Why aren’t we more safety conscious?

Following on from the recent accident at the Cayman Islands building project, The Mansion at Pease Bay, where a man lost his life, one cannot say whether it was due to insufficient safety standards at the building site or something else.

Actually there are relatively few accidents resulting in death on construction sites here and that may be due to a large extent on luck or God, depending how religious you are.

It is strange when one of our biggest building companies, DART, imposes some of the strictest safety measures on all their construction sites and gets hit more times by a government safety inspector than Joe Bloggs who is trusting to luck that his scaffolding doesn’t fall down.

It is not just building contractors but even the government National Roads Authority (NRA) who are not following accepted safety work practices.

This was pointed out to me by one of our readers who is from the USA and is here working in the construction field. Even though the NRA might be observing our own local safety laws he made this observation complete with a photograph on the current work that the NRA has been executing on the highway east of the Hurley’s roundabout up to the start of the East West Arterial Road. He noted there was no construction speed limit – just a sign that said “SLOW” and the use of non reflective barriers which are a hazard to motorists at night. There was also no visible police presence.

He also sent me a copy of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’ s Work Zone Traffic Safety leaflet that I republish below. He also said in some US districts fines increased (3x) in construction zones for speeding offences.

That is not a bad idea. I now use this stretch of the road just mentioned nearly every day  and I noticed hardly a driver slowed down at the sign that said “slow” (without giving a speed limit) even with men and machines working just behind the white safety barriers.

I wonder how many of these speedsters were ones commenting on the CNS website about how lax our safety laws are and blaming the “cowboy” fly by night subcontractors for operating with no safety concerns! These speedsters operated their cars without any safety concerns not only for themselves but the NRA workmen.

When I was involved in the construction field when I first arrived on Grand Cayman over 30 years ago, I complained then at how lax the building construction safety concerns were but was told “this is how we do it here” and that was the end of the argument.

OSHA Fact Sheet

Work Zone Traffic Safety
Transportation incidents and workers struck by vehicles or mobile equipment account for the highest number of fatal work injuries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers such as emergency responders, clean-up, utility, demolition, construction, and others in areas where there are moving vehicles and traffic are exposed to being struck-by moving vehicles. Work zones are used to move traffic in an approved direction and are typically identified by signs, cones, barrels, and barriers.

General
There must be a traffic control plan for the movement of vehicles in areas where there are also workers conducting other tasks. Drivers, workers on foot, and pedestrians must be able to see and understand the routes they are to follow. The authority in charge, Federal, state, or local, will determine the configuration of the temporary traffic control zone for motorists and pedestrians. The construction project manager will determine the internal traffic control plan within the construction/demolition worksite. When there are several projects, coordinated vehicle routes and communication between contractors will reduce vehicular struck-by incidents.

Signs
Standard highway signs for information, speed limits, and work zones will assist drivers in identifying, in designated traffic paths, such directives as: EVACUATION ROUTE; DO NOT ENTER; REDUCED SPEED AHEAD; ROAD CLOSED; and NO OUTLET. Using standard highway signs for internal construction worksite traffic control will assist workers in recognizing the route they are to use at the construction site.

Traffic Control Devices
Standard traffic control devices, signals, and message boards will instruct drivers to follow a path away from where work is being done. The authority in charge will determine the approved traffic control devices such as cones, barrels, barricades, and delineator posts that will be used as part of the traffic control plan. These standard devices should also be used inside the work zone.

Work Zone Protections
Various styles of concrete, water, sand, collapsible barriers, crash cushions, and truck- mounted attenuators are available to limit motorist intrusions into the construction work zone.

Flagging
Flaggers and others providing temporary traffic control should wear high visibility clothing with a background of fluorescent orange-red or yellow-green and retroreflective material of orange, yellow, white, silver, or yellow-green. In areas of traffic movement, this personal protective equipment will make the worker visible for at least1,000 feet, so that the worker can be seen from any direction, and make the worker stand out from the background. Check the label or packaging to ensure that the garments are performance class 2 or 3.

Drivers should be warned in advance with signs that there will be a flagger ahead. Flaggers should use STOP/SLOW paddles, paddles with lights, or flags (flags should be used only in emergencies.) The STOP sign should be octagonal with a red background and white letters and border. The SLOW sign is the same shape, with an orange background and black letters and a border.

Flagger stations should be illuminated. Lighting for workers on foot and equipment operators is to be at least 5 foot-candles or greater. Where available lighting is not sufficient, flares or chemical lighting should be used. Glare affecting workers and motorists should be controlled or eliminated.

Training
Flaggers should be trained/certified and use the signaling methods required by the authority in charge. Workers on foot, equipment operators, and drivers in internal work zones need to know the routes that construction vehicles will use. Equipment operators and signal persons need to know the hand signals used on the worksite. Operators and workers on foot need to know the visibility limits and the “blind spots” for each vehicle on site. Workers on foot should wear high visibility safety garments designated as class 1, 2, or 3. Workers should be made aware of
the ways in which shiftwork and nightwork may affect their performance.

Driving
Seat belts and rollover protection should be used on equipment and vehicles as stated by the manufacturer.

END

After reading all the above our safety laws, even when adhered to, leave a lot to be desired.

We will need a lot more deaths and serious injuries from our failure to be more safety conscious before the powers that be sit up and take notice. And it is no good passing laws if no one is paid to actually enforce them.