of the study
1
13 Objective of the study
2
14 Scope of the study
2
15 Research methodology
3
16 Structure of the dissertation
3
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
21 Introduction
5
22 Concept of safety culture
5
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
6
231 Planning
6
232 Preconstruction phase
6
233 Construction phase
7
2331 Organizational structure
7
2332 Site layout
7
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
7
234 Construction management 8
viii
Title Page
2341 Time management
8
2342 Quality management
8
2343 Health safety and environment
8
2344 Cost management
8
2345 Protection of public and workers
9
24 Socio - economic impact
9
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
10
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
11
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
11
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
13
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city 14
271 Shuttering (formwork)
14
272 Scaffolds
15
273 Electric wires
15
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
15
275 Safety net
16
276 Safety belt
16
277 Overhead protection
16
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
16
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings) 17
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
17
2711 Excavation and foundation work
17
2712 Piling and deep foundation 17
2713 Housekeeping
18
2714 Stair facilities
18
2715 Welding and cutting
18
28 Concluding remarks 22
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
vi
ABSTRACT
The construction industry undoubtedly plays a significant role in the economic development of a
country However statistics have proven this field to be highly hazardous
Construction workers are backbone of this industry as this sector is less mechanized and more
labor intensive Thus ensuring workers safety becomes a major consideration However little
research has taken place in this field and demands extensive study to realize its importance at
national level to keep on track with the international standard
This paper aimed to examine the status of safety management in the construction sites in
Bangladesh particularly focussing on Dhaka the capital city An attempt was taken to identify the
root causes of accidents explore the risk-prone activities and locate the factors affecting
construction site safety
The study involves two phases Firstly fatality data were collected from the Police authorities
(Dhaka Metropolitan Police) and OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and
Environment Foundation) to analyze and categorize the accidents occurring in this sector From
data analysis it was found that falling from heights and electrocution were the two prime reasons
for fatalities together accounting for 71 of the total fatality count But taking some basic safety
measures could have eliminated these casualties
Secondly thorough field survey was conducted to examine and infer on the issues of welfare
facilities safety equipments and other factors affecting construction safety along with their relative
importance For this people associated in this industry ie the workers and employersrsquo personals
were interviewed and subsequent mathematical analysis was done using rigorous statistical tools
on the basis of their responses Analysis was carried out using Chi-square and Ranking by
Importance Index method The Chi-square was used to infer whether significant differences exist
in responses from the respondents while the Ranking by Importance Index helped in establishing
their significant relative importance The Chi-square test proved that both parties (ie workers and
employers) agree that the safety and welfare facilities are not provided upto the standard whereas
the Ranking by Importance Index identified some key factors governing the safety of the workers
on a priority basis
vii
CONTENTS
Title Page
DECLARATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
11 General
1
12 Background of the study
1
13 Objective of the study
2
14 Scope of the study
2
15 Research methodology
3
16 Structure of the dissertation
3
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
21 Introduction
5
22 Concept of safety culture
5
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
6
231 Planning
6
232 Preconstruction phase
6
233 Construction phase
7
2331 Organizational structure
7
2332 Site layout
7
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
7
234 Construction management 8
viii
Title Page
2341 Time management
8
2342 Quality management
8
2343 Health safety and environment
8
2344 Cost management
8
2345 Protection of public and workers
9
24 Socio - economic impact
9
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
10
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
11
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
11
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
13
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city 14
271 Shuttering (formwork)
14
272 Scaffolds
15
273 Electric wires
15
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
15
275 Safety net
16
276 Safety belt
16
277 Overhead protection
16
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
16
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings) 17
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
17
2711 Excavation and foundation work
17
2712 Piling and deep foundation 17
2713 Housekeeping
18
2714 Stair facilities
18
2715 Welding and cutting
18
28 Concluding remarks 22
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
vii
CONTENTS
Title Page
DECLARATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
11 General
1
12 Background of the study
1
13 Objective of the study
2
14 Scope of the study
2
15 Research methodology
3
16 Structure of the dissertation
3
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
21 Introduction
5
22 Concept of safety culture
5
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
6
231 Planning
6
232 Preconstruction phase
6
233 Construction phase
7
2331 Organizational structure
7
2332 Site layout
7
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
7
234 Construction management 8
viii
Title Page
2341 Time management
8
2342 Quality management
8
2343 Health safety and environment
8
2344 Cost management
8
2345 Protection of public and workers
9
24 Socio - economic impact
9
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
10
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
11
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
11
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
13
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city 14
271 Shuttering (formwork)
14
272 Scaffolds
15
273 Electric wires
15
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
15
275 Safety net
16
276 Safety belt
16
277 Overhead protection
16
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
16
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings) 17
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
17
2711 Excavation and foundation work
17
2712 Piling and deep foundation 17
2713 Housekeeping
18
2714 Stair facilities
18
2715 Welding and cutting
18
28 Concluding remarks 22
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
viii
Title Page
2341 Time management
8
2342 Quality management
8
2343 Health safety and environment
8
2344 Cost management
8
2345 Protection of public and workers
9
24 Socio - economic impact
9
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
10
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
11
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
11
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
13
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city 14
271 Shuttering (formwork)
14
272 Scaffolds
15
273 Electric wires
15
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
15
275 Safety net
16
276 Safety belt
16
277 Overhead protection
16
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
16
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings) 17
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
17
2711 Excavation and foundation work
17
2712 Piling and deep foundation 17
2713 Housekeeping
18
2714 Stair facilities
18
2715 Welding and cutting
18
28 Concluding remarks 22
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
ix
Title Page
Chapter 3 REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES 23
31 Introduction 23
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) 24
321 Application 24
322 Duty holder
24
323 Health and safety duties 25
324 Enforcement of the Act
25
325 Compensation
26
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
26
331 Application
27
332 Duty holder
27
333 Health and safety duties
27
334 Enforcement of the Code
28
335 Compensation
30
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
31
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) 31
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) 33
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
34
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency 35
36 Concluding remarks 37
Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA 38
41 General
38
42 Research methodology
38
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
39
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh 40
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
42
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
x
Title Page
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
43
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
45
48 Item wise analysis of different causes of accidents
47
481 Fall from heights
47
4811 Fall height
48
482 Electrocution
49
483 Fall of material
51
484 Roof collapse
51
485 Wall collapse
52
486 Earth collapse
52
487 Suffocation
53
488 Accident during piling work
53
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
54
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
55
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
56
412 Gender ratio
57
413 Concluding remarks 58
Chapter 5 ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA 59
51 Introduction
59
52 Research methodology
59
53 Survey procedure
60
531 First phase background information collection
60
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
60
533 Third phase survey
61
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data 62
54 The demography
62
541 The demography of the worker
62
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)
xi
Title Page
542 The demography of the employers personnel
64
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
65
551 Welfare facilities
65
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
67
552 Safety equipments
70
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
72
56 Ranking by Importance Index
73
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
73
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
76
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
79
57 Concluding remarks
82
Chapter 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 83
61 General 83
62 Conclusion 83
63 Recommendations 85
64 Scope of future studies 86
REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX A Survey questionnaire 90
APPENDIX B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function 94
APPENDIX C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location) 95
xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BACI
Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry
BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BILS Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies
BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust
BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code
CCA Centre for Corporate Accountability
DIFE Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area
DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police
ILO
International Labour Organization
LFS Labour Force Survey
NHA National Housing Authority
OSHE
Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation
RAJUK
Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (Capital Development Authority)
REHAB Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh
SRO Safety and Rights Organization
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
11 General
The construction industry stands out from other employments as having one of the highest worker
injury and fatality rates Construction comprises a very small percentage of the overall workforce
Yet the incidence rate for both fatal and non-fatal accidents causing death injuries and illnesses
exceeds that of many other industries The construction industry has the most fatalities of any other
industry sector for many countries of the world and currently for Bangladesh its fatality rate is the
second largest only falling behind the garments sector Many studies have shown that a fairly large
percentage of construction accidents could have been eliminated reduced or avoided if simple
safety techniques were applied at the sites and the workers were trained and made aware of the
safety hazards present in the sites
Construction safety (the intermediate phase between a finished design and a completed building) is
largely the responsibility of the ownerdevelopercontractors and other site professionals The
success of a project depends on the intricate planning and decisions regarding safety measures that
are made on site Most construction accidents result from basic root causes such as lack of proper
training deficient enforcement of safety unsafe equipment unsafe methods or sequencing unsafe
site conditions not using the safety equipments that were provided and a poor attitude towards
safety (Toole 2002) Often times these safety measures are grossly neglected and safety laws are
violated in the sites causing undue fatalities
12 Background of the study
Construction is one of the worldrsquos biggest and fastest growing industrial sectors It is however one
of the most dangerous industries At least 108 thousand workers are killed on site every year which
represents about 30 of all occupational deaths The risks are 3 to 6 times more likely than any
other occupation (ILO 2009)
2
In Bangladesh also this industry is growing very fast It represents 9 percent of Bangladeshrsquos gross
domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 26 million people This industry in Bangladesh is
worth 900 billion Taka or US $12 billion (BBS 2013) There are more than a thousand companies in
Bangladesh who are involved in the construction business (Dewri 2012)
But the safety management issue in this sector is very poor in Bangladesh characterized by high
fatality rates Though there is extensive research in this sector around the world but in Bangladesh
studies are limited and research cannot go far due to lack of data and lack of knowledge about
safety Therefore this subject demands further study and research as its importance is being
realized at national level to keep on track with the international standard
13 Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to focus on the safety management issues in the construction
industry of Bangladesh An attempt is taken to achieve the objective through following actions
a) to collect and analyze data on construction fatalities in Bangladesh in order to identify and
categorize the root causes of construction related accidents
b) to investigate the safety measures taken by the management and the workers
c) to study the existing laws legislation and regulatory institutions in Bangladesh regarding
safety issues in the construction sites their status of implementation and effectiveness
d) to conduct field survey on the issues of welfare facilities safety equipments and other
factors affecting construction safety and perform mathematical analysis using rigorous
statistical tools such as Chi-square and Ranking by Importance Index method on the basis of
survey responses so as to infer on the safety management issues related to the construction
industry of Bangladesh
14 Scope of the study
The scope of this study is somewhat limited by the fact that the construction industry do not have
any permanent setup Though the construction process is always continuing but yet it is temporary
in nature in the sense that it is project based ie when the construction of a particular structure is
completed at a designated location the concept of construction safety vanishes with it
3
This study is also limited by the fact that there is no official system for recording casualty data for
construction sector in Bangladesh This was a major obstacle in assessing the nature of accidents in
Bangladesh Only newspaper reports were relied on and police records were studied but it is true
that these data do not represent the actual scenario in the field as most of the incidents are neither
reported to the police nor they reach the journalists And also currently there exist no official agency
to enforce construction safety laws in Bangladesh
15 Research methodology
The study had been conducted through several phases namely literature review review of existing
laws accident data collection and analysis application of statistical tools for analysis of survey data
and finally drawing a conclusion with some recommendations First task was achieved through
literature review through extensive study of books articles journals and websites The safety related
laws and regulatory institutions present in Bangladesh were studied and explored to identify the
scope and limitations
The next task was achieved through the analysis of the reported accident cases from year 2008 to
2013 obtained from basically two sources that are reliable First the Police authority working in the
Dhaka metropolitan area (DMA) provided the fatality data that were reported in the various police
stations under its jurisdiction Secondly OSHE provided the fatality data in the construction sector
that are published in the various national daily newspapers in Bangladesh Then the profile of each
of the accident cases were examined and studied thoroughly and the stated causes were classified
into different categories
Then field investigation was carried out to find the existing scenario prevailing in the construction
sites Personnel at the construction sites both employers and workers were interviewed and
rigorous mathematical analysis was conducted on their responses using statistical tools to get a
picture about safety management situation in the construction sites
16 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation report is arranged among six chapters To begin with an introduction on the subject
is given in the first chapter by giving information on the background objective research
methodology and scope of the study
4
This is followed by literature review in the second chapter giving a brief review of construction
industry and safety in the context of Bangladesh Also the different safety management practices in
Dhaka City are illustrated and presented along with their irregularities
Chapter three studies and discusses about the safety related laws and legislation present in
Bangladesh It tries to explore the scope and limitations of these laws and examine the effectiveness
of them in our countryrsquos point of view Also tries to study the various institutions and agencies
dealing with safety laws in Bangladesh and their current status
Detailed analysis of fatality data in building construction industry is presented in chapter four An
attempt has been taken to find out the main causes and factors behind these fatalities and categorize
them into specific groups so that focus and emphasis can be given on the more important safety
issues on a priority basis
Chapter 5 deals with the result of survey conducted on the workers and the employersrsquo personals on
safety and welfare related issues of the workers It was done extensively through mathematical
analysis using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test and Ranking by Importance Index
method based on the responses of the participants of the survey so as to infer on safety management
issues related to the construction industry of Bangladesh
Finally chapter 6 draws out a conclusion for this study and suggest some recommendations for the
improvement of construction safety scenario in Bangladesh
5
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
21 Introduction
Workplace safety is a significant global issue and in particular the construction industry is
overrepresented in workplace injury and death statistics Despite modernization the industry
remains labour intensive and workers are exposed to dynamic high risk environments on the various
projects and construction sites The International Labour Organisation (ILO 2009) reports that at
least 108000 fatal accidents occur each year at construction sites worldwide equivalent to one
death every ten minutes Furthermore one out of every six fatal workplace accidents takes place at a
construction site and this is increased in developing countries where construction site fatalities
account for 25-40 of all workplace fatalities
In Bangladesh there were around 190 fatalities recorded in the preliminary data for 2013 which
was the second highest number of fatalities of all industries This corresponds to a fatality rate of
735 fatalities per 100000 workers which accounts for 16 of fatalities for all industries In
addition for the last six years the construction industry accounted for about 135 deaths per year on
an average in the country This figure is one of the highest compared to other countries
22 Concept of safety culture
Safety culture is a concept that is gaining traction within this sector as a useful concept to further
reduce fatalities injuries and incidents It has been used by organizations seeking to improve
construction site safety
As stated by Zohar (2003) safety climate reflects the true perceived priority of safety in an
organization Some researchers define safety climate as a current-state reflection of the underlying
safety culture
6
23 Implementation of safety culture in construction sector
