Portwest Construction Magazine

ENTRAPMENT Entrapment is the risk of being trapped or asphyxiated in a confined space with converging walls or a floor tapering to a smaller cross section.

Within the construction industry, “caught in” or “caught-between” hazards rank among the top causes of fatalities and injuries. These incidents involve individuals being squeezed, caught, crushed, pinched, or compressed between objects, including instances where clothing or body parts get entangled in machinery with unguarded moving parts. Exposure to entanglement hazards is prevalent on construction sites with machinery featuring rotating or moving parts, often requiring maintenance. To prevent fatalities, three primary categories of exposure need attention: pinch-points (where parts move together, like pulley and belt systems), crush-points (where machine parts move toward each other, such as hydraulic cylinders), and wrap-points (involving rotating parts like lathes and mixers). Ensuring safety involves proper clothing selection, with workers avoiding loose or excessively long garments and refraining from wearing jewellery. Attention to details like tucking in shirts and tying back hair can prevent entanglement incidents. It is crucial to emphasise the importance of focus on the job, as most workplace accidents occur due to distractions.

How can a company identify and address potential entrapment risks on construction sites? “More fundamentally with regards to the continuous improvement element, companies must consider where technology, innovation, design and working methods can eliminate the risk altogether. One example of this innovation that has been developed at STRABAG is use of Robots to execute manually intensive roles along with eliminating health hazards such as vibration and dust exposure on segment production carousels.”

CONSTRUCTION

22