Thiruvananthapuram: PWD to strictly implement safety guidelines

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The mandatory work safety measures to be ensured at the work sites of the PWD are compromised in many sites across the state, the government has found. In the wake of the findings, steps for work zone safety from Kerala PWD manual and Indian Roads Congress (IRC) have been made mandatory for all the existing and ongoing works.
An assessment of the safety standards at the ongoing work sites of the PWD, apparently in the light of the accident at the Koolimadu bridge site in Kozhikode, has found that even though standards are available, safety measures are not taken care of at many locations.“In the recent past, many accidents were reported from construction sites across the state resulting in fatalities and major injuries. Self-designed temporary barrels, tapes, etc. are seen engaged at various places which are non-conforming to the IRC standards,” a circular issued by the PWD said.
The circular said that even though factors that are out of bounds of the human interventions such as frequently changing environment are also reason for work zone accidents, insufficient warning signs for normal and construction traffic, lack of audible warning to the workers and inadequate provisions of safety devices to protect workers also contribute to such accidents. “Absence of providing physical barriers with necessary boards, improper lighting during nights, unauthorized access and encroachment to the work zone, unsafe machinery operations, lack of proper traffic management plan, lack of publicity regarding the traffic diversion, etc. lead to work-zone accidents,” it said.
Project-specific special conditions related to safety should also be incorporated by the tendering authority at the time of bidding.