Safety culture should be developed in the construction sector during different phases of the
construction process which includes planning phase preconstruction phase and construction phase
It ensures proper management of health safety and environment alongside management of other
construction elements such as time quality and cost
231 Planning
Construction planning aspects aim to identify and develop various stages of project execution on site
which shall be consistent with the management considerations Planning aspects evolve out of the
objectives of a project which are related to cost considerations quality standards safety standards as
well as both environmental and health considerations Construction practices shall then have to
satisfy these objectives during construction phase of the project
232 Preconstruction phase
Besides the design aspects preconstruction phase should also address all the issues related to the
implementation of the design at the site through suitable construction strategy The site conditions
should be fully understood with possible difficulties and avoid the risk of construction accidents and
subsequent delays after the construction has started
The selection of construction methods materials manpower equipments and techniques are best
done in the preconstruction phase Construction in busy localities of cities needs special
considerations and meticulous planning due to restricted space adjoining structures high voltage
overhead power lines underground utilities traffic restrictions noise and other environmental
pollution and other specific site constraints
Adverse weather conditions increases the risk of construction related accidents Situations such as
heavy and continuous rain fall hot or cold weather etc are common in Bangladesh As such these
conditions should also be considered during planning different construction activities beforehand
7
233 Construction phase
2331 Organizational structure
The site management should be carried out through suitable site organization structure with roles
and responsibilities assigned to the construction personnel for various construction related functions
Safety management is one of the important components of site management
2332 Site layout
The layout of the construction site shall be carefully planned keeping in view the various
requirements to construction activities and the specific constraints in public and workersrsquo interest
The site layout shall take into considerations the following factors
a) Easy access and exit with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction
b) Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage
c) Layout of temporary services (water power power suppression unit hoists cranes
elevators etc)
d) Adequate yard lighting and lighting for night shifts
e) Temporary buildings site office and shelter for workforce with use of non-combustible
materials including emergency medical aids
f) Emergency access evacuation and security measures
g) Fabrication yards for reinforcement assembly concrete casting and shattering materials
h) Fencing barricades and signage
i) During building operations free access to permanent temporary or portable first‐aid and
firefighting equipment shall be maintained at all times
2333 Construction strategy and construction sequence
Construction strategy and construction methods are to be evolved at the planning and design stage
specific to the conditions and constraints of the project site and implemented by the site
management personnel to ensure ease of construction and smooth flow of construction activities
without endangering anyonersquos life
8
234 Construction management
Employer and management authority shall be responsible for optimizing construction planning
involving optimum utilization of resources time cost while maintaining quality health safety
during implementation monitoring and control for their effectiveness Various parameters to be
managed during construction are as below
2341 Time management
The project shall be completed in the defined time schedule But the safety of the workers shall not
be overlooked while considering time management This is the major cause of safety breach in the
construction sites ie relaxing safety measures in order to expedite construction process to complete
the work in due time The system shall include a periodic review of a project from time to time with
all parameters as well as catch up plans in case of delay
2342 Quality management
Quality of a project shall be planned for all activities from inception to completion It is desirable
that the system planned gives adequate assurance and controls that it shall meet project quality
objectives Ensuring safety in sites will surely ensure quality of work
2343 Health safety and environment
Each project affects the safety and health of the workers during construction Various activities
having impact on health safety and environment need to be identified with their likely effect and
proposed preventive corrective actions which shall address and cover safety issues including use of
personnel protective equipments by all concerned
2344 Cost management
To keep the project under viable proposition it is desired that cost of the project during construction
are monitored and controlled Again this is another major cause for safety breach as the
ownerscontractorsdevelopers tend to maximize benefit by reducing costs incurred for setting up
9
safety equipments at the site In no way shall the value of workersrsquo lives be underestimated when
considering cost optimization
2345 Protection of public and workers
During construction suitable protection for the general public and workers employed thereon shall
be provided according to the various provisions of the Code (BNBC) All existing and adjoining
public and private property shall be protected from any damage due to construction operations All
equipment and safeguard required for the construction work such as temporary stair ladder ramp
scaffold hoist runway barricade chute lift etc shall be substantially constructed and erected so as
not to create any unsafe situation for the workers using them or the general public passing under on
or near them
24 Socio - economic impact
The economic and social costs of workplace safety incidents are considerable In the developed
countries governments industry and academia have responded to the problem with legislative and
compliance-based responses and a focus on engineering controls and management systems but in
developing countries like Bangladesh these factors are seldom perceived
Toole (2002) has provided a useful guide to identifying safety critical positions within the
construction industry The author has proposed that ldquoaccidentsrdquo are a result of eight factors
a) Lack of proper training
b) Deficient enforcement of safety rules
c) Lack of safety equipment
d) Unsafe work methods andor sequencing
e) Unsafe site conditions
f) Failure to use provided safety equipment
g) Poor attitude held towards safety and
h) Isolated sudden unavoidable events
Therefore it should be possible to identify safety critical positions by identifying all people who
have an influence over those preventable factors
10
25 Overview of construction industry in Bangladesh
Construction industry plays a vital role in the Bangladesh economy With the rapid urbanization of
the country accompanied by steep increase in population comes the essential need for shelter and
housing facilities to accommodate the people This has resulted in the quick expansion of the
construction industry in the recent years
With more than 160 million people Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country And
the capital Dhaka with a population of over 16 million is the 8th largest city in the world and also
37th among the most densely populated cities in the world (Wikipedia 2014) Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million new houses annually to meet the future
demand of housing in the next twenty years In Bangladesh 25 of the population now lives in
urban areas this proportion will be 34 by the year 2015 Apartment construction projects took off
in the Dhaka city in the late 1970s From the early 1980s the business started to flourish and at
present more than 1000 companies are active in construction business in the country (Dewri 2012)
Table 21 Employment by major industry in Bangladesh (BBS 2013)
(Number of people expressed in millions)
Type of industry 2002-03 2005-06 2010 Agriculture forestry and fisheries 229 228 257 Trade hotel and restaurant 67 78 84 Manufacturing 43 52 67 Transport storage and communication 30 40 40 Community and personal services 27 26 34 Construction 15 15 26 Finance and business services and real estate 03 08 10 Health education public administration and defense 25 26 23 Mining and quarrying 01 01 01 Electricity gas and water 01 01 01 Total 443 474 541
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2010) reveals that construction sector in the country currently
employs around 26 million people which accounts about 44 of the total workforce in Bangladesh
Also this sector contributes to about 9 of the total economy of Bangladesh The monetary figure of
this contribution stands about 900 billion Bangladesh Taka which is equivalent to about 12 billion
US dollar This implies a consistent growth in the labour force in the construction sector which
makes this sector critical from the perspective of employment generation in Bangladesh
11
Table 22 Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh at current prices 2008-09 to 2012-13 (BBS 2013) (Figures expressed in million Taka)
Type of industrial sector 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Manufacturing 1064453 1201081 1355505 1557497 1760300 Wholesale and retail trade 882764 1002946 1159586 1306836 1434926 Agriculture and forestry 894264 1005880 1135819 1257514 1369873 Transport storage and communication 642803 718796 854647 1018098 1187474 Community social and personal services 583643 684655 778758 914852 1041000
Construction 501253 556581 639815 766348 899848 Real estate renting and business activities 416164 456830 503373 589488 656533
Fishing 218064 242229 269962 310031 356724 Public administration and defense 163604 187569 223806 253208 284276 Education 154940 179084 213078 240584 279358 Health and social works 133908 151424 175822 205740 235800 Financial intermediations 102453 122998 144843 175759 205290 Mining and quarrying 70910 81141 90631 104455 124126 Electricity gas and water supply 65421 71945 82113 95950 111690 Hotel and restaurants 44598 51501 59975 71373 82488 GDP at current market price (Total) 6147952 6943243 7967040 9181414 1037986
7 Growth rate 1264 1294 1475 1524 1305
251 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
The country is presently seeing a rapid expansion in the construction industry This fact is evident
from the statistics provided in a newspaper article that states that RAJUK gave approval for
construction of almost 12000 buildings during the period 2009 - 2012 (Foyez 2013) Table 23
shows that an average of about 3000 buildings were given approval for construction per year It is to
be noted here that the following estimate is only for Dhaka city which is the jurisdiction area for
RAJUK
Table 23 Number of buildings approved by RAJUK
Year Number of buildings 2009 2643 2010 3595 2011 3970 2012 1599 Total 11807
26 Overview of construction safety in Bangladesh
Lack of proper implementation of safety measures has resulted in poor safety situations in the
construction sites The data analysis in this study has revealed that more than 800 deaths occurred in
12
the country during the period 2008 - 2013 This means that on an average 135 people are dying in
this country Table 24 shows that the fatality figures in the construction sector is the second highest
for all the workplace accidents occurring in Bangladesh
This is because the safety issues in Bangladesh are grossly neglected especially in the construction
sector This can be seen from the following table
Table 24 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh
(For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
Type of industry Number of fatalities Garments 1749 Building construction 806 Agriculture 530 Service (nurse cleaner hotel salesmen) 525
Other informal industries and services 291 Domestic work 244 Poultry and fishing 242 Manufacturing (other) 169 Govt serviceother formal industries 159 Mining (coal lime stone glass sand) 138 Brick field 68 Ship buildingbreaking 66 Rice mill 59 Automobilemotor workshop 51 Steel mill and re-rolling 51 Paper millwood millfurniture 40 Jute mill 30 Tea garden 21 Leather industryshoe factory 20 Total 5259
The construction workers constitute only 44 of the total workforce (Table 21) but the number of
fatalities in the construction sector is about 16 of all the deaths in different workplaces in
Bangladesh ie four times more than the statistics
Moreover this figure for the construction sector could be the highest in the country if one deducts
the Rana Plaza event from the picture which caused more than a thousand deaths (1331 deaths) in
the year 2013 Because this has raised the figure of fatalities in the garments sector thereby making
it to the top of the list of the fatality numbers Otherwise construction sector which is now in the
second position would have been the top rank holder having the highest number of fatalities for any
workplace sector in Bangladesh This is evident from Figure 21
13
Figure 21 Sector wise distribution of fatalities in different workplaces in Bangladesh (For the period 2008 - 2013) (OSHE survey)
261 Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation) is the national
collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of the International
Labour Organization (CIS-ILO)
As a specialized Labor Foundation it periodically reveals a statistics on workplace accident and
workersrsquo rights violation in the form of a monthly survey report citing all the newspaper clippings
related to the workplaces accidents after monitoring fifteen national daily newspapers of the
country OSHE provided the following data by recording the events that are published in the various
national daily newspapers But OSHE says this is not the actual data as news of most of the
accidents do not reach the journalists
0200400600800
10001200140016001800 1749
806
530 525
291 244 242 169 159 138 68 66 59 51 51 40 30 21 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Type of industry
14
According to OSHE survey a total of 1211 people died and 1418 injured in Bangladesh since 2005
while involved in some type of construction activity Table 25 gives a year wise estimate of the
statistics which was provided by OSHE
Table 25 Injury and death statistics in construction sector in Bangladesh (OSHE survey)
Year Injury Death Total 2005 173 80 253 2006 385 163 548 2007 116 122 238 2008 183 136 319 2009 109 106 215 2010 108 138 246 2011 89 116 205 2012 95 175 270 2013 160 175 335 Total 1418 1211 2629
27 Safety management practices in Dhaka city
In Bangladesh the construction process is still traditional ie it is labour intensive but
mechanization has just started for instance ready mixed concrete are prepared in the cement plant
and transported by truck directly to the site for casting Production of brick aggregates are no longer
labour oriented now machines are used to crush bricks But safety measures are still neglected as in
almost every case the owners contractors and workers are reluctant to ensure safety measures due to
negligence and lack of knowledge experience and awareness While carrying out survey at various
construction sites in Dhaka city many malpractices have been found especially regarding the safety
issues On the other hand some sites did have some form of safety measures implemented Common
practices observed in various construction sites with emphasis on safety are discussed below
271 Shuttering (formwork)
Analysis of accidents has shown that a good number of accidents occurred due to collapse of
formwork during placement of concrete and casting of roof slabs This is because either the
formwork provided was inadequate or the formwork structure did not have the sufficient strength to
withstand the dead and live load imposed during roof casting Often wooden planks are not properly
placed horizontal because of the inequality of supports This results in sag and deflection in the slab
In very few cases steel frames are used for shuttering but they can minimize sag and deflection
15
272 Scaffolds
In most of the cases contractors use thin bamboo poles for scaffolds without considering its load
holding capacity In most cases scaffolds have no guard rails Contractors usually use poor quality
old planks for the platforms of scaffolds and repeatedly use these poles and platforms without
changing
273 Electric wires
Use of faulty wiring inefficient machineries contacts between electrical wire and water especially
in the period of curing and rainy season improper housekeeping are the main causes of
electrocution In many sites electric wires are often found to be laid haphazardly on the floor In
many cases the wires are not of enough capacity to carry the required voltage of electricity which
may result in short circuit
274 Safety helmet boot and hand gloves
In the construction sites most often contractors do not provide any safety gloves shoes or helmets
to the workers On the other hand the labours are unaware about safety they do not demand for it
Even when available the workers are not interested to wear personal safety devices due to lack of
knowledge As a result injuries to fingers palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common in the
sites Only in few places workers are seen wearing boots but otherwise they use ordinary sandals or
slippers Workers using hand gloves are hardly found Because of not using the boots and hand
gloves the workers often suffer from skin diseases and in the long run they gradually become sick
and work life is reduced
Helmets conforming to BDS 1265 and BDS 1266 shall be worn Safety goggles of accepted
standard (BDS 1360) shall be used by individuals engaged in drilling cutting welding etc
16
275 Safety net
It is found that in many sites hessian cloths are used as safety net which may provide safety to the
passerby or the neighbors against any falling materials accidentally but this sort of safety net is not
sufficient to provide safety to any worker if heshe slips down accidentally he shall wear safety
belts But safety net should be used around the outer perimeter of the building especially when the
construction and plastering or painting works are going on exterior walls
276 Safety belt
Safety belts are used to provide safety to those workers who work at high elevation to prevent from
falling But during the survey maximum workers were found without any safety belt unknowingly
endangering their lives only because of lack of awareness Either these belts are not provided or the
workers do not make it a habit of using them Standard safety belts conforming to BDS 1359 shall
be used
277 Overhead protection
Fall of construction material or waste on the workers and passer-bys below also cause fatal
accidents The contractors usually build temporary 10 ft to 20 ft wide safety ledges (shades)
projecting horizontally out of the building facades to stop workers or materials from falling directly
to the ground This ledge is usually made of corrugated iron sheet rested on truss frame of mild steel
angle which is normally welded with the steel bars of structural column and slab Protective canopy
shall have a clear height of 24 m over the walkway Every canopy shall have a fence built along its
entire length
278 Protective fencebarricade and railings
The construction site needs to be fenced for safety The fence requires to be extended along the
street line for the entire length of the building or site and each end shall be turned and extended to
the building line But in our context generally this site-fencing is made very casually or there are no
site-fencing at all while the construction work is going on at full swing Protective railing or fence
shall also be placed adjacent to excavations All construction work within 15 m from the road shall
be enclosed with a fence not less than 24 m high from the grade
17
279 Hoists (lift-shaft ducts chutes and other floor openings)
All floor openings shall be guarded on all sides by substantial railings But the contractors are most
often reluctant regarding this type of safety precautions During casting of floor slabs the areas of
ducts cores shafts etc are kept void and no edging or temporary railing is made around them Part
7 Chapter 3 Section 365 of BNBC specifies that every open edges of floors roofs and stairways
every temporary floor opening 12 m or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded
by a railing of at least 900 mm height accompanied by a toe board at least 200 mm high
2710 Lifting and lowering of materials for construction
Implements used for carrying materials to the top of scaffoldings shall be of adequate strength and
shall not be overloaded during the work These practices are often neglected Where workmen have
to work below scaffoldings or ladder overhead protection against the falling materials shall be
provided Manila or sisal rope shall not be used in rainy season for hoisting of heavy materials as
they lose their strength with alternate wetting and drying
2711 Excavation and foundation work
Excavating machinery and heavy tools shall be kept away from the edge of trenches Also excavated
materials shall be kept away from the edges of the trench Where excavation is going on for the
safety of public and the workmen fencing shall be erected Sufficient number of notice boards and
danger sign lights shall be provided in the area to avoid any member of public from inadvertently
falling into the excavation But in real case scenario these steps are seriously ignored at the
construction sites
