Safety Management in Projects

Why Safety Management is required in projects:
There are various reasons for considering safety management as an important aspect in projects. The major ones are:

Human Factor:

Accidents result in loss of life or in disability of a human being. It results in suffering of the dependants on the injured or dead person. Hence every organization must realize the value of safety management.

Law and Regulations:

The organization has to be concerned about the penalties and consequences imposed by rules and regulations, related to safety.
Organizational Image and Reputation:
Accidents in the projects reduce the confidence level of customers and tarnish the organization's image.

Economic Factors:

Organization needs to consider the expenses associated due to lack of safety management. These expenses can be categorized in Direct and Indirect expenses.
1. Direct Expenses: (These are the actual costs incurred in occurrence of a risk) a. Expenses incurred in treatments of the injured b. Compensations to be provided to the dependants of dead or injured c. Increased insurance premiums d. Replacement costs e. Legal expenses 2. Indirect expenses: a. Slow down in work b. Decrease in morale of fellow workers c. Time lost by other workers d. Administrative expenses e. Loss of customer confidence f. Overtime needed to cover the lost time.

Causes of Accidents:

In Planning and Organization:
a. Improper technical planning b. Unreasonable deadlines c. Assignment of work to incompetent vendors / contractors d. Poor human resource policies and employee selection methods resulting in poor technical control e. Lack of cooperation between different agencies
Due to Equipments / Tools / Machinery
a. Non availability of required equipment b. Unsuitable equipment c. Defective equipment d. Lack of safety devices or guards for the equipments

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Due to Management and Conduct of Work:

a. Inadequate preparation b. Inadequate examination of equipments prior to commencement of activity c. Inadequate instructions to supervisors d. Unskilled / Untrained workers e. Inadequate supervision and control f. Defective processes