Describes about (i) What are safety signs? (ii) PPEs in the construction industry. (iii) Safety and Health responsibilities of different organizations at site

1. BY
Dr. Revanuru Subramanyam
Professor (Associate), Department of Civil Engineering
Papua New Guinea University of Technology
2023
Safety signs and symbols, PPEs in the
construction industry, Safety and
Health responsibilities of different
organisations at Site

2. Learning Outcome
• Be able to recognize and apply
the following at the workplace
Safety signs & symbols,
PPE in the construction industry,
Safety and Health responsibilities of
different organizations at site
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3. What are safety signs?
Every employee must know the potential hazards
they could face in their occupation.
They need safety signs to know how to react in the
event of an emergency and what they need to do to
avoid them in the future.
There are five different types of safety sign.
 Warning Signs
 Mandatory Signs
 Prohibition Signs
 Safe Condition Signs
 Fire Equipment Signs
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4. Warning Signs
A warning sign alerts you to possible dangers to
guard against such as “Danger”.
The shape must be a yellow triangle with a black
border.
Any text or images must also be black on a yellow
panel.
 Examples of using a warning sign: Danger, High voltage, Wet floor,
Fragile roof, Harmful chemicals, Highly flammable gases, Under
construction.
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6. Mandatory Sign
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o Mandatory signs are the blue and white signs on
site.
o They display actions you must obey to keep
yourself safe such as “Hard Hats must be worn”.
o The mandatory sign is a blue circle with white
images or wording.
o Examples of using a mandatory sign:
 Hard hats must be worn, Fire door keep shut, High visibility
clothing must be worn, Wear gloves, Wear ear protectors,
Safety harness must be worn.

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8. Prohibition Sign
 A prohibition sign displays actions you must avoid,
such as “No Entry”.
 The colour of the prohibition sign must contain a red
circle with a red line across.
 All images must be black on a white background.
Any wording must be white text on a red panel.
 Examples of using a prohibition sign: Stop, No entry,
Speed limit, No smoking, No parking.
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10. Safe Condition Sign
 The safe condition sign contains information relating to
emergency action and must be a rectangle such as “Fire
Exit”.
 The symbol must be green with white wording or images.
 Examples of using a safe condition sign: Fire exit, First aid,
Spill kit, Fire assembly point, Emergency shower.
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12. Fire Equipment Sign
The fire equipment sign is used to display the
location and details of fire equipment.
The fire sign is a red rectangle with white wording or
images.
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14. PPEs in the construction industry
Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) are
designed to protect the user or wearer against
any health or safety risks at work.
Items like safety helmets, gloves, eye
protection, high-visibility clothing, safety
footwear and harnesses.
PPE gives extra protection in the event of an
accident or against the elements.
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15. Safety helmet
 Designed to protect the head
against falling objects and
the side of the head, eyes,
and neck from any untoward
impacts, bumps, scrapes,
and electrical exposure, etc.
 Wearing a safety helmet is a
mandatory requirement that
should be followed by all
employers who should
provide their workers with
hard hats/safety helmets and
fully ensure that they wear
them. 15

16. Protective Clothing
 Personal Protective Clothing
refers to any clothing and
work-related accessories that
protect employees from
harmful situations while at
work.
 This equipment can be high
visibility clothing, eye
protection, and other items
that ensure the employees
don’t suffer any injuries
while dealing with damaging
substances.
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17. Safety Gloves
 Safety glove is designed to
keep you safe from hazards
including cuts, chemical burns,
abrasion, crushing or contact
with biohazards.
 Types of work gloves include
industrial safety work gloves,
rubber gloves for handling
chemicals, and Kevlar gloves
for construction and protection
from abrasions.
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18. Safety Spectacles
 Safety goggles are designed to
provide eye protection against
various hazards like chemical
splashes at the site and heavy
industrial environments with a
direct or indirect venting
design.
 It comes in different shapes
and styles. Also, it comes with
various coatings like anti-
scratch, anti UV, anti-static,
and anti-fog.
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19. Hearing protection gears
 Construction workers are at particular
risk due to the many noisy operations
conducted routinely at construction
sites.
 Hearing loss, and noise-related
accidents and health problems can be
prevented if proper precautions are
taken.
 Workplace noise levels should be
maintained below 85 dBA as an 8-hour
time-weighted average, according to
OSHA.
 Regular exposure to 85 dBA or more for
8 hours results in damaged hearing.
 There are many different types of
hearing protection. These include Canal
caps, Earmuffs, Reusable earplugs, Roll
down foam etc. 19

20. Foot protection gears
 Foot and leg protection choices
include Safety-toed shoes or boots
that protect against falling, crushing
or rolling hazards.
 Safety-toed footwear must meet the
minimum compression and impact
performance standards.
 Rubber overshoes are used for
concrete work and areas where
flooding is a concern.
 Shoes with slip-resistant soles are
required for certain departments
and should be used in areas where
slips and falls on wet floors are most
likely. 20

