Making large infrastructure projects safe: The case of the Copenhagen Metro

The Danish government has recently and numerous times before pointed at occupational accidents in construction as a priority problem. Not only is the number of accidents occurring in the sector every year problematic, but so is the character of lethal and other serious accidents. The patterns in these accidents highlight once again that prevention has to be a broad orchestration of efforts. Safety measures should start in the design and planning phases, but also encompass quality demands to building components and materials, chemical substances, equipment and demands to training of staff. At the site, safety prevention is a management issue and involves the entire organization, site lay-out, logistics, equipment, training, coordination, communication and personal protective equipment. The paper describes Danish site experiences with an orchestrated safety effort in the construction of the Copenhagen Metro, which escaped fatalities and had less occupational accidents than the building industry on average. The paper analyses the experiences of the various activities and elements put in place, using a taxonomy for the reasons behind the accidents and areas where to insert prevention. A series of preventive measures were used. Those described here are the environmental management systems, dialogue with interested parties, risk and working environment assessments, which were established for all construction activities before commencement of work operations. Audits and inspections were held using the system of “Mønsterbyggeplads” (best practice blueprint). Employers' inspections and top management inspections as well as induction systems and education were used. Means of motivation by awareness campaign and joint safety campaign -“Safe Sites”- from the middle of the construction period is assessed. The results from the Metro project point out the need for orchestrated efforts. This is usually more realistic in large construction projects like the Metro. Such an effort has become more feasible due to increased capital concentration among contractors and consulting engineers recently.