ICE NI Health and Safety Expert Panel Chairman, Ciaran McAleenan has employed his expertise in co-editing ICE’s latest specialist health and safety manual, ICE Manual of Health and Safety in Construction.
A key message from the manual is that although significant advances have been made in the field of health and safety in construction, ICE says there is still more that could be done, particularly by employers.
While generally in the sector there is more awareness about hazards that may affect employees’ long term health, correct measures are still not always being taken to ensure the protection of workers from respiratory, joint and ligament damage. These can have a massive effect on their quality of life in later years.
The manual therefore aims to produce inherently safer designs, by designing-out as many hazards as possible and then proactively managing those that remain.
Speaking at the publication launch, former ICE president David Orr said one of the most important areas of competence, enshrined in the ICE’s Code of Conduct, is the professional obligation and legal duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of anyone affected by our work. “But should we take care of health, safety and welfare simply because legislation forces us to? Or should we do so because it’s the right thing to do in the first place?
“We do this not because we must, but because it is at the very core of being a professional civil engineer.”
ICE Manual of Health and Safety in Construction uses real-life situations to provide a practical reference for practising engineers and technicians and a comprehensive overview of the topic for students.
Mr Orr continued, “This is not an academic textbook. Rather, it demonstrates how working safely can become second nature, improve the way we do things, and provide the key to successful construction.”
To purchase ICE manual of health and safety in construction please contact Thomas Telford 01892 832299. It is also available as an e-book on the ICE Virtual Library (www.icevirtuallibrary.com), where individual chapters can be purchased.