2712 Piling and deep foundation
Erection of pile rig is a risky activity and proper care should be taken at the site While operation the
pile rig sheaves on pile drivers shall be guarded against workers drawn into them accidentally
Workers employed in the vicinity of pile drivers shall wear helmets because most piling accidents
occur when the casing pipe falls on head And also piling operations shall be supervised by a
competent foreman and check against electrical hazards
18
2713 Housekeeping
Stairways walkways scaffolds and floor areas shall be kept free of building material tools
accumulated rubbish and obstructions Materials or equipment stored on the street footpath and
other public places shall not interfere with vehicular traffic or pedestrians on the highway or street
Rubbish trash nuts bolts and small tools shall not be allowed to accumulate on the site The entire
premises and area adjoining and around the construction site shall be kept in a safe and sanitary
condition
2714 Stair facilities
Until permanent stairways are installed suitable ladders securely fastened at top and bottom need to
be provided This needs to be so built that there is no chance of skipping or slip of foot But most
often these ladders are made of bamboos with round shape which has a great chance of slip of foot
Sometimes the ladder has no hand rail even Slip from the ladder is a frequent accident in our
construction sites Overhead protection shall be provided for workers working under a ladder
2715 Welding and cutting
Most labours often do not wear any safety gloves shoes or helmets during welding and cutting
Even sometimes they do not wear any eye protection during welding As a result injuries to fingers
palms hands feet legs eyes etc is very common For all arc welding work either a helmet or a
hand-held face shield conforming to BDS 1360 shall be used Leather gauntlet gloves with canvas or
leather cuffs shall be worn by welders And gas cylinders shall be placed away from heat and flame
oil or grease
The cables from welding equipment shall not be run over by traffic Double earthing shall be
provided to the welding machines To operate energized electrical installations insulating mats and
wearing apparel such as gloves apron shall be used
19
Figure 22 Workers setting up a bamboo scaffolding system at high elevation without any safety belt
Figure 23 Workers painting very close to high voltage power line
Figure 24 Temporary bamboo platform without any guard rail to cross between two buildings
Figure 25 Workers plastering exterior wall on bamboo scaffolding without any guardrail
Figure 26 Open staircases without any guardrail Figure 27 Main electrical switch board and wires lay hanging very close to water tank
20
Figure 28 Inadequate fencing beside excavated site Figure 29 Workers working near traffic without any safey gear and safety sign
Figure 210 Gas cylinders kept on walkway during welding Figure 211 Main electrical switch board and wires very close to water source with a wire crossing over water hose
pipe
Figure 212 Workers engaged in brick crushing work without any safety gear
Figure 213 Workers working without safety boot helmet and gloves
21
Figure 214 Workers painting while hanging at high elevation without safety belt and helmet
Figure 215 Worker engaged in rod cutting without safety helmet gloves boot and face shield
Figure 216 Workers working on wooden platforms hanging by ropes
Figure 217 Unprotected lift core
22
28 Concluding remarks
From the study it can be seen that safety is not adequately considered in the construction industry as
proved by the statistics Therefore proper safety management in construction is of utmost
importance The issue of safety of workers and public during building construction is a great
concern to all as it affects the human life both economically and socially In Bangladesh there is the
code of BNBC to follow but its effectiveness in the field is lagging behind due to absence of a Code
enforcing agency Therefore the building construction industry is growing without any proper
guideline The inspected companies do not follow the rules regarding the safety of workers public
property and others which are summarized in BNBC 2006
Some of the key points observed in the construction sites are highlighted below
a) Supervision of the construction process is poor Inspection is not maintained in each phase
of construction
b) Workers have very poor knowledge about safety measures and show no consciousness or
awareness about it
c) Contractordeveloper has a tendency to maximize his profit as much as possible giving the
safety measures the least importance
d) Law enforcing agencies somehow can be managed easily
e) Supervisor foreman and worker have no training about safety
f) Developer does not maintain the safety practices as included in BNBC
g) No specific obligation about workers safety is enforced in most of the contracts between
client and developer
In order to minimize the factors responsible for construction accidents the workers as well as
supervisor need to be properly trained about proper construction procedures and safety measures and
made to be aware of the dangers of using risky construction equipments In this connection the
worker safety must be included in the construction practices by allocating a special budget for this
purpose Compensation to the deceased and injured workers must be strictly implemented by the law
enforcing agencies It is expected adoption of these steps can reduce the risks in the construction
sector significantly because now there is a great scope for developing the safety related matters in
building construction sites if the related safety laws are strictly enforced
23
Chapter 3
REVIEW OF LEGAL ISSUES
31 Introduction
A safe and secure workplace is the key to achieve the goals of sustainable development in any
country Construction is a very important sector directly linked with national development activities
But it is a hazardous industry with a notorious reputation of being dirty difficult and dangerous
Improvement of occupational safety and health at the worksites of construction sector has a positive
impact on working conditions productivity and economic and social development of the country A
good working environment reduces the risks of heavy physically demanding work leads to fewer
accidents at work fewer sick days and thus shorter times and lower costs for the total construction
The rights to safe and healthy workplaces in construction sector of Bangladesh should be recognized
as fundamental human rights
At the national level the government enacted the following ActCode to ensure health and safety of
workers in construction sector and to safeguard the workerslsquo rights
a) BLA 2006 (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006)
b) BNBC 2006 (Bangladesh National Building Code 2006)
Both of these regulatory documents have provisions that are aimed to uphold the welfare of
construction workers And to ensure that the following authorities are entrusted with the duty to
protect the rights of the workers abiding by the rules set out in these documents respectively
a) The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment - legal authority to enforce
BLA 2006)
b) RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha or the Capital Development Authority) - legal
authority to enforce BNBC 2006 and to take legal actions against the violators of safety
laws specifically for construction sector
Until November 2006 there was no health and safety law that literally applied to the construction
sector That was because the Factories Act 1965 ndash which was then the only legal source of health
24
and safety obligations - applied to factorieslsquo which was defined to require the carrying out of a
manufacturing processlsquo This did not include construction sites in the sense that the construction
process did not actually manufacture or produce any goods or products (OSHE 2009)
In November 2006 the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) and the Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) were enacted Each of these two pieces of legislation contains
health and safety obligations relevant to the construction sector
The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006) is applied in a broader sense ie it applies to all types
of labour that are involved in any type of work that adds to the GDP of the country On the other
hand the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006) specifically deals with the safety
of labours involved in the building construction sector
32 Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (BLA 2006)
321 Application
The BLA 2006 which replaced the Factories Act 1965 and 24 other pieces of labour legislation
(OSHE 2009) applies not only to factorieslsquo but to all establishmentslsquo An establishmentlsquo has a
wide definition and includes
―Contractors or sub-contractorlsquos establishments for the purpose of construction
reconstruction repair alteration or demolition of any building road tunnel drain canal or
bridge hellip
In effect therefore the BLA 2006 applies to construction sites
322 Duty holder
In the Factories Act 1965 health and safety duties were imposed upon the occupierlsquo of the factory
and its managerlsquo ―Occupier was defined as ―the person who has the ultimate control over the
affairs of the factory In the BLA 2006 these obligations are imposed upon the employerlsquo
25
323 Health and safety duties
Chapters 5-8 of the BLA 2006 set out obligations relating to health safety and welfare of workers
These provisions are almost unchanged from the obligations set out in the repealed Factories Act
1965 and as a result remain primarily relevant to risks in factories rather than construction sites
However there are a number of provisions in the BLA 2006 that are relevant to construction sites
and these are set out in Table 31 below
Table 31 Duties in the BLA 2006 relevant to the construction sector (OSHE 2009)
Section Obligation Section 57 Sufficient and suitable lighting Section 58 Sufficient supply of wholesome pure drinking water Section 59 Provision of clean and sanitary latrines Section 63 Fencing of machinery in motion or use Section 68 Maintenance of cranes Section 69 Maintenance of hoists Section 72 Secure covering and fencing of floor openingslsquo Section 74 Carrying of weights likely to cause injurylsquo prohibited Section 89 Availability of first aid boxeslsquo etc Section 90 Presence of safety record booklsquo Section 80 Notice by employer to inspector of death or bodily injury Section 91 Facilities for washing and bathinglsquo
324 Enforcement of the Act
The BLA 2006 is enforced by a group of inspectors from the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishment ndash who have powers to enter the site to enquire about improvements to
be made and to prosecute for failure to comply with the duties
Under the Act it is an offence punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment to cause a death through a
breach of one of the duties set out in the Act (OSHE 2009)
However there are only 84 inspectors currently to enforce health and safety obligations in all
establishments throughout Bangladesh ndash and it is not common for the Department to inspect
construction sites and enforce the law For effectiveness the Inspectorate needs to keep up with the
wider scope of the BLA 2006 and has to give inspectors the role of inspecting construction sites
26
325 Compensation
Chapter 12 of the BLA 2006 sets out the circumstances when an employer is liable to pay
compensation to an injured worker or a dependent family (following a death) An employerlsquo is
liable to pay compensation if ―personal injury is caused to a worker by accident arising out of and in
the course of his employment A worker in this context includes construction workers also (OSHE
2009)
In case of death whatever the circumstances of the death the employer must deposit 1 lakh taka in
the labour court and it is the responsibility of the labour court to distribute the money to the
dependents
Where a worker suffers permanent total disabilitylsquo ndash meaning losing the capability to work ndash the
employer must pay 125 lakh taka In relation to certain specified injuries the employer must pay a
specified percentage of 125 lakh or pay a certain number of monthlsquos salary (OSHE 2009)
33 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC 2006)
The Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 (BNBC) was first drafted in 1993 by the Housing and
Building Research Institute and on 15 November 2006 it was given the force of law when it was
gazetted as a regulation under powers set out in Section 18A of the Building Construction Act 1952
It was done by amending the Act to include the new section 18 A empowering the government to
promulgate the building code as a legally binding document (Shafi 2010)
But following a High Court rule in 2008 the government in December 2009 took a two-year-long
project to revise it further Though the time is over the process is still underway The steering
committee of the BNBC said that it would be complete by the year 2013 (Mahmud 2013)
In addition the following Acts and rules are relevant and related to urban development and
especially to the BNBC 2006
a) The Building Construction Act 1952
b) The Town Improvement (TI) Act 1953
c) Land Development Rules for Private Housing 2004
d) Building Construction Rules 2008
27
331 Application
The BNBC applies to ―any construction addition alternation or repair use and occupancy location
maintenance demolition and removal of building or structure or any appurtenances connected or
attached to it
332 Duty holder
The BNBC requires the ―owner of the property which is under construction - who may be a private
person company or ―government department or agency - to comply with the obligations in the
Code The BNBC defines owner to include ―any developer who by appointment contract or lease is
or has been responsible for the construction activity The term developerlsquo alludes to someone
carrying out the construction of buildings which includes both large and small contractors who have
a direct contract with the building owner In addition engineers architects and planners have a duty
to ―ensure compliance with the Code
333 Health and safety duties
The duties relevant to worker health safety and welfare are contained in four chapters in Part 7 of
the BNBC The code imposes a general duty to work in a safe manner It states that
―erection alteration remodeling repairing removal or demolition of a building or structure
shall be conducted in a safe manner Suitable protection for the general public and workers
employed thereon shall be provided according to the various provisions of this Code
The main areas of safety responsibility are set out in Table 32
28
Table 32 Areas in which obligations are imposed in the BNBC (OSHE 2009)
Key area of safety responsibility Sections Storage stacking and handling of materials Chapter 2 para 221 - 2220 Loading and unloading of materials Chapter 2 para 231 ndash 232 Excavation and foundation worker Chapter 3 para 321 ndash 3212 Pile rig Chapter 3 para 331 ndash 334 Construction of walls Chapter 3 para 341 ndash 344 Construction of floors Chapter 3 para 351 ndash 356 Concrete work Chapter 3 para 361 ndash 364 Formwork and scaffold Chapter 3 para 371 ndash 376 Erection operations Chapter 3 para 381 ndash 387 Electrification equipment and operations Chapter 3 para 391 ndash 397 General construction hazards Chapter 3 para 3101 ndash 3105 Demolition Chapter 4
334 Enforcement of the Code
The Code states that the government will establish a new or designate an existing agency
responsible for enforcement of this Code with a given area of jurisdiction But the government has
not yet established such agency Enforcing bodies in Bangladesh currently responsible for the
enforcement of the Building Construction Act 1952 should apply part seven of the Code but
RAJUK which is supposed to have this responsibility indicate that its inspectors do not in fact do
so (OSHE 2009) As a result the BNBC is totally unenforced
Some of the legal issues related to the enforcement and implementation of BNBC as stated in the
Code itself are highlighted below
a) Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11 states that ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building
Construction Act
b) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 21 discusses about Code enforcement agency
―The Government shall establish a new or designate an existing departmentagency
responsible for enforcement of this Code throughout Bangladesh Code enforcing agency
shall have the authority of the government and shall herein be referred to as the Building
Regulatory Authority (BRA) This authority shall work as apex body to implement the
provisions of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and will be administered
under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Government of Bangladesh
29
c) Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 231 states that ―The administrative and operational chief of the
code enforcing office shall be designated as the Building Official (ie the authorised officer)
who will perform duties as laid down in the Building Construction Act
d) Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 241 states that the administrative jurisdiction of building officials
will be the areas falling under the Master Plan control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha
(RAJUK) Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Rajshahi Development Authority
(RDA) and other development authorities for their respective areas
e) Part 2 Chapter 2 gives an idea about the duties and powers vested on the Building Official
i Section 291states that
―The Building Official shall be authorized to enforce all the provisions of this Code
and for such purposes the Building Official shall have the power of a law enforcing
officer
ii Section 295 states that
―All necessary notices and orders to correct illegal or unsafe conditions to require the
specified safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance with all the
requirements of safety health and general welfare of the public as included in this
Code shall be issued by the Building Official
iii Section 298 states that
―The Building Official may issue an order for immediate discontinuation of a work
and cancellation of a previous permit for such work at any stage if any work is being
done contrary to the provision of this Code
f) Part-2 Chapter-3 of the code tells about duty holder
i Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 381 states that the owner of a building is the one who shall
be responsible for carrying out the work in conformity with the provisions of this
Code
ii And also in Part-2 Chapter-3 Section 2131 the term ―owner is defined as any person
firm corporation or government department or agency who as owner of the property
constructs any building or structure on that property
iii And most importantly the following statement clarifies about the duty of the
developer firms who are currently playing the major role in construction sector Part-2
Chapter-3 Section 2131 states that ―The term ―owner shall for the purpose of these
provisions include any developer who by appointment contract or lease is or has been
responsible for the actions listed above
iv And for the safety measures Part 2 Chapter 3 Section 386 states that ―The owner
shall take proper safety measures in and around the construction site
30
335 Compensation
A big question arises about who shall be responsible for violation of the Code and what actions shall
be taken against such offenders The answer to it is given in Part-2 Chapter-2 Section 2131 of the
Code which states that if the owner of the property who shall be responsible for carrying out the
work in conformity with the provisions of this Code violates any part of this Code shall be guilty of
an offence and the authority shall take legal action against such offenders
But the Code does not specify what sort of legal actions should be taken against such offenders and
what amount of money should be paid as compensation to the victims of accidents as a result of
safety negligence
But in another report it is stated that The BNBC became law when it was gazetted under the
Building Construction Act 1952 in 2006 which contains the provision of a possible punishment of
seven years of imprisonment for non-compliance (Rashid 2011) Also it is stated in the Code that
(Part 2 Chapter 1 Section 11) ―All legal issues shall be referred to the Building Construction Act
This means the Act will provide legal justifications for actions against violation but the Code itself
does not have any provisions for actions
Figure 31 Institutional arrangement for legal enforcement of construction workerslsquo safety
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments
BLA 2006 Bangladesh Labour Act
2006
Construction workerslsquo safety
Enforcing laws
BNBC 2006 Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
Implementing authority
Inspector
Building official
Implementing personnel
RAJUK
31
34 Regulatory authorities to ensure workersrsquo safety
A quick assessment on the authorities responsible for construction workerslsquo safety is presented
below
341 Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE)
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment is tasked to enforce the law set out in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 relating to
workplace health and safety The Department works under three wings- engineering wing medical
wing and general wing Chief Inspector is the head of the Department It has zonal and regional
offices for inspection
As per its objectives the department presently enforces as many as 46 labour laws rules and
regulations related to safety wages and welfare of labours working in factories and different
establishments in the country (Faruque 2009) Some of its functions are highlighted below
