Introduction

CONSTRUCTION SITE SAFETY DIVISION AND CONSTRUCTION WORK SECTION

The Construction Safety Division (CSD), DOSH Headquarters and the Building Construction Section (BCS), DOSH State enforce safety, health and welfare laws on construction sites. Construction sites can be divided into two main categories, namely building operations and engineering construction works; and between the two there are a variety of activities and workplaces, as well as different risks. 

Basically, employers have a major legal responsibility to manage the safety and health risks of construction projects, which arise from their business activities. CSD and BCS are responsible for ensuring that employers on a construction project manage, effectively and proportionately, the safety and health of workers and other people on the construction site. To achieve this purpose, and the main goal of preventing accidents on construction sites, CSD and BCS use various legal actions (refer to Figure 1), to influence, encourage and advise employers and, if necessary, prosecute those who fail to fulfill their responsibilities. 

These legislative actions were used as a guide for CSD and BCS to develop the Construction Industry OSH Strategic Plan, taking into account other critical factors such as industry size and demographics, accident statistics and risks. Nine legislative interventions were implemented at different times, according to the risk situation.  

Figure 1. Legislative actions

Based on these nine legislative interventions, annual work target activities (SKT) are set, focusing on the prevention principle, key risks and target groups. The activities determined to achieve the SKT will influence and trigger change, but the expected change is highly dependent on the actions of employers. This is because, in general, DOSH and in particular CSD and BCS , alone cannot ensure safety and health, but depends on the reaction of all employers in the construction industry supply chain; and inspection of construction sites by DOSH alone will not be sufficient.  

CSD and BCS continue to improve and enhance efforts to influence and catalyze changes in employer behavior on construction projects. The initial impact can be seen in the more positive attitudes and awareness of workers (project managers, safety and health officers (SHO), site safety supervisors (SSS), crane operators and scaffolding operators) found during enforcement activities. In addition, more employers are aware and willing to take responsibility for OSH.

Punitive actions are a catalyst for the process of changing employer and employee behavior. Every year, CSD and BCS aspire to further improve the effectiveness of enforcement activities and punitive actions. The positive results of punitive actions are more employers practicing safe work systems, close cooperation between employers and employees in ensuring construction site safety and more effective management of major construction site hazards. 

CSD and BCS are developing legal instruments (regulations, industry codes of practice and guidelines) that will require OSH management in construction projects to be led by the client and designer during the pre-construction phase, thus shifting the focus of OSH responsibility from the contractor during the construction phase to collaboration between the client, designer and contractor during the pre-construction, construction and post-construction phases. This legal instrument will be a key driver for a shift in the behaviour of employers in construction projects, thus improving the OSH performance of the construction industry.