QUESTION 1

(a) Why is safety important to an organization?

(b) You are asked to carry out a health and safety risk assessment for a construction site to build a factory with the following characteristics: The construction site currently involves two main areas of activity. The first one consists of an existing two-storey building being demolished to make place for a 5-storey building that will be used for storing chemicals for the factory. The second area of activity is the erection of a crane that will be used to construct the 5-storey building as well as the factory building itself. Excavation works for the two buildings will start simultaneously at the respective sites in three days' time after discarding the debris from the existing building to an off-site area by trucks. The soil waste generated during excavation works will be discarded to the same off-site location by trucks. Develop a health and safety checklist of the site aspects you will inspect and the specific issues you will look into for achieving good health and safety practices given the current site situation and that expected during the site excavation works.

QUESTION 2

(a) You have been assigned the responsibility of Safety and Health officer of the construction of a 10 storey building. Following a site visit during the initial stages, you have observed that in certain instances, no base plates were provided during the erection of the scaffold and that the standards are resting directly on the mudsill.

(i) What are the main factors that have to be considered, prior to starting the scaffold erection?

(ii) What is the importance of adjustable base plates in scaffold?

(iii) What is the importance of the toe board?

(b) What are the main Personal Protective Equipment that are usually required in a construction site, stating the purpose of each one?

(c) During one of your inspection, you noticed that the shoes of one of the workers have been damaged in the front. What are the dangers that it represents and what measures would you recommend?

QUESTION 3

(a) Describe five of the health and safety requirements contained in the Mauritius Road Traffic Act.

(b) Describe the potential health and safety risks that can exist for the public from a construction site affecting public pathway and how you would mitigate those risks.

(c) Outline the components you would include in the construction documents to describe the health and safety aspects the contractor has to include in his health and safety plan for use on site during construction.

(d) Construction works are in progress to finish the pitched roof of a warehouse building with the following characteristics: part of the roof work consists of drilling holes for fixing steel sheets for a leading roof edge work and the remainder of the roof works consists of laying roof tiles on battens previously installed and putting in place roof lights at allocated locations. To complete the work within the set deadline, another team is concurrently working under the roof at ground level to finish the flooring. Describe the potential health and safety risks and hazards and how you would mitigate them.