21. High visibility vest
 High-visibility vests can benefit
construction workers in many ways,
primarily in the area of safety in
several different situations.
 Workers with hi-vis vests are more
easily seen in poor weather
conditions such as rain or snow.
 Increasing their visibility also makes
industrial workers, first responders,
and fire rescue personnel more
visible to one another and people in
emergencies.
 Safety vests are made out of
fluorescent colors and reflective
materials to make the worker easily
seen in all conditions.
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22. Safety harness
 A safety harness is a form of
personal protective equipment
(PPE) that is designed to catch a
person in case of falling while
working at height.
 The harness allows the user to
attach themselves to a stationary
object, therefore ensuring they will
not hit the ground in the event of a
fall.
 A safety harness not only improves
the wearer’s protection but also
allows them to use their hands-free
whilst working.
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23. Care of PPE
 Always check PPE for damage before and after
use.
 Clean PPE before storing.
 Dispose of and replace damaged PPE.
 Properly store PPE and avoid conditions that could
damage them, such as heat, light, moisture, etc.
 Do not fix or repair a damaged PPE.
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24. Responsibilities
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25. Safety and Health responsibilities of
different organizations at site
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28. ILO guidelines
These guidelines were designed as a practical tool
for assisting organizations and competent
institutions as a means of achieving continual
improvement in occupational safety and health
(OSH) performance.
The guidelines have been developed according to
internationally agreed principles defined by the
ILO’s tripartite constituents.
The employer should show strong leadership and
commitment to OSH activities in the organization,
and make appropriate arrangements for the
establishment of an OSH management system.
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Figure 1. Main elements of the OSH management system

30. OSHA: CORE ELEMENTS OF THE RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
FOR
SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAMS IN CONSTRUCTION
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39. Employee Right to Refuse
 A danger which is not normal for your occupation or the job;
A danger under which you would not normally carry out your
job; and/or A situation for which you are not properly trained,
equipped or experienced.
 To exercise this right, use the following guidelines:
 1. Once you believe that the work you have been asked to do
is unusually dangerous, you should inform your supervisor.
 2. Make sure that the supervisor understands that you are
refusing to do the disputed job for health and safety reasons.
 3. Work with the supervisor to attempt to resolve the problem.
 4. If the problem cannot be resolved by the supervisor to your
satisfaction, you may contact the Safety Officer. You also
have the right to contact Human Resources at any time.
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40. General Safety Rules
o 1) All accidents, injuries or near misses, regardless of their
nature, shall be promptly reported to the safety officer.
o 2) Clothing shall be appropriate to the duties being
performed.
o 3) Running is not permitted except in extreme emergencies.
o 4) Visitors and customers are to be escorted by staff while on
company property.
o 5) Hand tools are to be used for their intended purpose only.
o 6) Horseplay, fighting or tomfoolery is strictly prohibited on
Whitestone REIT premises.
o 7) All spills will be immediately cleaned up and reported.
o 8) Drawers and filing cabinets will be kept closed when not in
use.
o 9) Filing cabinet drawers are to be filled from the bottom up
or the cabinet is to be securely fastened /anchored.
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41. Accident Investigation Policy
• All accidents that result in injury or property damage or that
could have resulted in serious injury or property damage
(near miss) must be thoroughly investigated.
• The investigation must determine the cause of the incident
so that appropriate action can be taken to prevent
recurrence.
• The Safety Officer shall be responsible for conducting the
investigation.
• The investigation report shall be completed as soon as
possible after the incident and reported to the COO.
• The Safety Officer and appropriate supervisor shall
determine what steps are to be taken to prevent
recurrence.
• Any disputes arising from the investigation will be
investigated and arbitrated by Human Resources.
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42. Alcohol and Drug Policy
It is the responsibility of all associates to ensure
an alcohol and drug free environment.
If there is any awareness or suspicion that any
associate, supplier, or visitor is under the
influence of illegal narcotics or alcohol, they will
be removed from the premises immediately.
Should an associate report to work while under
the influence of such substances, the associate
will be taken home either in a cab or by the
Regional Manager.
This is a zero tolerance policy
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43. Disciplinary Action
 The following instances shall be cause for verbal or written
warning and possible dismissal:
• 1) Health and safety violations 2) Poor conduct or
misconduct 3) Theft 4) Sexual harassment 5) Racial
discrimination 6) Carelessness 7) Willful damage to
company property 8) Drug or alcohol use.
 Compliance with company and legislative safety standards is
necessary to maintain a safe and healthy work environment.
 Non-compliance issues must be dealt with the following is a
guideline for disciplinary actions for safety infractions based
on seriousness of the offense.
 *First offense, associate will be given a documented verbal
warning
 *Second offense, associate will be given a written warning and
suspension.
 *Third offense, associate may be suspended or terminated.
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44. Hazard Warning Signs
Whenever possible, warning signs will be
displayed where a potential hazard may
cause injury.
Warning signs must be strictly adhered to.
Warning signs must be posted where
hazards exist and must not be removed
unless hazard has been controlled. 44

45. Environmental Policy
 Design and manage our operations to meet or surpass
applicable environmental laws.
 Work in partnership with customers, suppliers, trade
associations and government agencies to promote the
environmentally safe handling and disposition of materials
and products.
 Acquire knowledge and technologies to improve the
environmentally save efficient use of our processes and
products.
 Formulate and implement effective environmental emergency
response systems.
 Involve our associates in our environmental programs and
keep them informed of our performance.
 Promote associate awareness of this policy and enhance
their capabilities to implement this policy.
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