Crane Accidents at Construction Sites in Malaysia

Abstract

Construction of high-rise buildings, large-scale apartment blocks, or construction in urban areas demands increasingly greater use of cranes. In the construction industry, the use of crane is common and very important regardless of the size of the project. Cranes generally use cable and pulley to deliver a mechanical advantage when it is necessary to lift heavy loads. They have the potential to move materials of different sizes that play an extraordinarily important role in the construction site. The crane operator is responsible for controlling the crane effectively and follow the safety guidelines. Life loss, injury, and property damage are the implications that will occur if the crane maintenance specifications and operations are not correctly practiced. As the result of crane accident happened every year, this paper seeks to identify the causes of crane accident at construction sites in Malaysia. With the aim that has been stated, this paper summarizes statistic and causes of crane accident of most cited papers. Thus, the causes that lead to accident from previous researcher will be highlighted. Outcomes from the study demonstrate that operational and technical problem are the major causes of crane accidents at construction site in Malaysia. Exploration of this paper will help the construction industry especially in crane monitoring for a better safety performance and regulation at all construction projects.

A Review of Emergency Management Governance at Construction Sites in Malaysia

“…Additionally, it was also stated that the impact of low and limited budget allocation on safety and health practices has resulted in a lack of enforcement, monitoring, and safety audits of mandatory safety and health regulations. The aforementioned factors, which have also been seen in a number of studies, have been shown to have the same effect of contributing to poor site management in terms of occupational safety and health practices (Hashim et al 2016;Muhamad Zaini et al 2020;Rajendran, 2020). These findings bolster evidence of the construction sector and its associated building sites have a poor track record in safety management.…”

“…Statistics from the Department of Workplace Safety and Health (DOSH) Malaysia indicate that the construction industry poses the highest risk of occupational accidents and fatalities (Affandi & Chia, 2013). This is supported by annual reports of over 200 impairments and deaths (Muhamad Zaini et al 2020). This is reinforced by research indicating that the high figures are a result of the current methods of safety and health management in the construction industry, which are deemed to be inadequate in terms of commitment from middle and top management, an inadequate workforce, and budget allocations (Affandi & Chia, 2013).…”

“…Due to the movement control orders and the application of new standards, one of the effects that Covid-19 has had on the country is a delay in the completion of construction projects (Alenezi, 2020). The researcher predicts that based on the basic delay factors mentioned earlier, situations such as COVID-19, or catastrophic incidents such as building collapse or crane collapse, will result in many delay factors (Afshar et al 2016;Muhamad Zaini et al 2020). A construction delay hurts the success of a project, and studies show that delays are a common problem in the construction industry, where they affect not only productivity but also the growth and economy of the country (Hatem et al 2022;Nurhendi et al 2022).…”

Developing an Ensemble Predictive Safety Risk Assessment Model: Case of Malaysian Construction Projects

“…Hamid et al [ 14 ] asserted that there was 125% increase of fatal injuries on construction sites in Malaysia from 2009 to 2015. Similarly, according to Muhamad Zaini et al [ 13 ], fatalities on construction sites experienced an approximately 30% rise over a four-year period, starting from the year 2015. In contrast to developing counties, the status quo in developed countries is significantly better.…”

“…Another developing country, whose construction industry constitutes a major proportion of fatal- and non-fatal accidents recorded among all industries, is Malaysia. Though the construction industry has recently evolved, thanks to the use of modern technology and equipment, yet the rate of accidents on construction sites has not noticeably decreased [ 13 ]. Hamid et al [ 14 ] asserted that there was 125% increase of fatal injuries on construction sites in Malaysia from 2009 to 2015.…”