Analysis of occupational accidents for safety design.

BACKGROUND: Safety design covers proactive actions as it analyzes accident risks early in the enterprise life cycle, and considers the designer acting on accident prevention as a member of the construction team. OBJECTIVE: This paper proposes an accident investigation to establish links between accident causes and design to support Prevention through Design (PtD) tools. METHODS: This article analyzed more than a thousand severe and fatal accident cases in the construction sector. A systematic analysis method was structured based on descriptions of accident causes and measures that could be taken to avoid accidents. RESULTS: Analyzing the severe and fatal accidents, the safety measures implemented in the project design could avoid at least 23.6% of the events. As a result, the architectural and structural designs were more effective in accident prevention. The reference percentages and the design types that are more effective in preventing accidents are analyzed through a representative sample of the analysis of the accident. CONCLUSIONS: This research contributes to applying safety guidelines in design projects, directly assisting in project and construction management.

Adaptation and psychometric validation of a questionnaire about organizational safety culture and climate for the Brazilian reality.

Surveys are the most widely used instruments to assess safety opinions, attitudes and behaviours of workers, as a reflection of a dimensional manifestation of an organization's safety culture. The fact that there are few instruments of this nature adapted to the Brazilian reality motivated the attempt to validate tools used in Portugal in this field. The questionnaire to workers about occupational safety culture and climate (QTCCS) will be explored in this article. The main objective is to present the data from the cultural adaptation and psychometric validation process of this instrument, and it can be confirmed that this intention was properly achieved. Through a study carried out with a sample of 200 workers from a company in the northeast of Brazil, it was statistically confirmed that it is possible to maintain the factorial structure of the original instrument when applied to Brazilian workers of different characteristics.

Absenteeism of people with disabilities in the construction industry in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The employment rates of people with disabilities (PWDs) are lower than the general population in many countries because of several factors, including prejudices about labour production and absenteeism of these workers. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the research was to evaluate the absenteeism of PWDs in the construction industry in the metropolitan area of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. METHODS: Study participants were workers with disabilities that performed jobs at the work sites in the construction industry. Participants were interviewed and they answered the Work Limitation Questionnaire (WLQ). In order to compare the absenteeism of people with disabilities and without disabilities, the companies provided real absenteeism data. RESULTS: Twenty-five workers with disabilities participated in the study, of which 32% were laborers and 72% had physical disabilities. The companies made accommodations for 56% of PWDs and all of them were the organizational type. The WLQ summed score of the PWDs was 3.16. The mean absenteeism of the PWDs was 19.00% ±1.22 standard deviation (SD) (p = 0.238) higher in relation to workers without disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the workers with disabilities had lower absenteeism than those without disability, however, the mean absenteeism of PWDs was higher in relation to workers without disabilities. In addition, workers higher educational level, the laborer of auxiliary warehouse, the workers for whom the companies have not made accommodations to the workplace and the higher WLQ summed score lower statistically significantly absenteeism in relation to workers without disabilities.

Workplace accommodation to people with disabilities: a case study in civil construction / Inclusão Laboral de trabalhadores com deficiência: estudo de caso na construção civil

Abstract Objective : the aim of this paper was to assess and describe the various tasks of the jobs of servant of construction, bricklayer, painter and charge of construction in the civil construction to determine the profile of workers with disabilities who could perform these functions and what adjustments are needed. Methods : this research it is a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative approach. Direct observation of the activities performed at the construction site in each of the jobs evaluated and the environment; interviews with two workers each function evaluated, except painter there was only one worker, a civil engineer and a safety technician to describe detailed, together, as they were carried out each of the required tasks; a video and photographic record of tasks being carried out to analyze the jobs, ErgoDis/IBV software resources were used. At the time the research was conducted in the field, were working a total of 1,547 employees. Results : It was observed that workers with hearing impairments could perform the activities without any adaptations in the workplace and individuals who had had a leg or foot amputated need to use appropriate prostheses to perform the activities of the functions. Conclusion : only workers with full or partial hearing impairment could perform all the jobs analyzed without any accommodation in the workplace and individuals with amputation of leg or foot may only perform tasks using appropriate aids.

