Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) Framework for Formwork and Excavation at Construction Site in India

Accidents are very common in construction sites across the construction industries which are reported very frequently. Safety related problems which are very common in construction sites in India mainly in the area of falling from height, formwork collapse, injured by power tools and so forth. The study of project safety and risk assessment and its liability are necessary for all professionals. However, it is found that those professionals prone to generally rely on their own experiences and knowledge on decision making on risk assessment, which is due to lack of a logical approach and lack of ways to check the consistency of the decisions. Based on the extensive literature study a template is prepared for assessment hazard identification and risk assessment in the two activities (formwork and excavation) which account maximum percentage of the accidents. This template is used to study and investigate systematic and effective risk assessments of formwork and excavation activities in construction projects. In the present study few sites were visited and identified the hazard and risk involved in various activities at construction site. The outcomes were documented as template for easy usage for hazard identification and risk assessment in the areas of formwork, power tools, and excavation activities. This framework would be helpful to many organizations if adopted, for improving safety by adding those control measures in safety plans and will help in reducing accident rates.