Health and safety in concrete casting processes

Construction injuries lead to human tragedies, disrupt construction processes and adversely affect the cost, productivity, and the reputation of the construction industry. Therefore, the use of ergonomic production methods to prevent this can have a significant human, social and financial impact. This paper presents a case study of comparative analyses of ergonomic situations for concrete workers performing concrete casting processes. Ergonomic risk assessment methods were used to assess the physical strain, hand-arm vibration and noise affects risks involved in concrete casting work tasks. The combination of technical and managerial factors results in a system where workers are as efficient and safe as possible during their work tasks, and thus, makes the construction work environment sustainable. The preliminary study presented in this paper concludes that the present ergonomic risks emanating from work methods used in the normally vibrated concrete (NVC) casting can be significantly reduced. With the use of self-compacting concrete (SCC) awkward work postures, hand-arm vibration and noise are eliminated. Thus musculoskeletal injuries can be reduced if not eliminated among concrete workers during their concrete casting work tasks.