Improving Safety Against Fall from Height (FFH) Accidents in the Malaysian Building Construction Industry

Abstract

Around the world, the construction business has grown remarkably over the past few decades. On the other hand, when compared to other industries, it is also among the most dangerous places to work. The construction sector experiences a high annual rate of fatal accidents due to various hazardous dangers, one of which is fall from height (FFH). Despite existing safety regulations, FFH accidents remain the leading cause of construction fatalities. Adequate research, however, is lacking in regards to the improvement of the safety prevention measures for FFH. Hence, this paper emerges with the objectives of (1) identifying the trade works exposed to FFH accidents, (2) investigating the factors contributing to FFH accidents and (3) proposing the strategies to improve safety of workers from FFH accidents in the building construction industry. Questionnaire surveys were carried out on local professionals from 132 building construction companies in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Data were analysed by using descriptive analysis, reliability analysis and relative importance index (RII) analysis. Findings from this paper found that roofers, scaffolders and power-line installers are at the highest risks of FFH accidents caused by lack of supervision, monitoring and inspection as well as low level of safety knowledge among workers. It is discovered that the most recommended strategies to improve safety are through provision of continuous training, equipment and machinery in good condition, beside conducting toolbox meetings. These findings suggest that discovering the high-risk work trades and the contributing factors can help to propose effective strategies for safety improvements against FFH accidents.