Question

Context1: Review health and safety regulations and legislation associated with the storage(Hong Kong), handling and use of materials on a construction site.

P1 Explain how regulations impact on the use, storage and handling of a selection of vocationally typical construction materials.

Conext2:Discuss the environmental and sustainability factors which impact on and influence the material choices for a construction project.

P2 Explain material environmental profiling and lifecycle assessment. Use a relevant material to exemplify your explanation.

P3 Discuss the benefits of product declaration and environmental certification.

Answer 1

CONTEXT 1:-

In deciding the risk precautions, the employer has to provide different degrees of protection. Where one task happens to be more dangerous than another, a greater degree of care has to be taken, but where the employer cannot eliminate the dangerous task, reasonable precautions are needed to reduce the risk according to Nguyen Van Vinh v Cheung Ying Construction Engineering Ltd (2008). This does not, however, imply that an employer is required to remove every risk. The Lord Oaksey commented in Winter v Cardiff Rural District Council (1950) stated that “but this does not mean that an employer must decide on every detail of the system of work or mode of operation. There is a sphere in which the employer must exercise his discretion and there are other spheres in which foremen and workmen must exercise theirs....With regard to the decision how safety precaution has to be taken frequently, it should be left to the foreman or workmen on the site. Whilst the immediate employer of the employee is liable for safety, Morris v. Breaveglen (1993) ruled that the principal contractor cannot escape from his liability. The general employers argued that they should not be liable for the injuries as they were not exercising direct control over the workers. However, judges invalidated such contention in Rainfield Design & Associates Ltd v Siu Chi Moon (2000), he purpose of the Regulations was clearly to provide for the safety of workman and the primary responsibility for this must rest with the contractor responsible for the site. Even where a subcontractor had a contractual duty to provide plant and equipment, the contractor responsible for the site would not be relieved from its duty under the Regulations.”

Li (2019) proposes that there are three generations of construction safety informatics which are relevant to construction safety enhancement:

1. The first generation of construction safety informatics consisted of technologies that relied completely on control by human beings; for example, structural equation modelling requires the work of an analyst.

2. The second generation of construction safety informatics included smart features such as the Internet of Things which can send information to human operators, without human intervention — from sensors, etc. Yet, these “smart” tools cannot learn and improve on their own capabilities.

3. The third generation of construction safety informatics uses state-of-the-art AI, to mimic human behavior and think, act, learn and improve on its own decision making. All that is required is that the relevant information is fed to these systems, so that they can be ‘taught

P1

A) In addition to training and education, applying general safety principles—such as proper work practices, equipment, and controls—can help reduce workplace accidents involving the moving, handling, and storing of materials. Whether moving materials manually or mechanically, your employees should know and understand the potential hazards associated with the task at hand and how to control their workplaces to minimize the danger.

Because numerous injuries can result from improperly handling and storing materials, workers should also be aware of accidents that may result from the unsafe or improper handling of equipment as well as from improper work practices. In addition, workers should be able to recognize the methods for eliminating—or at least minimizing—the occurrence of such accidents. Employers and employees should examine their workplaces to detect any unsafe or unhealthful conditions, practices, or equipment and take corrective action.

B) When moving materials manually, workers should attach handles or holders to loads. In addition, workers should always wear appropriate personal protective equipment and use proper lifting techniques. To prevent injury from oversize loads, workers should seek help in the following:

• When a load is so bulky that employees cannot properly grasp or lift it,
• When employees cannot see around or over a load, or
• When employees cannot safely handle a load.

Using the following personal protective equipment prevents needless injuries when manually moving materials:

• Hand and forearm protection, such as gloves, for loads with sharp or rough edges.
• Eye protection.
• Steel-toed safety shoes or boots.
• Metal, fiber, or plastic metatarsal guards to protect the instep area from impact or compression.

See OSHA's booklet, Personal Protective Equipment (OSHA 3077), for additional information.

Employees should use blocking materials to manage loads safely. Workers should also be cautious when placing blocks under a raised load to ensure that the load is not released before removing their hands from under the load. Blocking materials and timbers should be large and strong enough to support the load safely. In addition to materials with cracks, workers should not use materials with rounded corners, splintered pieces, or dry rot for blocking.

CONTEXT 2:-

Building and construction activities worldwide consume 3 billion tonnes of raw materials each year, which is 40% of total global use. The UK's annual construction output requires 170 million tonnes of primary materials and products, 125 million tonnes of quarry products and 70 million tonnes of secondary recycled and reclaimed products. To manufacture and deliver these products, 6 million tonnes of energy are consumed and 23 million tonnes of C0₂are emitt The main materials used in construction are steel and concrete, both of which have a high embodied energy.

The choice of materials and building elements for any building will mainly be made on the basis of thermal properties, structural properties and cost. As well as the energy implications of the materials, other factors to be considered include:

• the implications of mineral extraction to derive the basic product
• the pollution and energy consequences of the manufacturing/production process
• toxicity of product and chemicals etc. used in manufacturing process e.g. global warming potential/ozone depletion potential
• waste issues at all stages of the production and construction processes
• distribution/transport issues
• life-cycle and recycling options at the end of its expected life

P2-

The Environmental Profiles Methodology is a standardised method of identifying and assessing the environmental effects associated with building materials over their life cycle - that is their extraction, processing, use and maintenance and their eventual disposal.

Environmental Profiles allow designers to demand reliable and comparable environmental information about competing building materials, and give suppliers the opportunity to present credible environmental information about their products. This means that designers can have confidence in the "level playing field" status of Environmental Profiles for every material type.

Many manufacturers want to demonstrate how their product compares to the industry and find ways to improve the environmental performance of their product. This is achieved through creating product specific Certified Environmental Profiles.

The Certified Environmental Profile scheme has been in operation since 2002. Certified Environmental Profiles are based on data from a detailed verification and audit process of the manufacture facility.

P3:

The International Green Construction Code (IgCC) is the first model green code to include sustainability measures for an entire construction project and its site. As an overlay code, it establishes minimum green requirements for buildings by exceeding the companion ICC model codes in the areas of energy efficiency, water usage and waste reduction, as well as focusing attention on health, safety and community welfare.

Green buildings necessarily require careful product and material selection criteria. When the first version of the IgCC was developed in 2012, the material selection chapter used a “single attribute” approach, rewarding single attributes like bio-based content, recycled content, or regionally produced materials. Today, understanding a product’s environmental footprint increasingly considers all attributes (called a multi-attribute approach) across all of the phases of a product’s life, including parameters such as energy consumption during manufacturing, waste impacts during installation and the product’s maintenance requirements. And this approach, importantly, considers potential energy savings the product may offer during the long “use” phase as well as outcomes at its end of life disposition. The International Organization for Standardization, called ISO standards, explains how to apply these multi-attribute, life cycle approaches.