a) Inspection of factories shops commercial establishments tea plantations portsdocks
railways inland water transport and road transports for enforcement of labour laws relating
to safety health hygiene factory layout and design labour welfare payment of wages and
compensation regulation hours of work and rest conditions and terms of employment
social security etc of workers
b) Prosecution against the violations of labour laws in different courts
c) Approval of construction extension and lay-out plans of factories
d) Issue of registration and licenses of factories
e) Maintenance of liaison with different government departments employerlsquos organizations
and trade unions on enforcement of labour laws
f) Assistance to the government in formulation of policies about enforcement of labour laws
and framing labour laws including amendments
But the department had been facing neglect of the government since its inception in 1970 The
number of factories and establishments has increased over the years but the department has not
been equipped with adequate logistics and manpower to discharge its functions properly (Faruque
2009)
32
Also in one report Mr Md Habibul Islam Deputy Secretary GoB Chief Inspector Dept of
Inspection of Factories and Establishment had said that the Department is not responsible because
they are not involved in construction phase They only approve the plan RAJUK should also
approve the safety plan It is unable to perform its functions properly due to acute crisis of lack of
manpower and logistics such as vehicles (FPD 2011 Kallol 2013 Karim 2013 Liton 2013 Munni
2013)
Some of its features are
a) The Department has to look into the countrys 29000 registered factories and over 200000
unregistered factories across the country including 5000 garment plants
b) The Department has 31 offices including
i the headquarter in Dhaka
ii four divisional offices
iii four regional offices and
iv 22 district offices
c) At present there are 84 safety inspectors against the permanent posts of 103 for 29000
registered factories and over 200000 unregistered factories across the country (Kallol
2013)
Recently the ministry of labor and employment has recently chalked out a mega plan involving an
increase in the total number of employees by over nine fold to nearly 3000 and more than doubling
the number of its offices from 31 to 75 Additionally 679 inspector posts have been created under
the new plan (Hossein 2013)
The Departmentlsquos 31 offices will be increased and expanded in all the 64 districts of the country
with the implementation of the plan The plan includes increasing the number of offices to 75
including
a) one in each of the districts
b) seven in each division and
c) four special offices in Dhaka Narayanganj Gazipur and Chittagong where concentration of
industries is high
33
At the latest the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) has endorsed the approval of the labour
ministrylsquos proposal of upgrading the department with a 2300 strong manpower and will be sent to
the finance ministry followed by secretary level committee for approval But the procedure is being
delayed for bureaucratic tangles (Liton 2013)
342 Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
As per the Town Improvement Act 1953 (TI Act 1953) Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is
the legitimate authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to prepare land use plan
and take care of plan implementation control the development and manage the growth of Dhaka
city (Mahmud 2007) RAJUK is the legitimate public issuing approval of any building construction
This agency was entrusted with the job of preparing plan for Dhaka city controlling the current and
future development
At present RAJUK has following legal machineries to control the land use and growth of the city
They are i) Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995 comprising of Structure Plan
Urban Area Plan and Detailed Area Plan ii) Town Improvement Act 1953 iii) Building
Construction Rules 1996 iv) Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 v) Wet Land
Conservation Act 2002 and recently approved vi) Mohanagar Imarat Nirman Bidhimala 2006
(Building Construction Rules 2006)
Ferdous (2012) states that Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkhalsquos joint secretary and member (planning)
Sheikh Abdul Mannan said that they have no wing to monitor safety measures at the construction
sites RAJUK only monitors the architectural part of a building It does not look into workerslsquo
safetylsquo But RAJUK has been ordered to establish a code enforcing agency
It is also stated that RAJUK only approves the design of a proposed building and has no legal
mandate to enforce safety measures on a construction site
In another report he also said RAJUK is monitoring whether construction is being done in
accordance with the RAJUK approved designs It does not look into workers safety (Rahman 2011)
Thus for the lack of law enforcement and strong monitoring people also violate the plans during the
construction of their building and structures including the safety issues
In another report it is also stated that the responsibility of RAJUK is only to give approval of
designs while that of monitoring and supervision lie with the local government bodies ndash city
34
corporation municipality and the union parishad Also RAJUK could not oversee the safety issue
properly due to manpower shortage (Mahmud 2013)
343 Other agencies working for construction workersrsquo safety
Apart from the legal authorities who are responsible for enforcing safety laws there are other non-
government agencies which are working for the improvement of the workplace atmosphere
especially in the construction sector
Their contribution to the upliftment of the construction workers conditions is immense as they are
pushing the government to establish a national policy for safe workplace They function as
supporting agencies to create mass awareness about construction workerslsquo safety and make it a
national issue
Following section gives a brief outline on these agencies
(a) Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
OSHE is the national collaborating center of International Safety and Health Information Center of
the International Labour Organization (CIS-ILO) Its mission is to promote human rights at
workplaces with special focus on workplace safety workers health and environment
OSHE is currently initiating policy dialogues on following issues and implementing activities
accordingly
i National Labour Policy
ii National Safety Policy
iii National Health Policy focus to workers health
iv National Environment Policy focus to labour
They also try to obtain authentic information on the labour issues in right time enabling stakeholders
towards taking appropriate actions for sustainable workplace development in time
35
(b) Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS)
BILS is the only labour institute of the country As an apex organization BILS endeavors to uphold
the causes of working people and trade unions of Bangladesh Thirteen major national trade union
federations are associated with BILS
Protecting workers rights is the main objective of BILS and it strives to promote just and worker
friendly policies and laws in Bangladesh It also plays a catalyst role in bridging trade unions civil
society and the government on labour market issues
(c) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
BLAST is one of the largest legal services organizations in Bangladesh Its specific objectives are
i to provide free legal aid and to undertake public interest litigation and advocacy activities for
securing justice
ii to establish legal aidassistance and human rights protection units in the bar associations and
in different localities of the country including rural areas
(d) Safety and Rights Society (SRS)
Safety and Rights Society (SRS) a local not-for-profit organisation is concerned with improving
workplace conditions and promoting consumer and public safety in Bangladesh It also works to
promote the improvement of workplace health and safety and other working conditions in the
country by following measures
i to assist dependent families and injured workers gain compensation for workplace death and
injury according to Bangladesh law and assist in the rehabilitation of injured workers
ii to promote the enforcement securing and realization of labour rights under the laws of
Bangladesh and the international standards
35 Recent developments in the establishment of a code enforcing agency
BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) along with Bangladesh Occupational Safety
Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) and Safety and Rights Society (SRS) jointly filed a
writ petition (Public Interest Litigation) in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
36
Bangladesh in January 2008 to secure compliance with legal provisions regarding safety and
security of construction workers as provided in the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006
(BLAST 2008) During the demolition operation of RANGS Bhaban a part of the building
collapsed resulting in the deaths of several construction workers Allegedly the company assigned
to demolish RANGS Bhaban had failed to comply with the necessary safety measures The
petitioners claimed that the concerned authoritylsquos failure to give effect to the provisions of the 2006
Code had endangered the security of construction workers exposing them to the risk of severe
injuries and death in violation of their right to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution
The High Court directed the government to
i explain within four weeks why its failure to date to establish a government agency as
provided for under the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 for enforcement of the
law does not constitute a breach of its statutory and constitutional duties
ii submit a statement to the Court setting out what steps it has taken to secure the safety of
construction workers since the Code became law in November 2006
Following the writ petition the High Court Division directed the Ministry of Housing and Public
Works to establish an agency or designate an existing body responsible for the enforcement of the
Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 throughout the country by 01 November 2012 (BLAST
2011)
It also ordered that within three months the ministry should designate RAJUK and the respective
Development Authorities of all other municipal corporations to undertake enforcement of the
Codelsquo They shall also secure immediate compliance with the safety and security provisions of the
Code at every level of construction or demolition of building and other structures
Later on according to a newspaper report ( Staff Correspondent - The Daily Star 2013) the High
Court on 28th May 2013 issued a contempt of court rule against four secretaries and chairman of
RAJUK for not complying with its earlier directives mentioned above for establishing a National
Building Code Enforcement authority This rule came up following a petition filed by BLAST and
Safety and Rights Society mdash on May 27 2013 saying that the officials had not implemented the
High Court directives though they were aware of those
But till today the issue of establishing a Code enforcing authority is pending and waiting to see its
implementation
37
36 Concluding remarks
This study indicates that a significant number of accidents occur because of lack of enforcement of
safety laws in the field
Some of the main obstacles in this sector are
a) Lack of a preventative occupational safety and health culture at construction sector at
national level
b) Lack of legal coverage and management systems
c) Absence of supervision and enforcement by the government
d) Lack of adequate research workers and employers education on occupational safety and
health issues
National laws and regulations are often based upon international conventions agreements
declarations and programmes These have been drawn up by different United Nations organizations
including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1988 the ILO adopted the Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No167) and its
accompanying Recommendation (No175) which can provide a foundation on which safe and
healthy working conditions in Bangladesh can be built
Occupational safety and health in construction sector is a common responsibility that should be
taken on by every social player at national level rather than just by the government employers and
trade unions The prevention culture of occupational safety and health needs to be supported and
sustained by shaping and implementing national safety policies for the sector strengthening
regulatory tools strategies and national action programs fully reflecting preventive measures if
national goal is to achieve safe workplace in the country
38
Chapter 4
ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT DATA
41 General
Building construction sites being one of the most hazardous workplaces witness many accidents
causing both injury and death This has also been observed from the accident data that have been
collected under this study These data are then tabulated and organized according to different factors
that become apparent from the survey This will reflect on the characteristics of safety climate in
building construction sites in Dhaka city
The main objective of this study is to analyze the accident data to identify the major causes of
fatalities in Bangladesh This will point out and emphasize the areas which need maximum attention
during implementing safety measures in the construction sites
42 Research methodology
This study was conducted to determine the causes of construction accidents and to identify the major
areas of lack of safety measures in Bangladesh It has come from the study that identifying the
accidents would help to find out the effective and logical measure for accident prevention
To conduct this study it was first necessary to identify a data base that contained the information
about accidents in the construction industry But as a matter of fact there is no official database
system for the fatality record in the country
So data was collected from the Police and OSHE Detailed data of fatalities were collected for the
period of last six years ie from January 2008 till December 2013 These data were studied
comprehensively to bring out the picture of current safety situations prevailing in the construction
sites of Bangladesh
Initially data was taken from the Police authority (Dhaka Metropolitan Police DMP) where
construction accidents and fatalities are recorded either in the unnatural death cases (UD files) or
39
they are registered under the Penal Code 304A cases which is allocated for offences due to
negligence From their report a total of 60 cases were found to occur in the construction sites in the
last 5 years This gives a picture that majority of the accidents are not at all reported to the Police
This is mainly because it will lead to filing of criminal case which has to be solved in the court and
the related legal proceedings are a very lengthy hassling and tiring process in this country So the
ownercontractor quietly settles the situation by giving a limited amount of money as a
compensation to the victimvictims family which in most cases is inadequate And also there are
reports that no compensation is paid at all
Next data was also collected from OSHE (Bangladesh Occupational Health Safety and
Environment Foundation) which keeps a record of all the workplace fatalities occurring in
Bangladesh including construction fatalities OSHE collects these data from monitoring fifteen
national daily newspapers in the country But in actual life the total figure of fatalities are much
higher because most of the accidents are neither reported to the police nor they reach the newspaper
agencies
After data collection was completed a broad and exhaustive analysis was carried out and the data
was assessed to find out the major causes of these accidents which are presented in the following
sectons
43 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
From Figure 41 it can be seen that during the period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people died due to
failure in proper implementation of adequate safety measures This means that an average of 135
people lost their lives per year in the construction sector which is among one of the highest in the
world The figure also shows that the number of fatalities has alarmingly increased in the last two
years (2012 and 2013) reaching almost two hundred in each of the last two years This gives a clear
picture of the extremely poor safety situation in Bangladesh This also implies that the safety
situation in the building construction sites is rapidly deteriorating which has to be given special
attention so as to prevent those casualties
40
Figure 41 Year wise distribution of number of fatalities
44 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
After collecting data and analyzing it the fatalities were arranged according to their place of
occurrence in terms of the 64 districts of Bangladesh and tabulated as shown in Table 41 From the
table it can be seen that Dhaka being the capital of Bangladesh and the main centre of the countryrsquos
social and economic growth has the maximum number of fatalities totalling to a amount of 353
which alone comprises about 44 of all the deaths It is followed by the port city of Chittagong
which comprises about 10
Narayanganj and Gazipur which are economic centres habitating a large number of factories and
industries are in the third and fourth position of the fatality list The remaining 60 districts of
Bangladesh alltogether share the remaining 36 of the fatality cases Therefore this study mainly
focussed on the safety scenario in the city of Dhaka as it accounts for nearly half the fatalities of the
total figure
8567
142122
199 191
0
50
100
150
200
250
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Year
41
Table 41 District wise distribution of fatalities in Bangladesh
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Bagerhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Bandarban 0 1 1 0 0 2 4 Barguna 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Barisal 0 2 1 0 1 2 6 Bhola 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 Bogra 1 1 4 4 1 1 12 Brahmanbaria 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 Chandpur 0 1 1 1 2 5 10 Chittagong 9 3 12 13 22 19 78 Chuadanga 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 Comilla 3 3 5 0 3 1 15 Coxs Bazar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhaka 34 24 43 64 102 86 353 Dinajpur 1 0 0 1 2 4 8 Faridpur 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Feni 4 0 0 1 2 4 11 Gaibandha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gazipur 5 3 6 9 7 7 37 Gopalganj 0 1 1 3 2 1 8 Habiganj 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 Jamalpur 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Jessore 4 0 4 1 5 2 16 Jhalokati 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 Jhenaidah 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Joypurhat 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Khagrachhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Khulna 0 1 2 1 4 4 12 Kishoreganj 2 0 1 0 2 2 7 Kurigram 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Kushtia 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Lakshmipur 0 1 5 1 1 1 9 Lalmonirhat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madaripur 0 1 1 1 2 1 6 Magura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Manikganj 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Meherpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moulvibazar 4 0 0 1 0 0 5 Munshiganj 0 2 2 3 1 1 9 Mymensingh 2 2 2 1 3 5 15 Naogaon 0 0 7 2 0 2 11 Narail 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 Narayanganj 5 1 19 6 6 8 45 Narsingdi 0 0 0 0 5 3 8 Natore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Nawabganj 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 Netrakona 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Nilphamari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noakhali 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Pabna 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Panchagarh 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Patuakhali 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Pirojpur 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Rajbari 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
42
District 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Rajshahi 0 1 3 0 2 1 7 Rangamati 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rangpur 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 Satkhira 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 Shariatpur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sherpur 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Sirajganj 0 2 0 1 2 2 7 Sunamganj 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 Sylhet 4 3 4 1 0 2 14 Tangail 0 1 3 0 6 0 10 Thakurgaon 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Total 85 67 142 122 196 191 803
45 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
The number of buildings given approval for construction by RAJUK during the period 2009 ndash 2012
is already given in Table 23 And the number of fatalities occurring in Dhaka during the same
period is collected from field survey (see Table 41) Now analyzing and correlating these two sets
of data give an idea about the ratio of number of buildings constructed per fatality which also gives
a rough measure of construction safety
Table 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
Year Number of buildings
Number of fatalities
Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality
2009 2643 24 110 2010 3595 43 83 2011 3970 64 62 2012 1599 102 16 Total 11807 233 50
