'Unsafe work practices' caused tower cranes accidents
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority said yesterday the recent tower crane accidents - including a fatal one - were caused by unsafe work practices and not through the use of uncertified cranes. The OHSA said there were various issues that one...
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority said yesterday the recent tower crane accidents - including a fatal one - were caused by unsafe work practices and not through the use of uncertified cranes.
The OHSA said there were various issues that one needed to look seriously at because they have been identified as frequently being the root cause of work accidents.
These issues included undue pressure on contractors from clients to finish a project before its natural term of duration, as a result of which occupational health and safety were sacrificed.
Another issue was the undue weighting in tender evaluation procedures that usually ended up with a project being assigned to the cheapest bidder, in this case too, forfeiting OHS safeguards and quality of products used.
The authority backed the Chamber of Engineers' call for hefty penalties against offenders.
A code of practice for the building and construction industry in Malta was issued in 1997 providing guidance on a technical, administrative and legal framework for health and safety in the construction industry.
Copies of the document may be obtained directly from the OHSA or from the website http://www.msp.gov.mt.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors has called on building contractors to tighten their safety measures on construction sites, in an effort to avoid more accidents.
Federation president Angelo Xuereb appealed to contractors to ensure that heavy plant operators, especially crane operators, were totally familiar with the operations and the capacity limits of the machinery they handled, especially the weight capacity and the extension limits of cranes.
The federation encouraged contractors to sponsor employees to attend safety at work courses organised by the Building Industry Consultative Council together with the OHSA at the BICC offices.
On Monday, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin wrote to the OHSA asking for a meeting to discuss the issue as soon as possible.