2nd Construction Safety Awards – Jury's Interim Report

PCERF constituted the Construction Safety Awards at the time of countdown to Constro 2012 and were received by the industry with enthusiasm. Six construction companies participated then, with 10 sites in the fray. It was a good learning experience for the participants as well as the jury to understand the problems faced and the solutions devised to overcome them.

Looking at the enthusiastic response and involvement of the participants, the Construction Safety Forum was started and held 4 programs in the last 2 years to continue and enhance the learning and sharing of information by the participants.

Considering the industry wide interest, PCERF decided to make this award a biennial effort to coincide with the Constro Exhibition and the 2nd Construction Safety Awards were announced on 10th July 2013. The response this time was even greater and the number of companies participating in it has doubled to 12.

The learning from the last time was incorporated and it was decided by the Jury to enhance the parameters of the audit to incorporate additional environmental issues such as water management and debris management.

A meeting to explain the audit system to the participants was arranged on 16th September 2013, a copy of the assessment system was shared with them and all their queries answered. The assessment system is based on two broad parameters:

1.            Safety systems, documents and records.

2.            Actual implementation of safety at site.

The first visit by the Jury was an announced visit where both the parameters were assessed. These visits were in the first and third week of October 2013. The Jury noted that the heartening feature of the first visit was that most teams had a much enhanced awareness of safety as compared to 2011-12 and the enthusiasm was high. New and innovative approaches were observed.

The second visit by the Jury will be unannounced and the results will be declared during Constro 2014. May the Best team win!

                                                                                                                               Prof. Mujtaba Lokhandwala

                                                                                                                                            Convener

                                                                                                                       Construction Safety Committee