From Table 42 it can be seen that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites
in Dhaka city
The above statistics also show that the number of fatalities is increasing in Dhaka Figure 42 shows
that one fatality used to occur out of 110 buildings constructed (Year 2009) But within a span of
three years (Year 2012) death figures have increased as now construction of only 16 buildings is
producing a fatality This is very alarming as the fatality figure has sharply risen in the recent years
(almost seven times) inferring that the safety situations in the construction sites has deeply
deteriorated
43
Figure 42 Ratio of buildings constructed per fatality (2009 - 2012)
The above analysis is an attempt to present a different way to measure construction safety But this
analysis can be refined more to make it more accurate All the buildings that were given approval
may not go into construction although it is assumed they did To examine this data may be collected
from RAJUK to find how many of those who did not go for construction have applied for
extension for the validity of their approval which usually expires after five years In this way the
actual number of buildings that did actually underwent construction can be obtained
Another limiation of this analysis was that there is no way to know that the fatality data which were
collected were only from RAJUK approved projects Many constructions are undergoing without
any official authorization or most often that occurs is that a building is further extended mainly
vertically for which no further approval from RAJUK is taken Though this is unauthorized
fatalities may also occur during this construction stage which were also counted during this analysis
46 Area wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
The data for different areas of Dhaka city were obtained from the Police authority ie the Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and also from OSHE The data is tabulated for the last six years ie for
the period 2008 - 2013 Following table shows the area - wise distribution of fatal accidents in terms
of Thanas in Dhaka city
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
110
83
62
16N
umbe
r of b
uild
ings
con
stru
cted
per
fata
lity
Year
44
Table 43 Thana wise distribution of fatalities in Dhaka city
Thana 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Adabor 1 0 0 2 1 5 9 Agargaon 0 0 0 3 6 3 12 Badda 2 0 0 0 7 0 9 Banani 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 Bangshal 0 2 0 3 0 2 7 Bimanbandar 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Cantonment 1 0 0 1 2 0 4 Chawkbazar 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 Demra 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 Dhamrai 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Dhanmondi 1 5 3 3 3 1 16 Dohar 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Gulshan 1 1 4 3 3 3 15 Hazaribagh 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 Jatrabari 1 1 2 1 0 4 9 Kadamtali 0 1 1 1 1 0 4 Kafrul 1 1 0 0 1 2 5 Kalabagan
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Kamrangirchar
0 0 1 3 1 0 5 Keraniganj
1 0 0 4 1 3 9 Khilgaon 2 0 1 0 4 3 10 Khilkhet 0 1 1 4 6 2 14 Kotwali 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Lalbagh 0 0 2 2 3 0 7 Mirpur 3 3 4 2 8 9 29 Mohammadpur 2 2 3 6 3 3 19 Mohakhali 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Motijheel 2 0 2 2 0 1 7 Nawabganj 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Newmarket 2 0 1 0 0 2 5 Pallabi 2 0 0 2 4 3 11 Paltan 0 0 1 4 4 1 10 Ramna 1 0 5 1 5 1 13 Rampura 1 0 1 3 9 2 16 Sabujbagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Savar 5 2 3 1 3 7 21 Shah Ali 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 Shahbag 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 Shyampur 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Sutrapur 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 Tejgaon 0 0 2 2 7 3 14 Turag 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Uttara 1 0 2 4 4 3 14 Vatara 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wari 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Total 34 23 44 64 102 86 353
45
Higher fatality cases are observed in the main residential areas of Dhaka city like Uttara
Dhanmondi Gulshan Mohammadpur with Mirpur recording the highest number of 29 deaths
Industrial areas like Tejgaon Savar and commercial centres like Paltan Ramna also have high
fatality rate The residential areas are having a good rate of building construction to meet the
demand of housing for the increasing population of the city especially for constructing apartment
complexes
On the other hand areas in the old town like Chawkbazar Lalbagh Wari Hazaribagh and areas in
the outskirts and suburban areas of Dhaka city like Dohar Dhamrai Demra Nawabganj have
comparatively lesser number of fatality count This does not mean that they have better safety
measures but these areas are not as developed as the main citycentres ie they have fewer number
of buildings under construction compared to the areas undergoing rapid development
47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
By analyzing the data collected from the Police authority and OSHE a range of different types of
accidents were found resulting in fatal injuries But only a very few types account for most of the
fatalities
It is evident from the casualty data that these particular types of accidents are occurring on a regular
basis during building construction If precautions could be taken to improve the relevant safety
measures against those explicitly particular nature of accidents described in the following sections
then almost 99 of fatalities can be easily be avoided The major causes of construction accidents
are as follows
a) Fall from heights
b) Electrocution
c) Suffocation
d) Wall collapse
e) Fall of material
f) Formworkshuttering failure
g) Roof collapse
h) Earth collapse
i) Scaffold failure
j) Miscellaneous
46
Table 44 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident
Cause of accident 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall from heights 33 25 45 47 87 75 312 Electrocution 22 22 43 32 69 68 256 Suffocation 10 2 15 7 18 8 60 Wall collapse 6 8 20 8 8 11 61 Fall of material 4 2 7 18 14 10 55 Roof collapse 3 4 7 4 3 14 35 Earth collapse 5 3 5 5 0 0 18 Miscellaneous 2 1 0 1 0 5 9 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
From Table 44 it can be observed that falling from heights and electrocution are the main reasons
of fatalities in the construction sites Together they contribute about 71 of all the fatalities Falling
from heights lead the fatality table with about 39 closely followed by electrocution that accounts
about 32 of the fatalities Contribution of other causes of accidents range between 1 to 8 only
So it is obvious that particularly focussing on the two major causes of fatalities and taking strict
precautionary measures to prevent them about 71 of the lives could be saved
These distinctive causes of fatalities are examined elaborately for clearer insight into these causes of
deaths in the following sections
Fall from heights39
Electrocution32
Wall collapse
8
Suffocation7
Fall of material7
Roof collapse4 Earth
collapse2
Miscellaneous1
Fig 43 Percentage distribution of different causes of fatalities
47
48 Itemwise analysis of different causes of accidents
481 Fall from heights
Building construction is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of safety Among all
categories of accidents death due to falling occurs for the highest number of times because fall from
high elevations lead to instant death It accounts for 39 of all accidents holding the first position in
the list of fatality factors These data are then tabulated and organized so as to identify the main
reasons for falling from heights After analyzing it becomes apparent that most workers accidentally
slip and fall while working at elevated heights
The main reasons are that most workers do not wear any safety belt and also generally no guard rail
are installed at the open edges of floors and roofs which should be put up according to the
specification in the BNBC
Fall prevention is far more effective than fall protection which often involves personal protective
equipment Some workers fell because they did not tie off their body harnesses because they felt it
troublesome to be tied off to a fixed anchorage The lack of safety training is often a contributing
factor for many falls
Study also shows that workers fall from heights due to breaking of scaffolds or tearing of ropes
holding the scaffold
In Bangladesh it is a very common practice to build bamboo scaffolding outside the building along
the periphery of the building for doing external works such as plastering and painting and also for
fitting sanitary pipes on the external portion of the building The construction workers barely use
any safety belt while working on the scaffold The scaffolds are mostly narrow (about 4 to 5 feet
wide) and most importantly they are installed without any guardrail The workers work 8-10 hours a
day and the workers can easily slip and fall when they are caught out of guard
Another prime cause of falling is due to breaking of ropes because the ropes used in the construction
sites are mostly nylon or jute ropes which are repeatedly being used for a long time without being
changed And moreover Bangladesh experiences a long monsoon period with heavy showers This
leads to the faster deterioriation of the ropes and they get easily worn out and finally snaps
48
Table 45 Distribution of fatalities based upon different causes of falls from height
Causes of fall 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Breaking scaffoldtearing ropes 2 3 7 14 9 4 39 Slip and fall (bindingcarrying rods) 1 0 1 1 5 5 13 Fall through lift core 0 0 2 7 2 1 12 Crane falling(tearing ropes) 0 2 2 0 1 4 9 Slip and fall (plastering) 1 1 0 1 1 5 9 Slip and fall (painting) 3 1 1 0 1 2 8 Fall through open stairsladders 2 0 1 1 3 1 8 Slip and fall (casting) 0 0 0 2 2 3 7 Slip and fall (removing shuttering) 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 Slip and fall (welding) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 Slip and fall (watering columns) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Fall in water tank 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Slip and fall (carrying bricks) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Slip and fall (fixing window panes) 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from crane 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Blown away by storm 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 122
4811 Fall height
Most buildings constructed in Dhaka city are 6 to 8 storey high But now buildings above 15 storeys
are also common Now analysis of fall height reveal an interesting fact that more workers are dying
falling from lower elevations than labours working at higher elevations Figure 44 shows that
around 180 people or in other words about 78 of the fall fatalities fell from storeys 2-7 whereas
storeys above 8th floor account for only 20 of the fatalities This is mainly because high-rise
structure normally has better protection system against falling accidents Awareness against falling
and conciousness of possible danger is greater with higher elevations Therefore number of fatal
cases reduces with higher floors Alternatively workers tend to relax their guard and have more
confidence while working in lower elevations which ultimately makes them more prone to fatal
accidents
49
Table 46 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
Storey 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 2 23 3 7 1 7 2 5 11 33 4 2 4 4 7 11 12 40 5 5 1 5 4 12 6 33 6 3 1 5 8 12 5 34 7 1 1 1 1 6 7 17 8 0 1 3 4 1 1 10 9 0 0 0 2 3 2 7 10 0 1 0 3 3 4 11 11 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 1 2 3 6 13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 15 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 16 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 231
Figure 44 Storey wise distribution of fatalities (fall from heights)
482 Electrocution
Electrocution is the second largest factor for construction accidents in Bangladesh accounting upto
32 of all the fatalities Electrocution is mainly caused due to poor housekeeping in the
2
23
33
40
33 34
17
107
11
36
1 24 3
1 0 1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Storey number
50
construction sites Electric wires mostly lie haphazardly across the construction sites and the
workers usually do not know which lines are live and have electricity passing through them
Workers also get electrocuted when handling the iron rods used for reinforcement of the building
When this rod gets connected to live wire leads to electrocution Furthermore it is a fact that
Bangladesh experiences a relatively long monsoon season with a duration from early May to late
October with recurring events of heavy showers Due to the heavy rains inundation and water
stagnation is very common in the construction sites As water is a very good conductor of electricity
this leads to electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for
construction
It is also very important to mention that in a congested city like Dhaka it is a common scene that the
the overhead power lines are very close to the buildings constructed This close proximity of the
overhead power lines is another big reason for the workers getting electrocuted Usually these lines
carry electricity at 33 kV voltage and anyone getting in touch with them results in instant death The
workers working at 2nd and 3rd storey elevation are the main victims They either get directly
connected to the powerlines or the iron rods carried by them get connected Table 47 presents a list
of factors that are primarily responsible for electrocution fatalities
Table 47 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of electrocution
Types of electrocution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Directly connects to live wire 11 13 18 14 36 37 129 Directly connects to roadside cable (33Kv power supply line) 1 1 1 3 7 2 15
Bindingcarrying rods connect to roadside cable (33kV power supply line) 5 3 5 4 4 8 29
Electrocution (carrying rodsbamboo) 0 2 4 4 4 4 18 Electrocution (binding rods) 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 Electrocution (painting) 2 0 0 0 1 2 5 Electrocution (welding) 2 0 2 0 4 4 12 Electrocution (setting window grill) 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Electrocution (switching ldquoOnrdquo water pump) 0 1 0 1 2 3 7
Electrocution (tileswork mosaic worksanitary work) 0 0 5 0 1 2 8
Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Electrocution and falling 1 0 4 1 3 4 13 Total 22 22 43 32 69 68 256
51
483 Fall of material
Fall of materials account about 7 of the total fatalities Fall of materials on head or body can be
prevented by using safety nets and overhead canopy around the periphery of the building Also
proper housekeeping and proper stacking of materials can help to avoid such accidents In these
cases the victims are totally unaware about the danger but wearing safety helmet could have
protected them from fatal injuries
Table 48 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of fall of material
Types of fall of material 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Fall of brick 2 1 5 4 5 1 18 Fall of bambooscaffolding 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 Fall of rod 1 1 0 2 1 4 9 Fall of pipe during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Fall of lift used for carrying goods 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 Fall of crane used for carrying goods 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Fall of machinery 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Fall of glass window 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of cement bag 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Fall of material during storm 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 4 2 7 18 14 10 55
484 Roof collapse
From Table 49 it is seen that majority casualty occurs when roof collapses while casting roof slab
Setting of weak shuttering and formwork and miscalculating the dead load of the roof that is
imposed after being cast are the main reasons Also proper precautions are not taken during
demolition work which also leads to roof collapse And sometimes the shuttering are opened even
before the concrete has gained sufficient strength resulting in fatalities
Table 49 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of roof collapse
Roof collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Roof collapse 1 0 3 0 3 3 10 Roof collapse (slab casting) 0 4 2 2 0 6 14 Roof collapse (demolition) 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 Roof collapse (centering) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Roof collapse (after opening shuttering) 0 0 3 0 2 0 5 Total 3 4 9 2 5 12 35
52
485 Wall collapse
Wall collapses mainly occur when excavation work is going on at the construction sites without
providing lateral braces or retaining wall or other precautionary measures thereby weakening the
foundation of the adjoining boundary wall resulting in collapse
Also demolition of existing buildings without proper precautionary measures results in unexpected
wall collapses causing fatalities
Since at present there is a rising trend of demolishing old structures and building new apartments
new focus should be given to the demolition work so that correct procedure is followed according to
BNBC and experienced workers are employed for such demolition work so that no more lives are
lost
Table 410 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of wall collapse
Wall collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Wall collapse (boundary walltop wall) 5 7 20 8 5 9 54 Wall collapse (demolition) 1 1 0 0 3 2 7
Total 6 8 20 8 8 11 61
486 Earth collapse
Earth collapse usually occurs when excavated earth materials are stored very close to the dug out pit
But now there is a common practice to take away the excavated earth materials to a far location
This has resulted in decrease in the number of fatalities in this sector From Table 411 it can be
seen that no fatalities were reported due to earth collapse in the last two years which is a good sign
Table 411 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of earth collapse
Earth collapse 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Earth collapse 2 0 1 2 0 0 5 Earth collapse (digging for foundationbasement) 2 2 4 2
0 0 10
Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Total 5 3 5 5 0 0 18
53
487 Suffocation
Suffocation is an intangible and silent source of death Deaths due to suffocation mainly occurs
when workers get inside the underground septic tank or reserve water tank to open the shuttering
and formwork When these structures are cast they are kept closed for a long period during which
poisonous gases develop inside the tank And when the workers get inside without knowing about
the danger they fall victim to the obnoxious gases It was evident from the data analysis that the
workers had no prior knowledge of such dangers lurking inside these type of closed structures More
than 2 to 3 people die in a single event of such accident because of the fact that when the first person
enters the tank he suffocates and becomes silent and provides no response to his co-workers So
then the other workers enter to investigate and alltogether everyone get suffocated and results in
more than one death
This situation is very dangerous because there is no visible signs of any danger to take precautions
for by the workers And hence a good number of workers die in such a manner These accidents
could be easily avoided if the workers had prior knowledge and proper safety measures were
adopted by the owner contractor subcontractors before entering the tanks A picture of the
fatalities is presented in Table 412 which shows the distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in
underground water tankseptic tank
Table 412 Distribution of fatalities due to suffocation in underground water tankseptic tank
Death due to suffocation by poisonous gas in underground reserve
water tankseptic tank
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
10 2 15 7 18 8 60
488 Accident during piling work
From studying the accident data a reasonable number of deaths were reported while doing piling
work Main causes of piling accidents are electrocution and fall of casing pipe on body
Table 413 Distribution of fatalities based upon nature of accident during piling work
Fatalities during piling work 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Electrocution (piling) 0 1 3 5 5 1 15 Fall of casing pipe on body during piling 0 0 1 4 5 1 11 Earth collapse (piling) 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 Breaking of tristand of piling machine 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 Fall from casing pipe (piling) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 1 2 5 10 10 4 32
54
49 Month wise distribution of fatalities
This section examines the timing of the accidents both during the day and around the year As
shown in Figure 45 July is the month with the highest number of fatalities with 113 deaths reported
during this month while December with 33 accidents is the month with the least number of deaths
The number of fatalities is very high during the period May to October The reason behind this can
be related to the monsoon period which is prevalent during this season On the other hand
November to January constitute the winter season and February to April constitute the dry season
which have comparatively lesser number of deaths reported Though the construction activities are
higher during the winter and the dry season but majority of the accidents occur during the monsoon
period This can be linked with the heavy showers during the monsoon season
