Establishing the Baseline for an Occupational Health and Safety Management System in a Construction Company

Construction industry is among the most hazardous industries, wherein workers are exposed to hazards and are prone to accidents. These harmful incidents can be easily prevented through appropriate management practices. In India, awareness about occupational health and safety management in the construction industry is increasing, albeit slowly. Therefore, a project was undertaken to study the actual level of awareness and implementation of occupational health and safety (OHS) practices of a large scale construction company. Baseline information on OHS practices (or the lack of such practices) was collected. This paper details the results of the initial OHS audit. Analysis of this information led to a discussion with the management on the introduction of an OHS management system. The company’s management has agreed to implement an OHS management system based on the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard based on recommendations made from this work. This method can be easily adopted by any construction organization to achieve better occupational health and safety, reduce risk related costs and improve productivity.