Challenges

Safety is a major challenge in building and public works.

The Health and Safety Coordinator, mandatory in France by law no. 93-1418 of 31 December 1993 transposing the European directive no. 92/57 of 24 June 1992, has significantly reduced accidentsin the building industry. Nevertheless, the building and public works sector has the highest level of accidents.

In 2009 in France, the  building and public works sector recorded 18.5% of accidents with work stoppages, 20.2% of accidents resulting in permanent disability and 26.2% of mortalities (latest statistics: INRS, 2009)

In 2012 in Morocco, insurers of building and public works recorded approximately 10,000 accidents and 2,000 mortalities, but industry players have failed to provide accurate statistics (various sources, 2012).

The Health and Safety Coordinator oversees building or civil engineering sites involving several companies and subcontractors to manage the safety of the contractors, prevent risks from co-activity and anticipate the use of common resources on site. Moreover, the Health and Safety Coordinator must provide the safety measures during operations that will be required after the delivery of the work.

Through our experiences, the various causes of accidents are categorized as follows:

1. Laborer falls, harness defects or non-compliant guardrails (38%)
2. Vehicle transport manoeuver incidents, construction machinery (19%)
3. Risk of crushing, landslide (14%)
4. Falling objects and structural material (10%)
5. Risk of electrocution (8%)
6. Risks of suffocation and drowning (4%)
7. Fires, explosions (3%)
8. Others (4%)

Unfortunately, this list is far from exhaustive. The Health and Safety Coordinator helps to anticipate and prevent these risks.