Table 414 Month wise distribution of fatalities
Month 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total January 4 2 6 9 8 14 43 February 9 2 13 8 12 18 62 March 10 4 5 10 14 14 57 April 3 4 10 14 9 16 56 May 8 5 18 10 22 10 73 June 16 7 15 4 21 15 78 July 7 12 17 17 26 34 113 August 7 10 18 16 14 17 82 September 11 9 8 13 32 20 93 October 5 7 18 12 20 16 78 November 4 3 6 3 10 12 38 December 1 2 8 6 11 5 33 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806
Figure 45 Month wise distribution of fatalities
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
43
62 57 56
73 78
113
8293
78
38 33
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Month of the year
55
Due to the heavy rains inundation and water stagnation are very common in the construction sites
As water is a very good conductor of electricity this leads to quite a large number of deaths due to
electrocution especially when carrying and working with iron rods used for construction
Also the stagnating water makes roof and floor surfaces very slippery because of which the workers
tend to slip and fall from heights
Again the continuous exposure of degradable bamboo scaffolds and the ropes used for holding the
scaffolds to rains facilitates faster wear and deterioration of these materials making them weak for
carrying human load Eventually either the rope snaps or the scaffold breaks causing the workers to
fall to their death
Furthermore in our country financial year starts and ends around the period of June-July So during
this period there is a rush to complete the construction works within the deadline which creates a
huge possibility of overlooking and neglecting the required safety measures
410 Time wise distribution of fatalities
It can be seen that most of the accidents occur during 0800 am to 0100 pm About 60 of the
fatalities are reported to occur during the day This is because that most of construction activities
take place during the early hours of the day There are also some deaths reported during the late
evening and the night which is due to lack of adequate lighting in the construction sites
Table 415 Time wise distribution of fatalities
Time Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Before 0800 am 1 1 2 1 2 5 14 0800 am- 1100 am 8 12 26 34 49 40 169 1101 am- 0100 pm 14 11 32 30 39 59 185 0101 pm- 0300 pm 5 5 2 5 10 9 36 0301 pm- 0500 pm 6 9 17 13 23 21 89 0501 pm- 0700 pm 6 6 6 14 11 13 56 0701 pm- 0900 pm 2 3 7 4 8 8 31 After 0900 pm 1 1 2 2 5 6 16 Total 43 48 94 103 147 161 596
56
Figure 46 Time wise distribution of fatalities
411 Age wise distribution of fatalities
From the collected data it was observed that workers of age 20-30 are involved in majority of the
accidents when compared to the other age groups during construction Young workers who are
mostly inexperienced have greater tendency to perform risky works such as painting plastering
exterior ornamental works etc And they also tend to work without protection equipments like safety
helmet belt etc As a result higher tendency of falling accidents is linked to this group This high
frequency prevails between 20 to 30 years Also experience in construction for many years perhaps
is the main reason for lesser fatalities in the higher age group
Table 416 Age wise distribution of fatalities
Age Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 0-10 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 11-20 13 11 9 16 28 31 108 21-30 35 26 56 48 89 64 318 31-40 15 10 33 19 34 35 142 41-50 8 7 15 7 11 21 69 51-60 2 2 0 5 6 5 20 61-70 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 71-80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 73 57 116 96 169 153 664
14
169185
36
89
56
3116
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Before 0800 am
0800 am-1100 am
1101 am-0100 pm
0101 pm-0300 pm
0301 pm-0500 pm
0501 pm-0700 pm
0701 pm-0900 pm
After 0900 pm
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Time of the day
57
Figure 47 Age wise distribution of fatalities
412 Gender ratio
Since majority of the workers are males it is understandable that most of the fatalities are male
workers But female workers also die in the sites due to lack of awareness and knowledge about
safety From data analysis it was found that around 27 female workers lost lives many of which
were due to fall of materials on body
Table 417 Gender ratio of fatalities
Sex Range 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total Male 81 64 136 116 194 188 779 97 Female 4 3 6 6 5 3 27 3 Total 85 67 142 122 199 191 806 100
Figure 48 Gender ratio of fatalities
5
108
318
142
69
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
Num
ber o
f fat
aliti
es
Age range (in years)
Male 97
Female3
58
413 Concluding remarks
The imporatance of safety during building construction has to be realized as construction sector
contributes a significant part to the countryrsquos economic development Proper steps should be taken
to improve safety on building construction sites Most of the accidents in building construction
industry are caused due to lack of proper knowledge and training regarding safety measures and also
because of negligence and ignorance on the part of either the worker or the management or both
In this chapter number of fatalities were tabulated according to the different causes of accidents
occurring in the construction sites In doing so the prime objective was to identify these factors
which are mainly responsible for the construction fatalities in Bangladesh
From the data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two prime
reasons for construction fatalities both together accounting for about 71 of the total fatality count
But taking some basic safety measures could have eliminated these casualties Use of safety belts
provision of 900 mm guard railing on open edges of floors and roofs providing strong and durable
scaffolds according to BNBC specifications could prevent the fall from heights casualties On the
other hand proper maintenance of electrical equipments use of insulating gloves and mats proper
housekeeping and protective measures against rains could prevent the electrocution fatalities
Therefore hazards on sites should be detected and identified beforehand through rigorous
examination of construction sites and eliminated through implementing appropriate and effective
safety measures so as not to lose any more valuable lives
59
Chapter 5
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA
51 Introduction
The image of safety scenario prevailing in the construction industry of Bangladesh is tarnished with
the burden of high fatality rate of workers The industry also has a bad reputation in providing
necessary welfare services for the workers So a field survey was put in action in order to find and
analyze the current condition of welfare facilities and availability of safety equipments in the
construction sites In order to fulfill these objectives a well structured questionnaire was prepared
The survey was conducted with a view in mind to cover different parts of Dhaka city
52 Research methodology
The main objective of this study is to prevent fatal accidents in the construction sites From analysis
of fatality data it is found that there are many causes behind construction accidents like fall from
height electrocution suffocation wall collapse fall of material fall of roof or earth collapse etc
Fatality data collected represent only accident procedure not the lack of responsibility and
management issues related to the accidents
To reduce the chances of accidents it is needed to know the actual conditions of welfare facilities
and safety equipments So a survey is conducted to get response from both the workers and the
employers personnel (project managers engineers and contractors) Comparison between the data
obtained from both the parties is required to verify the actual condition and the responsibility related
to construction accidents
From literature review and initial surveys some welfare facilities safety equipments and factors
affecting construction safety are pointed out Based on these points a questionnaire is prepared to
survey both the parties - the workers and the employers The questionnaire was made in a format for
the convenience of analysis procedure
60
53 Survey procedure
The different phases for carrying out survey are
a) First phase background information collection
b) Second phase preparation of questionnaire
c) Third phase survey
d) Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
531 First phase background information collection
The background information on workers was gathered from literature and the sources of the
reviewed literature were in two categories
a) Primary source
These include field survey both formal and informal face to face interviews and
discussions with contractors site engineers project managers and workers on building
construction sites
b) Secondary source
These include desk review of both published and unpublished material including policy
documents newspapers internet journals articles reports bulletins newsletters and
OSHE statistics The information gathered from the preliminary phase helped guide the
second phase of the fieldwork which is distribution of questionnaires and collection of data
from the key respondents
532 Second phase preparation of questionnaire
In order to achieve the objectives of the study well-structured close-ended questionnaires were
designed to gather information from building construction sites in Dhaka city These questions were
ethical and feasible The wordings were without bias and the questions provided multiple choice
options which gave the respondents the opportunity to present their ideas by way of selecting from
the options provided Details of questionnaire can be seen in Appendix ndash A
61
In most questions in the questionnaire the respondents (the contractor engineers and project
managers and the workers) were to use Likert scale to scale them in order of importance to assess
the various factors The conventional five-points of scaling were selected as (Danso 2010)
a) Very important or very serious effect (5 points)
b) Important or serious effect (4 points)
c) Neutral (3 points)
d) Less important or less effect (2 points)
e) Least important or least effect (1 point)
533 Third phase survey
a) Classification of groups Two groups were classified to conduct the survey Group-1 covered the
workers and foremen The other group group-2 covered the employers side which constituted site
engineers project managers and contractors The classification was due to the variation (found from
earlier study in preliminary phase) of response between the workers (group-1) and the
employerspersonnel (group-2) There is also a general view in our industry that the workers are
deprived from decent working condition due to negligence of the employers and the employers
don‟t recognize these as problems So in order to find the response from both groups the
classification was done
b) Method of selecting survey sites The main emphasis was to survey sites covering different parts
of Dhaka city in order to get a general scenario of the construction sites of Dhaka city (see Appendix
- C) Around 40 sites were selected from both developed areas and sub-urban areas Also sites
developed mainly by owners himself private enterpreneurs and local contractors were selected ie
large scale construction firms that are well established in construction business are avoided as they
usually have some form of safety measures Selected sites were in different phases of construction
From each site more or less one worker and one employer personnel were interviewed thus almost
80 people were interviewed
c) Method of selecting workers and employerspersonnel In order to do survey a worker was
selected among the present workers on the sites It was tried to cover workers of different ages and
work experiences in order to get a uniform response of the whole work force As most of the
workers have no formal education the question was asked by surveyor and the questionnaire was
filled by him according to the response of the worker Depending on who is available either the site
62
engineer project manager or contractors the survey was attended by who was available from the
employer side
d) Problems faced during survey During the whole survey process various complications and
problems were encountered The main problem was unwillingness of both the parties to take part in
the survey Usually in only one out of four to five sites people were willing to take part in the
survey In many cases attempt was made mostly by the group-2 (employerspersonnel) to give false
information In most times when confronted they admitted it and corrected it For this fact it had to
be checked that the given data was in accordance with the actual evidence present in the sites
534 Fourth phase compiling and analysis of data
After the survey data for both groups are compiled and arranged in a format for analysis Then
compiling data of all factors were conducted manually and data were entered in Microsoft Excel
software and used in mathematical calculation
The next stage is to analyse and discuss the results obtained The following sections deal with the
analysis and discussion of collected data using statistical tools which were mainly Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index The Chi-square test was used to infer whether differences exist
in response from the respondents (workers and employers) while the Ranking by Importance Index
helped in establishing the significant importance of various issues and parameters related to the
welfare and safety at construction sites
54 The demography
541 The demography of the worker
In this survey the workers are denoted by group-1 Background information of the workers such as
age education level and work experience were collected From Table 51 we can see that about 30
of the workers are between the ages of 30 to 39 years while 375 of the workers have their ages
between 18 to 29 years About 10 of the workers are below 18 years of age and 125 are in the
age group of 40 to 49 years
63
Table 51 Age distribution of workers
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 4 10 18-29 15 375 30-39 12 30 40-49 5 125 More than 49 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 52 Distribution of education level of workers
Education level Frequency Percentage () None 29 725 Primary (class-5) 6 15 Secondary (class-8) 3 75 SSC 2 5 Total 40 100
Table 53 Distribution of work experience of workers
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over20 years 6 15 16-20 years 2 5 11-15 years 12 30 6-10 years 14 35 Up to 5 years 6 15 Total 40 100
The result from Table 52 shows that 725 workers have no basic education Only 275 have it out
of which 15 have only primary (class 5 pass) education This gives the idea that it will be very
difficult for them to read and understand the legislation and policies governing their employment
and occupational health safety on site
The result from Table 53 shows that the workers have moderate work experience 65 (30+35)
has 6-15 year work experience 20 have 16 years and above where 15 have less than 5 year work
experience
64
542 The demography of the employers personnel
For the purpose of this analysis the employer personnel used here are defined to include contractors
project managers and site engineers who are denoted by group-2 Table 54 shows that 65 of the
personnel are above 30 years of age and 25 have experience above 15 years Table 55 shows that
90 of them have a degree education in civil engineering and have degrees (BSc or Diploma) This
background information gathered on these personnel suggests that they are competent experienced
and capable of exercising good judgment and as such the responses provided by them could be
relied upon for study
Table 54 Age distribution of employers personnel
Age Frequency Percentage () Less than18 0 0 18-29 13 325 30-39 16 40 40-49 7 175 More than 49 3 75 Total 40 100
Table 55 Distribution of education level of employers personnel
Education level Frequency Percentage () BSc in Civil Engineering 16 40 Diploma Civil Engineering 20 50 Others 4 10 Total 40 100
Table 56 Distribution of work experience of employers personnel
Work experience Frequency Percentage () Over 20 years 5 125 16-20 years 5 125 11-15 years 11 275 6-10 years 5 125 Up to 5 years 14 35 Total 40 100
65
55 Reaction to the welfare and safety issues at the construction sites
As demonstrated in the literature review and study of fatality data the occupational health and
safety of workers on construction sites in this country have been neglected as a result of economic
factors and social behavior of both the employers personnel and workers The emphasis on this
section is to determine whether or not the employers in Dhaka city provide welfare facilities and
safety materials to workers on construction sites by analysing with mathematical statistical analysis
To this end section 551 deals with provisions of welfare facilities while section 552 deals with
provisions of safety equipments
551 Welfare facilities
Question There is general assertion that the employers do not provide the following welfare related
facilities at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by ticking
the appropriate cell
The above question was asked to both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) in the context of
non-provision of some key welfare facilities to the workers and for this reason they were to respond
to this assertion by ticking an appropriate cell to indicate whether they agree or disagree to that
assertion Table 57 shows the average rating to the responses from workers‟ side to the above
question
Table 57 Responses to non ndash provision of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safe drinking water 3(75) 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 0(0) 13(325) 9(225) 15(375) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 2(5) 17(425) 7(175) 11(275) 3(75) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 4(10) 24(60) 6(15) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 2(5) 8(20) 5(125) 20(50) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 8(20) 19(475) 7(175) 5(125) 1(25) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 32(80) 8(20) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 73(1825) 146 (365) 76(19) 84(21) 21(525) 40(100)
219(5475) 76(19) 105(2625) 40(100)
66
From analysis of the results in Table 57 the following picture emerges
a) The workers admitted that among the issues three welfare facilities that are lacking on site
for workers are first-aid equipment accommodation to change and store clothing and
suitable accommodation to rest
b) With a response rate of 100 workers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item is
lacking on construction site for workers They also agreed to the items - accommodation to
change and store clothing and suitable accommodation to rest with percentage of about
67 and 70
c) They only disagree on the case of sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) with
625
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of safe drinking water with 40 agree with 45
being neutral Similar reactions also given for means of cooking food with 33 agree and
45 disagree with 22 being neutral and for water for washing and cooking with 47
agree and 35 disagree with 18 being neutral
e) With an average total of about 55 workers agreed to the assertion that employers do not
provide welfare related facilities for them while an average percentage of 26 workers
disagreed to that assertion
The same question was posed to the employers and the results obtained is presented in Table 58
Table 58 Responses to non - provision of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safe drinking water 1(25) 4(10) 6(15) 27(675) 2(5) 40(100) Means of cooking food 1(25) 2(5) 10(25) 24(60) 3(75) 40(100) Water for washing and cooking 3(75) 5(125) 11(275) 19(475) 2(5) 40(100)
Suitable accommodation to rest 0(0) 12(30) 18(45) 10(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 1(25) 0(0) 4(10) 30(75) 5(125) 40(100)
Accommodation to change and store clothing 3(75) 13 (325) 16(40) 8(20) 0(0) 40(100)
First-aid equipment 22(55) 14(35) 2(5) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 44(11) 71(1775) 96(24) 172(43) 17(425) 40(100)
115(2875) 96(24) 189(4725) 40(100)
67
From analysis of the results in Table 58 the following picture emerges
a) The employers admitted that among other issues two welfare facilities that were lacking on
site for workers are first-aid equipment and accommodation to change and store clothing
b) With the response rate of 90 employers demonstrate that first-aid items as a welfare item
is lacking on construction site for workers
c) But they confirm that safe drinking water means of heating food water for washing and
cooking and sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) are well provided with
responses of about 72 67 52 and 87
d) Mixed reaction was given in the case of suitable accommodation to rest with 30 agree and
25 disagree with 45 being neutral
e) Taking an average of the ratings over all seven key welfare related issues of workers in
construction sites employers rated the displeasure of that assertion as 48 while 28
agreed to that assertion that welfare facilities are below par
By comparing responses from both parties we can see both agreement and differences exist between
the two focus groups They agreed on the fact there is lack of first-aid equipment and
accommodation to change and store clothing They also agreed that there is presence of sanitary
facilities in the construction sites But there were some dispute in the response on the factors like
safe drinking water means of cooking food water for washing and cooking But the percentage of
response between the two parties was close
The result from Table 57 and Table 58 also indicates high responses from both workers (55) and
employers (48) This seems to suggest that the provisions of welfare facilities in construction sites