Resumo Objetivo : o objetivo do artigo foi avaliar e descrever as diversas tarefas dos postos de trabalho do servente, pedreiro, pintor letrista e encarregado de turma da construção civil para determinar o perfil dos trabalhadores com deficiência que poderiam exercer essas funções e quais as adaptações necessárias. Métodos : esta pesquisa trata-se de um estudo descritivo transversal de abordagem quantitativa. Foi utilizada observação direta das atividades realizadas no canteiro de obras em cada uma das funções avaliadas e do ambiente; entrevistas com dois trabalhadores de cada uma das funções avaliadas, com exceção do pintor letrista, que só havia um trabalhador, o trabalhador com deficiência, um engenheiro civil da obra e um técnico de segurança para descrever detalhadamente, em conjunto, como eram realizadas cada uma das tarefas prescritas; registro em vídeo e fotográfico da execução das tarefas e, para análise dos postos de trabalho, foram utilizados os recursos do software ErgoDis/IBV. No momento em que foi realizada a pesquisa de campo, estavam trabalhando na obra um total de 1.547 funcionários. Resultados : observou-se que os trabalhadores com deficiência auditiva poderiam exercer as atividades avaliadas sem nenhuma adaptação no ambiente de trabalho e que, para indivíduos com amputação de perna ou pé, seriam necessárias algumas adaptações. Considerações finais : apenas os trabalhadores com deficiência auditiva total e parcial poderiam exercer todas as funções analisadas sem nenhuma mudança no ambiente de trabalho e que os indivíduos com amputação de perna ou pé somente poderão exercer as tarefas nos postos de trabalho avaliados se utilizarem próteses adequadas.

Quantitative noise analysis at two marble finishing plants in Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil.

In Olinda there are an estimated 50 marble quarries, 3 of which are members of the stone extraction and finishing industry's state union. The objective here is to quantitatively evaluate the noise present at the workplace in two of Olinda's unionized marble quarries. The data to be analyzed was collected during December 2010, this month representing one of the four busiest months of production. The samples were collected from Tuesdays to Fridays in order to avoid irregular outcomes. Instantaneous readings were taken with the decibel meter to identify points of Noise Pressure Level (NPL) higher than Action Level (AL). Afterwards, the full procedure for the characterization of noise level with the decibel meter in order to compare the Homogeneous Exposure Group (HEG) to those with High Risk Exposure (HRE) was initiated. The noisiest sources came from humid cutting machines, marble saws and polishing equipment. The activities of cutter and polisher became classified as follows: unsafe, in a critical situation and in need of priority control for the work environment with noise level values varying from 95.0 dB(A) to 103.3 dB(A), calling for the use of ear protection during the entire work day.

Risk evaluation and exposure control of mineral dust containing free crystalline silica: a study case at a quarry in the Recife Metropolitan Area.

During the production of aggregates at quarry sites, elevated quantities of micro-particulate mineral dust are produced in all stages of the process. This dust contains appreciable amounts of free crystalline silica in a variety of forms which, if maintained suspended in the air in the work environment, expose the workers to the risk of developing occupational silicosis, which causes reduced ability to work and potential shortening of lifespan. This study was conducted to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate workers' exposure to mineral dust containing free crystalline silica at a midsized quarry in the Recife metropolitan area, in the State of Pernambuco. It involved evaluation of the industrial process, collection and analysis of representative dust samples, and interviews with the management team of the company with the intent to assess the compliance of the company with Regulatory Standard (NR) 22--Occupational safety and health in mining. In order to assist the company in managing risks related to dust exposure, three protocols were developed, implemented and made available, the first based on NR 22, from which the company was also given an economic safety indicator, the second based on the recommendations and requirements of Fundacentro to implement a Respiratory Protection Program and, finally, an assessment protocol with respect to the guidelines of the International Labor Organization to implement a health and safety management system. This study also showed the inadequacy of the formula for calculating tolerance limits in Brazilian legislation when compared with the more strict internationally accepted control parameters. From the laboratory results, unhealthy conditions at the quarry site were confirmed and technical and administrative measures were suggested to reduce and control dust exposure at acceptable levels, such as the implementation of an occupational health and safety management system, integrated with other management systems. From these assessments it is hoped that the proposals can assist the company in developing mechanisms for management and control of dust exposure risks that may improve environmental quality and the well-being of workers.