Element Construction: The Right Way to Do the Job is to Do it Safely!

Construction is one of the largest sectors, and at the same time one of the most dangerous, due to the high level of physical activity involved.

In Georgia, the number of injuries that occur as a result of construction works is alarming. According to the official data of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2011-2017, there were 317 deaths in the workplace and 882 injuries.

The risks for employees and visitors on construction sites include falling, being trapped under dropped equipment, and being injured by electricity or by the movement of objects. In order to protect workers against the risk of falling, safety means should be formed on ramps, crossing paths and throughout the whole construction site where potential injuries can occur.

The person responsible for labor safety must inform both workers and visitors about the risks on the construction site. Before acquiring access to the construction site, everybody must be given safety instructions regardless of their occupation and work. Incidents often occur in the workplace because the HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) representative lacks information about health and labor safety, which is the first step toward preventing incidents. With timely delivered instructions, small risks at the workplace may be avoided.

An employee who speaks out about health and labor safety concerns in the workplace will be protected from discriminatory action, including termination of work and loss of wages.

Construction site management’s attitude towards health and labor safety is of paramount importance in terms of an organization's health and labor safety culture. Management should encourage employees to bring to light health and labor safety concerns and provide recommendations so that management and HSE representatives can immediately deal with the issues raised. After the risk is determined and a risk assessment is made, the management is responsible for the elimination or minimization of risks to ensure a safe work environment for employees.

The Department of HSE helps management and employees in health, labor safety and environmental improvement in the workplace, through the following methods:

Provision of a communication channel between management and staff;

Regular checks and specific labor health, labor safety and environmental trainings;

Organization of meetings on healthcare, labor safety and environmental issues and recommendations for guidance on corrective measures to be taken to address these issues;

Investigation and accounting of accidents.

For "Element Construction", the most important thing is the safety of our employees and those people directly or indirectly involved in the company's activities. Consequently, under the HSE policy, based on ISO 14001 (Environmental Protection) and OSHAS 18001 (Health and Labor Safety) standards, health, labor safety and environmental training is directed towards:

Preventing incidents;

Preventing harm to workers and visitors;

Environmental protection and minimal impact on it;

Full compliance with the applicable standards and legislation of Georgia;

Encouraging and rewarding secular employees.

The right way to do the job is to do it safely!

Tbilisi, Mgaloblishvili Str. 13

Tel: 032 2 309 490

Emal: info@ec.ge

www.ec.ge

By Alexsandre Korkotadze, HSE Manager, Element Construction