in Dhaka city have been compromised To confirm this the Chi-square test of the contingency table
was employed to infer whether differences exist in responses between employers and workers The
next section introduces the contingency table of Chi-square test on welfare facilities
5511 Chi-square (X2 ) test on welfare facilities
The Chi-square test of the contingency table is used to determine whether differences exist in
responses between two or more populations (Keller and Warrack 2004) In this study Chi-square
test was used where employers and workers have been identified as the population The result of
Chi-square test is achieved by stating the hypothesis computing the observed and expected values
from the responses computing X2 statistic and p-value The X2 statistic measures how far away are
the observed values from the expected ones and it is the sum of each of the contributions from each
68
variable The p-value is computed by looking under the Chi-square table with the degrees of
freedom (see Appendix - B) From this Table 59 shows the results of computed observed values
and expected values on welfare facilities from both workers (group-1) and employers (group-2) on
welfare issues
Table 59 Observed and expected proportions on welfare issues
Welfare facility Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safe drinking water 40 725 1125 60395 52105 6887 7983 Means of cooking food 325 675 100 53684 46316 8359 9689
Water for washing and cooking 475 525 100 53684 46316 0712 0826
Suitable accommodation to rest
70 25 95 51000 44000 7078 8205
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
25 875 1125 60395 52105 20743 24043
Accommodation to change and store clothing
675 20 875 46974 40526 8969 10396
First-aid equipment 100 5 105 56368 48632 33773 39146 SUM 3825 330 7125 X2 (calculated) 18681
As indicated the result of Chi-square test is achieved by
a) stating the hypothesis
b) computing the observed and expected values from the responses
c) computing X2calculated statistic and
d) p-value
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on welfare facilities issues are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
Where H0 denotes the null hypothesis and H1
denotes the alternative hypothesis
Significant level (120572) = 005
We reject H0 if X2 calculated
gt X2005 - Table
69
X2 Statistic
After stating the hypothesis the next step is to calculate the X2 statistic and it is computed from the
relation
(X2) = [119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
The observed and expected proportions values are obtained from the responses of the two parties
After that X2 for all variables from welfare facilities in Table 59 is calculated from the X2 equation
above
Degrees of freedom
The degrees of freedom is calculated from the equation (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns
- 1) and from Table 59 the number of rows is 7 and the number of columns is 2 Thus the degrees
of freedom is = (7-1) times (2-1) = 6 times 1 = 6
P-Value
The last part is to compute the P-value This is done by looking under the Chi-square table (see
Appendix - B) The degrees of freedom which is now 6 is read from the Chi-square table under
significant level (120572) = 005 this then give X2Table = 1259
Now X2 calculated = 18681
X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypothesis This means that
the responses are dependant and it can be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on the issue of non-provision of welfare facilities
Or in other words the variation or the difference in the responses of the two groups is statistically
insignificant Therefore the Chi-square test proves the fact that welfare facilities are not well
provided in the construction sites
This finding is important as welfare facilities like first-aid equipment is not available in the
construction sites and this is certified by the response of both the parties This does not help the
70
condition of high fatality rates present in the construction industry If availability of first aid kit can
be ensured in the construction sites then the fatality rate could be controlled to some extent
Unavailability of other welfare facilities can create issues in the construction industry like raising
conflicts between workers and employers personnel
552 Safety equipments
Question There is general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety related items
or equipments at construction sites for workers Please indicate your reaction to each statement by
ticking the appropriate cell
The above question is related to the responses of the workers about the safety equipments which are
important for the safety of the workers in the construction sites They were asked to indicate whether
they agree or disagree to that assertion Table 510 below shows the average rate of responses from
them to the above question
Table 510 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree ()
Agree ()
Neutral ()
Disagree ()
Strongly disagree ()
Total ()
Safety signs 26(65) 9(225) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 27(675) 8(20) 0(0) 5(125) 0(0) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 28(70) 9(225) 0(0) 3(75) 0(0) 40(100)
Safety belt 28(70) 10(25) 0(0) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety boots 29(725) 8(20) 1(25) 2(5) 0(0) 40(100) Rain gear 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 30(75) 10(25) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 30(75) 9(225) 1(25) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 28(70) 8(20) 0(0) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Flashlights 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 30(75) 9(225) 0(0) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 29(725) 9(225) 1(25) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100)
Average ratings 29(725) 887
(2218) 031
(078) 167(416) 015(038) 40(100)
3787 (9468) 031 (078) 182 (454) 40(100)
71
Following the results in Table 510 the following picture emerges
a) From Table 510 the average ratings indicate that almost 95 of workers agreed to the
assertion while only 5 of them disagreed
b) Among other issues the workers asserted that hearing protection rain gear and kneepads are
not provided at all
c) Percentage of disagreement was able to reach double figure only in the case of safety signs
and hard hats or helmets
The same question was posed to employers The result obtained is presented in Table 511
Table 511 Responses to non - provision of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment Strongly agree () Agree () Neutral
() Disagree
() Strongly
disagree () Total ()
Safety signs 9(225) 23(575) 4(10) 3(75) 1(25) 40(100) Hard hats or helmets 12(30) 21(525) 3(75) 2(5) 2(5) 40(100) Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16(40) 20(50) 1(25) 1(25) 2(5) 40(100)
Safety belt 18(45) 17(425) 4(10) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Safety boots 20(50) 16(40) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Rain gear 21(525) 17(425) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Hearing protection 18(45) 20(50) 2(5) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Knee pads 18(45) 19(475) 3(75) 0(0) 0(0) 40(100) Gloves 18(45) 18(45) 2(5) 1(25) 1(25) 40(100) Safety nets 13(325) 19(475) 3(75) 2(5) 3(75) 40(100) Flashlights 17(425) 19(475) 2(5) 0(0) 2(5) 40(100) Ladder scaffold platforms 18(45) 19(475) 2(5) 1(25) 0(0) 40(100) Hoisting equipment 19(475) 17(425) 3(75) 0(0) 1(25) 40(100)
Average ratings 167
(4173) 1885
(4712) 254
(635) 085 (21)
106 (27)
40(100)
3555 (8885) 254(635) 191 (48) 40(100)
Following the results in Table 511 the following picture emerges
a) The employers side also admitted that there is a significant lack of provision of safety
equipments in the sites
b) About 88 of them agreed to the assertion while 7 remained neutral Only 5 of them
opposed the assertion
c) Among other issues the employers also asserted that hearing protection rain gear and knee
pads are not provided at all
72
Now from comparing responses from both parties it is clear that there is little presence of safety
equipments in our construction industry Almost for every case the employers agree with the
workers that the safety equipments are not adequately provided Only for safety nets and safety
signs the percentage of disagreement from the employers is able to reach double figure Other than
those both the parties agree on the assertion of unavailability of safety equipments in the
construction sites
5521 Chi-square (X2 ) test on safety equipments
Table 512 below shows the calculated observed and expected values of the responses from casual
workers and employers in relation to the provisions of safety equipments in construction sites
Table 512 Observed and expected proportions on safety equipments
Safety equipment Group-1 (observed)
Group-2 (observed) Total Group-1
(expected) Group-2
(expected) Group-1
X2 Group-2
X2 Safety signs 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Hard hats or helmets 875 10 975 92776 4724 0300 5893 Safety glasses goggles and face shields
925 75 100 95155 4845 0074 1455
Safety belts 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047 Safety boots 925 5 975 92776 4724 0001 0016 Rain gear 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Hearing protection 100 0 100 95155 4845 0247 4845
Knee pads 975 0 975 92776 4724 0241 4724 Gloves 90 5 95 90397 4603 0002 0034 Safety nets 975 125 110 104671 5329 0491 9648 Flashlights 975 5 1025 97534 4966 0000 0000 Ladder scaffold platforms 975 25 100 95155 4845 0058 1135
Hoisting equipment 95 25 975 92776 4724 0053 1047
SUM 12275 625 1290 X2(calculated) 42521
Hypothesis
H0 responses from workers and employers on issues relating to safety equipments are independent
H1 H0 is not true (two-tail)
A significant level of 120572 = 005 was used
73
We reject H0 if X2calculated
gt X2005 - Table
(X2calculated) =
[119874119887119904119890119903119907119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 minus119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]2119899119894=1
[119864119909119901119890119888119905119890119889 119901119903119900119901119900119903119905119894119900119899119904 ]
From Table 512 from both observed and expected proportions
Chi-square value is calculated to be X2calculated = 42521
Degree of freedom = (number of rows - 1) times (number of columns - 1) = (13-1) times (2-1) = 12
For significant level (120572 = 005) X2Table = 2103
Therefore X2Table lt X2
calculated
So the null hypothesis (H0) can be rejected and we can accept the alternate hypthesis (H1) So
responses from group-1 and group-2 are dependent ie there are no variation in their responses or
the differences in the responses are insignificant as the Chi-square test proves this fact Likewise in
the case of welfare facilities it can also be inferred that there is enough evidence of a relationship
between responses from workers and employers on issues of non-provision of safety equipments
The result also confirms that almost all the workers in the construction sites of Dhaka are not
provided with safety equipments This gives a clear indication as to why the construction industry in
this country has a high fatality rate
56 Ranking by Importance Index
561 Ranking of welfare facilities of workers
Fowler et al (1995) defines ranking as a method of comparison among given options by cardinality
of importance (ie first second third and so on) or that score items one at a time using a common
scale and it also determines the importance of that factor In this section Importance Indices were
used to rank the variables The Importance Index (II) of determination of significance of factors was
adopted because Adnan et al (2007) asserted that to analyze data on ordinal scale (eg Likert scale
1-5) the application of Importance Index is suitable
74
The Importance Index is computed as in (Adnan et al 2007)
Importance Index = 51198995 + 41198994 + 31198993 + 21198992 + 1198991
5(1198991+ 1198992 + 1198993+ 1198994 + 1198995) times 100
Where
n1 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoleast importantrdquo
n2 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoless importantrdquo
n3 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoneutralrdquo
n4 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquoimportantrdquo
n5 ndash number of respondents who answered ldquovery importantrdquo
It is worthwhile to note that the nearer the value of importance index of the identified factor to unity
(1) or 100 the more significant it is and hence a greater impact on the health and safety issues
with respect to other parameters
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view Here group-1 (worker foreman) were given some factors on a scale
of very important to least important to rank to determine how these factors influence their health and
safety issues Table 513 shows the average ratings of group-1 (worker foreman) response and also
shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of each parameter
Table 513 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (workers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 24 16 0 0 0 40 92 3 Means of cooking food 26 9 4 1 0 40 90 4 Water for washing and cooking 13 16 7 3 1 40 785 5
Suitable accommodation to rest 1 15 14 9 1 40 63 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) 29 11 0 0 0 40 945 2
Accommodation to change and store clothing 2 6 15 16 1 40 56 7
First-aid equipment 37 3 0 0 0 40 985 1
75
Following the results in Table 513 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues workers ranked first-aid equipment first (1st) as the most
important facility for addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are sanitary facilities (toilets showers
changing rooms) and safe drinking water
c) The least important welfare facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineer project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of very important to least important to rank
to determine how these factors influence workers‟ health and safety issues Table 514 shows the
average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
Table 514 Importance Index ranking of welfare facilities (employers)
Welfare facility 5 4 3 2 1 Total number of respondents
Importance Index Ranking
Safe drinking water 17 21 2 0 0 40 875 3 Means of cooking food 15 19 3 2 1 40 825 4 Water for washing and cooking
8 15 13 2 2 40 725 5
Suitable accommodation to rest
1 7 20 10 2 40 575 6
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
27 11 2 0 0 40 925 1
Accommodation to change and store clothing
1 8 13 15 3 40 545 7
First-aid equipment 26 10 3 1 0 40 905 2
Following the results in Table 514 the following picture emerges
a) On the welfare related issues engineers project managers and contractors ranked (1st)
sanitary facilities (toilets showers and changing rooms) as the most important facility for
addressing the health and safety issues concerning workers
b) The second (2nd) and third (3rd) important facilities are first aid equipment and safe drinking
water
76
c) The least important facility is suitable accommodation to rest
Table 515 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st First-aid equipment Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
2nd Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms) First aid equipment
3rd Safe drinking water Safe drinking water Least Suitable accommodation to rest Suitable accommodation to rest
For the fact that sanitary facilities and first-aid equipment emerged within the first and second
rankings of both the parties on welfare issues it is an indication of their importance in addressing
the occupational health and safety issues of workers on construction sites
In a typical Dhaka city construction site first aid equipment sanitary facilities and safe drinking
water are the most important welfare facilities according to both engineers project managers and
also workers
562 Ranking of safety equipments used in construction sites
Similar to welfare faclities survey was also conducted to rank the importance of different safety
equipments according to the views and experiences of the workers and employers Because lack of
safety equipments or properly not using these equipments is one of the main reasons for high fatality
records in construction industry
Question Please rank the following provisions for safety equipments to indicate the extent to which
they are important for addressing the safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they think workers should
have from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influences their safety issues Table 516 shows the
average ratings of group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
77
Table 516 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (workers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 12 14 4 10 0 74 4 Hard hats or helmets 32 8 0 0 0 96 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 13 10 8 8 1 73 5
Safety belts 33 7 0 0 0 965 1 Safety boots 0 6 13 15 6 495 9 Rain gear 0 2 11 18 9 43 13 Hearing protection 1 2 14 15 8 465 10 Knee pads 0 4 12 14 10 45 11 Gloves 8 15 7 6 4 685 6 Safety nets 21 9 6 2 2 825 3 Flashlights 1 4 9 15 11 445 12 Ladder scaffold platforms 3 4 10 16 7 50 8
Hoisting equipment 5 9 9 12 5 585 7 Following the results in Table 516 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked Safety belts first (1st) as the most important safety equipment for addressing
the health and safety issues concerning them
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety nets were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd)
important safety equipments
c) Rain gear is the least important safety equipment
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 96 and safety belt has 965 So both these
equipments are equally important
Question Please rank the following provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for
addressing the safety equipments of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
These data are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager and contractor) on
what they think workers should have from their point of view
Here group-2 people were given some safety equipment factors on a scale of very important to least
important to rank to determine how these factors influence workers‟ safety issues Table 517 shows
the average ratings of response of group-2 and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the
Importance Index of each parameter
78
Table 517 Importance Index ranking of safety equipments (employers)
Safety equipment 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Safety signs 9 14 13 1 3 725 4 Hard hats or helmets 30 10 0 0 0 95 2 Safety glasses goggles and face shields 16 8 9 0 7 73 3
Safety belts 31 9 0 0 0 955 1 Safety boots 1 4 15 11 9 485 8 Rain gear 0 2 10 16 12 41 10 Hearing protection 1 2 9 13 15 405 11 Knee pads 0 4 9 11 16 405 11 Gloves 6 10 11 7 6 615 6 Safety nets 12 12 6 4 6 70 5 Flashlights 2 2 7 11 18 395 13 Ladder scaffold platforms 2 6 9 9 14 465 9
Hoisting equipment 6 7 9 10 8 565 7
Following the results in Table 517 the following picture emerges
a) On the issue of safety equipments engineers project managers and contractors ranked
safety belts first (1st) as the most important facility for addressing the health and safety
issues concerning workers
b) While hard hats or helmet and safety glasses goggles and face shields were ranked as
second (2nd) and third (3rd) important safety materials
c) Flash light is the least important safety equipment which is unrealistic in some sense
Because without flashlight many accidents have occurred
d) Hard hats or helmets has importance index 95 and safety belt has 955 So the importance of
both these materials are almost the same
Table 518 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2) 1st Safety belts Safety belts 2nd Hard hats or helmet Hard hats or helmet
3rd Safety nets Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Least Rain gear Flash light
On safety equipment provisions safety belts and hard hats or helmet emerged within the first and
second rankings of the employers and workers This is an indication that hard hats or helmet and
safety belts are important safety material in addressing the occupational health and safety issues of
workers on construction site
79
This means that there was consistency in agreement between the two respondent parties that safety
belts and hard hats or helmet are needed for addressing the occupational health issues concerning
workers in construction sites
563 Ranking of factors affecting construction safety
In this part of survey it was attempted to find the inherent causes behind the fatal accidents related
to managerial and coordination actions taken during construction Not only provisions of safety
equipments and welfare facilities at construction sites reduce the possibility of accidents but also
proper implementation of safety management plans policies and effective communication between
workers and engineers or project manager play a vital role in creating a safe and secure atmosphere
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-1 (worker foreman) on what they
think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of view
Here group-1 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank for
determining how these factors influence their safety issues Table 519 shows the average ratings of
group-1 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
80
Table 519 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (workers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 26 6 5 3 0 875 2 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 28 5 6 1 0 90 1
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Contractors poor safety management system 24 2 12 1 1 835 6 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 23 4 11 1 1 835 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 22 4 11 2 1 82 8
