Safety Regulations for Construction and Explosives

Construction Quality

• Quality is defined as meeting legal, aesthetic, and functional project requirements.
• Quality in construction means meeting or exceeding client/owner requirements.
• Quality can be expressed as end results or detailed descriptions of the project.
• A quality management system (QMS) ensures the completed project meets the requirements.

Advantages of Quality in Construction

• Meets the contract specifications.
• Completes the project on time.
• Fulfills owner requirements within budget.
• Prevents disputes and claims
• Ensures facilities function as intended.

Quality Control

• Periodic inspection to ensure the constructed facilities meet contract standards.
• Commitment to producing defect-free products.

Quality Assurance

• Covers all project activities from design to documentation.
• Maintains consistent standards and quality.
• Provides ongoing training for workers.
• Implements a good safety program.
• Establishes a sound procurement system for materials and suppliers.
• Motivates employees through reward schemes.

Cost of Quality

• Involves costs of prevention, appraisal, and deviation.
• Prevention costs are activities to avoid errors.
• Appraisal costs are activities to determine if requirements are met (e.g., inspections).
• Deviation costs result from not meeting requirements (e.g., rework, scrap).
• Deviation costs also occur after a project is handed over to the owner (e.g., repairs).

ISO Standards

• International standards for product design, production, delivery, testing, etc.
• Covers quality assurance and quality management.

Total Quality Management (TQM) in Construction

• Aims to improve performance continuously.
• Involves every organization member.
• Focuses on quality as a strategic objective.
• Encourages improving performance, teamwork, and training.
• Seeks to achieve customer satisfaction, cost-effectiveness, and defect-free products.

Elements of TQM in Construction

• Training, management commitment and leadership, statistical methods,
• Teamwork, supplier involvement, quality standards, drawings and specifications,
• Constructability analysis, customer service, costs of quality.

Management Commitment and Leadership

• Crucial for successful TQM programs.
• Recognizing that there is a problem with productivity.
• Emphasizing quality as part of productivity.
• Initial step for a TQM program

Training

• Everyone should receive quality training at every level of the organization (management, engineering, technicians, support staff, etc.).
• Tailored training plans for the company.

Teamwork

• Quality teams provide structure and support.
• Trains personnel on continuous improvement processes.

Statistical Methods

• Identifies causes of quality issues and verifies/reproduces measurements.
• Using the tools for analysis and improvement.

Cost of Quality

• Includes Prevention, Appraisal, and Deviation costs.
• Relevant for managing and controlling costs during projects.

Supplier Involvement

• Building close, long-term relationships with suppliers is necessary for cost- and quality-effective construction.

Customer Service

• Customer satisfaction is key for companies.
• Crucial for final product quality.

Construction Industry-Specific Factors

• Includes Quality codes and standards, accurate drawings/specifications.
• Focuses on constructability of the project itself.

Safety in Construction

• Implementing robust safety protocols is essential.
• Awareness of safety laws and regulations is important.
• Preventing physical and/or behavioral accidents is necessary.
• All employees and personnel must be educated.
• Training, correct equipment, and procedures are required.

Safety Measures for Excavation

• Experienced supervisors monitor excavation efforts.
• Thorough knowledge of underground structures is required, including utilities.
• Safety measures for excavations in soft, hard, or fissured rock are crucial.
• Proper support and bracing for excavated sites are necessary.

Safety Measures for Hot Bituminous Work

• Protective gear is necessary.
• Dry sand or loose earth is needed for containment of any fire.
• Safe access is crucial.
• Working platforms need rails and pulleys, properly protected from the weather.
• Traffic control is necessary in areas where bitumen plants operate along public roads.

Safety Measures for Drilling and Blasting

• Specific containers for carrying explosives.
• Dedicated vehicles with appropriate safety features are mandatory.
• No smoking, and designated areas for storage are necessary.

Safety Measures for Demolition

• Clearly defined structure and areas around the demolition area are essential.
• Access and safe exits for emergencies need to be established.
• Protective equipment is required for all personnel.
• The status of adjacent structures is important for prevention of damage.
• Disconnecting critical utilities (e.g., gas, water, electricity) are crucial during demolitions.

Importance of Safety in Construction

• Accidents involve suffering and financial costs.
• Prevents unnecessary losses due to accidents.
• Insurance premiums increase with accidents.

Laws and Regulations

• Employers are obligated to provide a safe work environment free from identifiable hazards.
• Violations lead to potentially severe penalties.

Construction Safety Problems

• Negligence, pressure, competition among workers, lack of rest/training, unsafe tools,
• Unsupervised jobs, and the unavailability/or misuse of safety equipment.

Morals and Values

• Principles of correct behaviour and acceptable ways.
• Living one's life according to important beliefs.

Ethics or Ethical Principles

• Standards and rules of moral behavior.
• Ethical principles govern the moral character of people.

Confidentiality

• Protecting the client's personal information.
• Confidentiality is essential in client relationships.