UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENTS AMONG FOREIGN LABOURS IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Agilarajan A/L Selvarajah

1

, Kumarason A/L V. Rasiah

2

agi.mpputhm@gmail. com, kumar@uthm. edu.my

INTRODUCTION

The most profound changes to have taken place over the last two twenty years in the construction industry in Malaysia is the emergence of foreign site operatives as an indispensable component of the labour force. The Malaysian construction industry is facing an acute shortage of construction workers due to vacancies left by the local workers who prefer to join lucrative and conducive working environments in the manufacturing and service sectors. Basically only foreign labours from Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines (male only), Pakistan, Ceylon, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and India (fixing of high voltage cable only) nationalities to participate in the construction industry. It is a world known fact that the construction industry has been identified as one of the most hazardous industries in many parts of the world (Chi, Chang & Ting, 2004). Almost 100% of construction workers in the country are foreigners, according to International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Malaysia president Datuk Richard Fong.

METHODOLOGY

Select Topic of Study Identify Samples and Parameters Statement of problem Define Objective Literature Review Identify Factors Influence Identify Strategies to Improve

FOURTH OBJECTIVE

4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 4,5 5

Measures to Improve Safety among Foreign Labours in Construction Industry Measure to Improve

Data Collection

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Construction sites are well known as places where accident often occurs. Worldwide, construction workers are three times more likely to be killed and twice as likely to be injured as workers in other occupations (European Agency Information, 2001). The costs of these accidents are immense to the individual, to the employer and to society. To make thing worst, the accidents may cause physical injuries or health illness. Participation of foreign labours widely in the construction is an undeniable fact, this participation increases the complexness and dire needs to analyse and synthesize accidents among foreign labours in construction industries.

OBJECTIVE

1. To analyse the relationship between frequency of accidents and the nationalities of the foreign labours in construction industry; 2. To determine current practices of safety management in construction industry; 3. To identify factors contributing accident among foreign workers in construction industry; 4. To identify steps and measures to improve safety among foreign labours in construction industry.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of this study is limited to construction site foreign labourers working at selected construction projects in Batu Pahat, Johor. The construction labourers involved in this project are foreign labourers from Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh nationalities only.

LITERATURE REVIEW DEFINITIONS 1. Accident;

An accident can be defined as an unplanned, undesirable, unexpected, and uncontrolled event. Accidents that do not cause damage to materials or equipment or injury to personnel may foretell future accidents with less desirable results.

2. Foreign labours;

The United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families legally defines a migrant worker as a "person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national".

3. Safety;

A general term denoting an acceptable level of risk, or relative freedom from and low probability of harm; control of recognized hazards to attain an acceptable level of risk.

LAW & ACT RELATED

1. Occupational Safety & Health Act 1994 2. Factories & Machinery Act 1967

PROBLEMS BY INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION

1. Right at work 2. Social Protection 3. Social Dialogue 4. Employment

THE CONSTRUCTION SAFETY STAKEHOLDERS RELATED

1. Authorities; DOSH, NCOSH, NIOSH, CIDB, Local Authority

TO

2. Client / Project Owner 3. Consultant 4. Contractor 5. Insurance company Data Analysis and Result Conclusion and Recommendation

RESULTS FIRST OBJECTIVE Total Average Index Of Agreement of each Nationality of Labours

4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 Indonesia Bangladesh Nepal Pakistan

Nationality

Vietnam Myanmar

SECOND OBJECTIVE Safety Management Practice

Conduct drug and alcohol test (DNA) for all workers Provide sickbay for injured Workers Emphasis on workers ‘medical Surveillance Provide medical treatment Conduct survey on safety awareness and culture

Emphasis on SMS Establish overall safety plan Allocate financial budget for safety Conduct management safety walkabout Engage safety officer Conduct annual internal and external safety audits and management review Emphasis on identifying hazards Establish Safety Management System (SMS) Conduct emergency drill Provide awareness campaign trainings /courses and safety Emphasis on putting safety signboards Emphasis on ‘tool box’ meeting Emphasis on personal protection equipment (PPE) Provide ‘First Aid’ box

OVERALL AVERAGES

0 0 0

Percentage (%)

76.7

55.8

53.4

37.2

34.9

27.9

18.6

18.6

18.6

14.0

14.0

14.0

11.6

11.6

9.3

0

21.9

THIRD OBJECTIVE

Average of Agreement Index According to Factors Contributing Towards Accidents

5 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 Language Carrying out Tasks by Abiding Safety Education Background Skills Safety Signage PPE Hazard Identification and avoid accidents

Factors

CONCLUSION FIRST OBJECTIVE

In a nutshell, the responds from the survey, the respondents agreed that the most vulnerable nationality of foreign labours Nepal, then Myanmar, continued by Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Finally the least vulnerable nationality of foreign labours in the industry are the Indonesians.

SECOND OBJECTIVE

The respondents have agreed from conducted, a very low percentages of questionnaire survey ‘No’ responses for safety practices like PPE, safety signboards and tool box meetings shows an excellent trend in basic practices of safety management in the construction industry. Conversely, high percentages of ‘No’ responses for safety practices like DNA test (76.7%), provision of sickbay (55.8%) and medical surveillance (53.4%) shows very low commitment and concern on the importance of handling emergency situations and also having construction workers at work who are free from the influence of drug and alcohol. Finally, as an overall, it is also found out that 78.1% (more than half) of the above safety management practices that have been implemented in the construction industry.

THIRD OBJECTIVE

The respondent agrees upon the major factors contributing towards accident among foreign workers in construction industry, the factors are arranged according to the rankings as follows; Surrounding and enforcement; Education background of the foreign labours; Language barriers to communicate in construction site; Capability of labours carrying out tasks by abiding safety aspects; Capability of labours identifying hazard and avoiding accidents; Capability of labours using PPE; Skills of the foreign labour upon the activity they undergo in construction industry; Capability of understanding the safety signage.

FOURTH OBJECTIVE

The respondent agrees upon the steps and measures to improve safety foreign workers in construction industry, the steps are arranged according to the rankings as follows: Engaging a competent safety officer/supervisor to be fully in charge of safety matters; Conduct group safety meeting like tool box meeting; PPE usage should be made compulsory; Providing safety awareness campaigns and safety trainings; Providing exposure on safety signage and its definition; Provide the foreign labours with basic information and trainings upon effective communication in site; Foreign labours should be exposed to the knowledge upon hazards identification in construction industry and precautions should be taken; Company should conduct drug and alcohol test (DNA) for all workers before entering construction site; Companies should reward workers who exhibit excellent safety performance

REFERENCE

Abdul Aziz, (2001),

Site Operative in Malaysia: Examining the foreign-local asymmetry

, Report For ILO Abd. Majid, M. Z. and McCaffer, R. (1997).

Assessment of Work Performance of Maintenance Contractors in Saudi Arabia

. Journal of Management in Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 17 No.1:91 Abdul Aziz Hussin (2004), ‘

Isu Keselamatan di Tapak Pembinaan

’, Majalah Industri Pembinaan.

Abdul Ghani Khalid (1996),

Construction Site Injuries:The Case of Malaysia.

Faculty of Built and Environment, UTM, Skudai, Malaysia.

Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ILO – OSH 2001),ILO, Geneva, Switzerland, December 2001.

Malaysian Construction Industry Directory 2006-2007, April 2006, CIDB Malaysia.

Master Plan for Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry 2005 – 2010, 10th. December, 2007. CIDB and DOSH Malaysia.

Goetsch, D.L. (2003). “Construction Safety and Health.” Prentice Hall, New Jersey.