Subcontractors poor safety management system 21 5 11 2 1 815 9 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 25 3 10 1 1 85 4
Schedule pressure from client 24 4 11 1 0 855 3 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
13 8 6 8 5 68 10
Safety equipments are not user friendly 6 9 9 8 8 585 11
Following the results in Table 519 the following picture emerges
a) Workers ranked bdquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor‟ first (1st) as
the most contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoProject managers ignoring safety‟ and bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ were ranked
as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors affecting construction safety
c) bdquoSafety equipments are not user friendly‟ is the least affecting contributing factor
d) Both bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor‟ and
bdquoContractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure‟ have importance index 85 So the
contribution of both the factors are the same
Question On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank the following factors contributing to safety of
construction workers to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by
ticking the appropriate cell
The data in the following table are based on the survey of group-2 (site engineers project manager
and contractor) on what they think about factors affecting construction safety from their point of
view
Here group-2 people were given some factors on a scale of serious effect to least effect to rank to
determine how these factors influence their safety issues Table 520 shows the average ratings of
group-2 response and also shows the subsequent ranking by computing the Importance Index of
each parameter
81
Table 520 Importance Index ranking of factors affecting construction safety (employers)
Factorcause 5 4 3 2 1 Importance Index Ranking
Project managers ignoring safety 7 13 7 11 2 66 10 Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor 11 14 6 8 1 73 4
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure 5 17 10 7 1 69 8 Contractors poor safety management system 7 16 10 6 1 71 5 Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor 5 18 9 7 1 695 6
Safety equipments not provided by the subcontractor 5 16 10 8 1 68 9 Subcontractors poor safety management system 8 12 13 5 2 695 6 Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor 23 7 3 6 1 825 3
Schedule pressure from client 23 9 4 3 1 85 2 Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety 33 5 1 1 0 95 1
Safety equipments are not user friendly 11 2 4 13 10 555 11 Following the results in Table 520 the following picture emerges
a) Engineers project managers and contractors ranked bdquoWorkers do not use safety equipments
although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety‟ first (1st) as the most
contributing factor affecting construction safety
b) While bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ and bdquoInsufficient money input on safety by client
contractor and subcontractor‟ were ranked as second (2nd) and third (3rd) contributing factors
affecting construction safety
c) Safety equipments are not user friendly is the least affecting contributing factor
Table 521 Comparison between responses from workers and employers
Ranking Workers (group-1) Employers (group-2)
1st Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Workers do not use safety equipments although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
2nd Project managers ignoring safety Schedule pressure from client
3rd Schedule pressure from client Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Least Safety equipments are not user friendly Safety equipments are not user friendly
Table 521 shows the significant difference between response of group-1 and group-2 people where
workers think lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor is the main factor
affecting safety On the other hand engineers and project managers think workers do not use safety
equipments although they are provided and they are overconfident with their safety Schedule
82
pressure from client emerges within the 2nd and 3rd ranking for responses of both group-1 and group-
2 Both the parties disagreed on the fact that safety equipments are not user friendly
57 Concluding remarks
This chapter has presented the analysis and discussions of the results obtained from the collected
data The demography of the respondents has been analysed using descriptive statistics Almost all
the respondents were experienced in their work and capable of exercising sound judgment and that
their responses could be relied on for the study
The Chi-square test was done to verify the responses between the two parties on the current situation
of availability of welfare facilities and safety equipments in the construction sites
The chapter has also reported the ranking results from Importance Index with respect to
occupational health and safety issues of workers in construction sites Based on this finding issues
such as bdquoLack of measures of contractors‟ on the employers side and bdquoWorkers do not use safety
equipments‟ on the workers side emerged as concerning and requires proper attention and should be
duly highlighted while considering safety of workers Again bdquoSchedule pressure from client‟ is the
common factor affecting safety according to both parties
83
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
61 General
Development of a country means raising the standard of living of people And this is not possible
without building infrastructures such as modern commercial and residential centres and hence
construction industry has emerged as a very important sector Nevertheless it was seen in the study
that safety condition in the construction sites is relatively poor and this industry is characterized by
high fatality rates due to deliberate negligence of safety issues
62 Conclusion
Overall the safety related issues currently prevailing in the construction sites do not reflect a
convincing and satisfactory picture Collection and analysis of fatality data from the Police
authorities and OSHE reveal that during the last six years period 2008 ndash 2013 a total of 806 people
died in the country averaging about 135 people per year This figure puts the construction sector in
the second position right after garments industry on the list of maximum number of fatalities for
any workplace in Bangladesh This figure also accounts for a fatality rate of 765 per 100000
workers in this sector But this figure is much less than the actual count as most accidents are neither
reported to the Police nor reported in the news media
In Bangladesh around 26 million people are engaged in construction industry according to the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics which constitutes about 44 of the total workforce but the
fatalities in this sector accounts for about 166 of the total workplace fatalities in Bangladesh
In addition it was also found that on an average one person dies out of every 50 construction sites in
Dhaka city
84
Further research revealed some more facts regarding safety management issues in Bangladesh
a) From data analysis it can be seen that falling from heights and electrocution are the two
prime reasons for construction fatalities in this country together accounting for about 71
of the total fatality count
b) Lack of enforcement of safety laws and absence of law enforcing agency in the field is the
main reason for the poor safety conditions in the construction sites Provisions of ensuring
safety in the sites are given in both Bangladesh Labour Law 2006 and Bangladesh National
Building Code 2006 but enforcement of these laws is absent
c) From field visits it was observed that the workers do not use safety gears such as safety
helmets boots belts gloves goggles etc during their work resulting in fatal accidents
Either these equipments are not provided or the workers despite their availability do not
use them due to lack in knowledge and awareness
d) From data analysis it was also seen that more accidents occur during the monsoon season
compared to the other period of the year
The rainy months of May to October witness about 65 of the fatal accidents that occur
during the whole year
On the contrary the other half of the year is responsible for the rest 35 of deaths This
includes the winter season of November to January accounting only 14 of the fatalities
And also the dry season ranging between February and April sees only 21 fatalities So it
is advisable that more precautions should be taken with the onset of rainy season in
Bangladesh
e) At the outset inadequate safety equipments weak enforcement of existing safety laws poor
labour inspections lack of awareness lack of safety training among workers absence of
safety monitoring committee at workplace level and risky nature of work were identified to
be some of the key reasons for increasing fatal accidents and workers rights violations in the
construction sites
Also mathematical analysis was conducted using rigorous statistical tools such as Chi-square test
and Ranking by Importance Index on the basis of responses of the people in the construction sites
(workers and employers)
85
Following findings and conclusions were drawn as a result of the analysis
a) On issues of welfare facilities 55 workers stated that they are not provided while on the
other hand 48 employers opposed that assertion But analysis with Chi-square test proves
that the statistic difference between the two partyrsquos responses is insignificant and implies on
a holistic nature that they are not well provided
b) On issues of safety equipments both the parties agree that the provision is very limited and
well below par Around 95 workers and 88 employers agreed to that statement that they
are insufficient Subsequently the Chi-square analysis also proves that assertion that they
are not well provided
c) Using the method of Ranking by Importance Index on issues of welfare facilities both the
parties ranked the following three items in the top three list in terms of relative importance
first-aid equipment safe drinking water and proper and hygienic sanitary facilities
d) On issues of safety equipments again both parties agreed that safety helmets and safety belts
are the two most important equipments for ensuring safety at sites
e) But when ranking was done on various lsquofactors affecting construction safetyrsquo the result was
sort of mutually imposing on each other with respect to each others interest
i Workers ranked lsquoLack of emergency response plan and measures of contractorrsquo
and lsquoProject managers ignoring safetyrsquo among the top two factors having serious
effects on their safety
ii While the employers ranked lsquoWorkers do not use safety equipments although they
are provided and are overconfident with their safetyrsquo and lsquoSchedule pressure from
clientrsquo being the top two factors for affecting construction safety
63 Recommendations
Based on the study of existing conditions at the construction sites following recommendations can
be made to improve the safety scenario
a) The government should either establish a new enforcing body or nominate an existing body
to enforce the BNBC to ensure regular inspection
86
b) Occupational safety and health laws on construction safety need to be updated This should
ensure that the responsibilities are distributed at all levels - developersmain
contractorsowners to look into the safety matters and the government shall take the
responsibility of monitoring their safety performance
c) Formal institutional training on safety precautions need to be scheduled and provided on a
regular basis to all of the concerned parties
d) Emergency response plan and project managersrsquo proper supervision should be implemented
e) Schedule pressure from client should be avoided by proper management and that should be
kept in mind as a mandatory matter during contractual procedure
f) The supervision of project manager is very much important that the workers properly use
the safety equipment Nothing but some supervision and awareness can reduce accidents to
great extent
64 Scope of future studies
Further research can be made in this area to get more comprehensive result
a) This survey was conducted in Dhaka city in around 40 construction sites The more
geographical area can be surveyed the more appropriate the result will be obtained For
more appropriate results sample size should be increased
b) More welfare facilities safety equipments and various factors affecting safety can be added
for survey and subsequent analysis The more parameters will be added the more accurate
and extensive result can be obtained
c) More rigorous statistical analysis can be done and other staistical tools can be tried for
analysis to get a comparison of the results
87
REFERENCES
Adnan E Sherif M Ziad A M and Peter EM (2007) ldquoFactors affecting labour productivity in building projects in the Gaza Striprdquo JCivEngManage 13(4) 245ndash254 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (2013) Report on Labour Force Survey Dhaka Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2008) ldquoBLAST and another vs Bangladesh and others [bdquoBuilding Construction Code and Worker Safety‟ Case]rdquo lthttpwwwblast orgbdissuesworkersrights231-718of2008gt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (2011) ldquoLandmark judgment to ensure safety of construction workersrdquo lthttpblastorgbdcontentpressreleasepress-release-eng- 21-nov2011pdfgt (Jul 26 2013) Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) (2009)
Occupational Safety and Health Profile of Construction Sector Dhaka Danso FO (2010) ldquoOccupational health and safety issues involving casual workers on building construction sites in Ghana a Kumasi studyrdquo MS Thesis Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ghana Dewri LV (2012) ldquoA Comprehensive Study on the Real Estate Sector of Bangladeshrdquo Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh lthttpwwwrehab-bdorgComprehensive_ Study_On_The_Real_Estate_Sector_Of_Bangladeshpdfgt (Jul 22 2013) Faruque A A (2009) ldquoCurrent Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations System in Bangladeshrdquo International Labour Organization lthttpwwwoitorgwcmsp5groups public---asia---ro-bangkok---sro-new_delhidocumentspublicationwcms_123336pdfgt (Dec 10 2013) Ferdous A (2012) ldquoConstruction workers‟ safety neglectedrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 10 lthttp
newagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Apr18 2013)
Fowler J and Floyd J (1995) Improving Survey Questions Design And Evaluation Sage Publications Thousand Oaks CA Foyez A (2013) ldquoMost buildings since 2009 in Dhaka have no fire approvalrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lthttpwwwenvnewsorgnewscategory134htmlNews_page=10gt (Dec16 2013) Forum for Physical Development of Bangladesh (FPD) (2011) ldquo2nd Round Table Discussion on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Sectorrdquo lthttpfpd-bdcomp=1650gt (Jul 22 2013) Hossein I (2013) ldquoProposal to strengthen Dept of Factory Inspection under govt considerationrdquo The Financial Express Jul 14 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcomoldindexphp ref=MjBfMDdfMTRfMTNfMV85MF8xNzYzNzg=gt (Dec16 2013)
88
Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) (2006) Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 Dhaka International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009) ldquoConstruction a hazardous workrdquo lthttpwww
iloorgsafeworkareasofworkhazardous-workWCMS_124597lang--enindexhtmgt (Jul 22 2013)
Kallol A S (2013) ldquoFactory inspection directorate awaits massive overhaulrdquo Dhaka Tribune Nov
17 lthttpwwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013nov17factory-inspection-directorate-awaits-massive-overhaulgt (Mar 10 2014)
Karim N U (2013) ldquoBangladesh strengthens factory inspection departmentrdquo The Daily Star Jun 12 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=220319gt (Mar 10 2014) Keller G and Warrack B (2004) Statistics for Management and Economics 6th Edition Thomson Learning Pacific Grove CA Liton S (2013) ldquoFactory watch just farcical - 51 inspectors for monitoring two lakh factoriesrdquo The Daily Star Apr 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnetbeta2newsfactory-watch-just-farcicalgt lrm(Jun16 2013) Mahmud A H (2013) ldquoWho are to blame for design faultsrdquo Dhaka Tribune Apr 28 lthttp
wwwdhakatribunecomlabour2013apr28who-are-to-blame-for-design-faultgt (Jun16 2013)
Mahmud MA (2007) ldquoCorruption in Plan Permission process in RAJUK a study of violations and
proposalsrdquo Transparency International Bangladesh lthttpwwwti-bangladeshorg researchES_Rajuk_Engpdfgt (Jul 18 2013)
Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2006) Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 Dhaka Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) (2013) Bangladesh Labour Act Amendment 2013 Dhaka Munni M (2013) ldquoProposal to upgrade factory inspection dept gets MoPA approvalrdquo The Financial Express Oct 3 lthttpwwwthefinancialexpress-bdcom20131003417gt (Jun16 2013) Rahman M (2011) ldquoOccupational Hazards construction sites go unwatchedrdquo The Daily Star
Apr 03 lthttparchivethedailystarnetnewDesignnews-detailsphpnid=180240gt (Jun 16 2013)
Rashid M (2011) ldquoMost construction firms flout safety rulesrdquo The Daily New Age Jul 21 lt httpnewagebdcomnewspaper1archive_detailsphpdate=2011-07-21nid=27113gt (Jun16 2013) Shafi S A (2010) ldquoNational Building Code and its implementationrdquo Round Table Discussion on Implementation of National Building Code lthttpwwwblastorgbdcontentkey- notenational-building-code-29Junepdfgt (Aug 15 2013) Staff Correspondent (2013) ldquoHC issues contempt rule against 4 secys RAJUK bossrdquo The Daily Star May 29 lthttparchivethedailystarnethc-issues-contempt-rule-against-4-secys- rajukgtlrm (Aug 22 2013)
89
Toole T (2002) ldquoConstruction site safety rolesrdquo JConstrEngManage 101061(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)1283(203)
Wikipedia (2014) ldquoDhakardquo lthttpenwikipediaorgwikiDhakagt (Mar 11 2014) Zohar D (2003) Safety climate Conceptual and measurement issues Handbook of Occupational
Health Psychology 123-142 American Psychological Association Washington DC
90
Appendix A Survey questionnaire
Survey questionnaire
(A) Personal and construction site details
1 Location of the construction site
2 Please tick (radic) to indicate your position in the company
a) Contractor
b) Project manager
c) Site engineer
d) Worker
e) If others please specifyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
3 Please specify your education levelhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip
4 Please tick (radic) to indicate your age
a) Less than18
b) 18-29
c) 30-39
d) 40-49
e) More than 49
5 Tick to indicate how long you have been involved in the building construction industry
a) Over20 years
b) 16-20 years
c) 11-15 years
d) 6-10 years
e) Up to 5 years
91
(B) Health and safety related issues
6 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following welfare related facilities in construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Welfare facilities Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
7 Below are a number of welfare facilities provided on sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Welfare facilities 5 4 3 2 1
Safe drinking water
Means of heating food
Water for washing and cooking
Suitable accommodation to rest
Sanitary facilities (toilets showers changing rooms)
Accommodation to change and store clothing
First-aid equipment
92
(C) Safety equipments
8 There is a general assertion that employers do not provide the following safety equipments on construction site for workers Please indicate your reaction (according to your own construction site) to each statement by ticking the appropriate cell
Safety equipments Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
9 Below are a number of safety equipments provided in sites for workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these provisions to indicate the extent to which they are important for addressing the health and safety concerns of casual workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very important = 5 b) Important = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less important = 2 e) Least important = 1
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety signs
Hard hats or helmets
Safety glasses goggles and face shields
Safety belt
93
Safety equipments 5 4 3 2 1
Safety boots
Rain gear
Hearing protection
Knee pads
Gloves
Safety nets
Flashlights
Ladder scaffold platforms
Hoisting equipment
(D) Factors affecting construction site 10 Below are a number of factors that maymay not contribute to safety of construction workers On a scale of 1 to 5 please rank these to indicate the extent to which they affect safety of construction workers by ticking the appropriate cell
a) Very serious effect = 5 b) Serious effect = 4 c) Neutral = 3 d) Less effect = 2 e) Least effect = 1
Factorscauses 5 4 3 2 1
Project managers ignoring safety
Lack of emergency response plan and measures of contractor
Contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure
Contractors poor safety management system
Contractors insufficient supervision toward subcontractor
Safety equipment not provided by the subcontractor
Subcontractors poor safety management system Insufficient money input on safety by client contractor and subcontractor
Schedule pressure from client Workers do not use safety equipment although they are provided and are overconfident with their safety
Safety equipment are not user friendly
94
Appendix B Cutoff points of the Chi-square distribution function
95
Appendix C Area surveyed in Dhaka city (approximate location)
Source Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK)
(Black dots indicate the approximate location of the survey sites)