Development of the Level of Preventive Action Method by Observation of the Characteristic Value for the Assessment of Occupational Risks on Construction Sites.

The special circumstances of the high accident rate in the construction industry compared to other sectors are significant and represent a major concern for many countries. Construction work involves a large number of risks that cause or may cause accidents with serious consequences for the worker's health, even death. The Level of Preventive Action is a novel methodology of occupational risk assessment adapted to building works. It is based on the development of the mathematical formulation of William T. Fine's method. Its implementation covers four of the techniques for combating risk: Safety at Work, Industrial Hygiene, Ergonomics and Psychosociology. It evaluates, quantitatively, the amount of preventive action required based on the characteristic complexity of the work units, their location and their interdependence. The method protocol defines a new observation parameter called Characteristic Value which is inherent to the real situation of the construction process. The aim of this study is to develop the characterisation of the Characteristic Value in the Level of Preventive Action method. It also justifies the procedure to obtain this Characteristic Value and how its implementation and result should be interpreted. Finally, the methodology is applied on a real case.

Zero-Risk Interpretation in the Level of Preventive Action Method Implementation for Health and Safety in Construction Sites.

Risk assessment is a legal obligation for all companies in most countries worldwide. It aims to control the quality of working conditions and avoid externalizing the consequences of accidents and resulting costs to society. This work discusses the need for an adequate interpretation of the zero-risk concept from a technical-preventive perspective to assess occupational risks in construction sites. A critical analysis of several risk assessment methodologies was carried out, focusing on the evaluation criteria of little or no-risk situations. The verification of the results was made through a case study. The perception of health and safety risks by workers is very different from that of the evaluators. Often, when workers identify a situation as low-risk or even zero-risk, the evaluator assesses the same context as maximum risk. Given the workers' and the evaluators' responses, the Preventive Action Method establishes a new parameter, the Environment Congruence. This parameter is based on the perception of the preventive environment and gives more importance to the evaluators' decision. When preventive action is optimal, the risk is low in all preventive observation settings. In conclusion, this study justifies the non-nullity of the risk and the difficulty of assessing zero-risk in construction sites. Therefore, evaluations with qualitative and quantitative non-risk approaches should be discarded.

Development of the Protocol of the Occupational Risk Assessment Method for Construction Works: Level of Preventive Action.

Risk assessment on a construction site is based on the probability and consequences of the accident. But due to the complexity of the construction processes, this new methodology for the evaluation of occupational risks, called Level of Preventive Action, develops a new parameter for evaluating preventive action based on documentary environment that reflects the complexity of the work units, location and interdependence, construction environment referred to construction and protection systems, and social environment relative to the perception of the environment and the workers' emotional states. The evaluation criteria of the new method are established by developing the William T. Fine methodology and incorporating concepts such as risk tolerance, the importance of work and personal satisfaction, which justify the degree of correction of preventive actions. This methodology determines the amount of preventive action control that is required during the construction process. This research proposes a risk assessment protocol adapted to construction sites based on specialized technical observation with a psychosocial survey on site. Some results of the implementation of the method in real work are shown. In conclusion, the determining parameter towards optimal control of preventive action is the direct and active participation of workers in safety matters.

The Registry of Accredited Companies in the Construction Sector in Spain: An Administrative Instrument for Risk-Prevention Control.

The degree of compliance with the RegistrodeEmpresasAcreditadas (REA) (Registry of Accredited Companies) and its implementation by the Public Administrations in Spain is compared with its implementation among private construction sector firms. The Registry of Accredited Companies is a tool for risk-prevention control that is defined by Law 32/2006 in Regulation of Subcontracting in the Construction Sector in Spain. On the basis of a quantitative analysis of the data obtained from public bodies registered with the REA, the study is limited to AyuntamientosyDiputacionesProvinciales (Municipal Town and City Councils and Provincial Councils of the Provincial Government). To do so, the registration records with the REA of both public administrations are analyzed within the 50 Provinces and the two Autonomous Cities that together constitute the 17 Autonomous Communities of the national territory of Spain. In parallel, a comparative study is performed of the registration records of private construction sector firms registered with the REA. Public digital data-management tools are used for the investigation, together with publicly available information known as the RelacióndePuestosdeTrabajo (RPT) (List of Employment Positions) of the corresponding public entities under analysis, with the objective of testing the information and validating its degree of reliability. Likewise, a survey is administered to gather data on the registration of private construction center firms, in addition to the use of the qualitative Focus Groups technique, so as to assure the reliability the survey data. The results revealed unequal treatment by the Labor Authority with regard to the imposition of similar administrative obligations. A clearly negative discrimination was noted with regard to private construction sector firms, in comparison with the permissive attitude and light administrative burden of the Public Administrations.