Nottingham Trent University

School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Module: CONM 46270 Construction Health and Safety
M.Sc Construction Management Full time
Coursework 1 : 2010 ~ 2011
Structure : Individual Course work Max 2000 words
Coursework Brief : Main Task - Prepare a report
‘Investigate the factors why your company has had a poor record in
health and
safety on construction sites’.
The construction industry has poor understanding of how individual attitudes, behaviour
or management action are related to safety in the construction industry. Your company
Millennium Contractors Ltd. (an SME) has been working in the UK for the last 25 years
and has mixed work force in terms of ethnicity and cultural background. The recent track
record of the company has not been very good and there have been many accidents
which included one fatal accident resulting from fall from height; major/minor injuries and
incidents of dangerous occurrences.
The company was served with a prohibition notice when one of the workers suffered fatal
injuries after falling from mobile elevated working platform, in addition to four
improvement notices on following four accounts:
1. Manual handling – issues with occupational H&S
2. Five workers being hit by falling objects
3. Two workers being hit by moving vehicles
4. Two incidents of collapse of temporary structures and scaffoldings
As a construction manager responsible for managing health and safety on construction
site, you have been asked by the management to identify root causes of the accidents
and prepare a report to senior management team. The typical tasks which you need to
undertake will involve:
Examining incidents and establishing reasons for failure which have lead to accidents;
Investigate management practices and associated documentation relating to safety –
induction procedures, tool-box talks, training requirements, accident record book,
construction health and safety plan, method statements etc;
Identify the pieces of legislations under which actions could be taken against you and
the company and management could be prosecuted;
Establish what factors are significantly associated with safe behaviours or safety
compliance, which will improve the safety, health and welfare on site and record of
the company;
How perception on safety behaviour, attitudes, mangement’s commitment and
implementations of new initiatives can influence and improve site related health
and safety and occupational health and safety;
Identify barriers which you feel the company needs to overcome to aim for zero
accident policy on sites.
Aim of the coursework
The primary goal of this coursework is to investigate the factors that influence safety
behaviour and compliance with safety requirements on construction sites. To enable
students to use information (available from various sources) and knowledge gained to
identify the causes of accidents on construction sites and how individual behaviour and
management’s attitude affects safe management practices on construction sites. You are
allowed to make assumptions at the beginning of the report.
Learning outcomes
Learning outcomes describe what you should know and be able to do by the end of the
module. After studying this module you should be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of the key facts and concepts that underpin
construction Health and Safety;
Understand the moral, economical, legal and social aspects of health and safety
management;
Appraise solutions for safe construction system within a project Context.
WEIGHTING
This assignment contributes 50% to the overall module assessment.
MARKING CRITERIA
Selection of the appropriate resources and research techniques 10%
Appraisal of the literature 20%
Content 40%
Structure and style 20%
Use of English, spelling, grammar and punctuation 5%
Correct use of referencing styles 5%
TIPS FOR COURSE WORK
Most students develop their own learning styles. These are general tips, aimed at
troubleshooting common areas of concern and guiding students to prepare better
coursework and hence able to manage expectations.
Planning:
Plan your time for all the pending assignments overall, and break the work up into more
manageable parts. Mark the deadlines for each assignment in the diary, and work
backwards, setting yourself targets for working on and completing different components
(including background reading). Allow time at the end for contingencies: Don’t assume
that you have time right up to the last minute. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong at
some time. Allow for disk/hardware failure, queues for printing, transport failure into NTU,
and all the other little disasters that can occur. Always keep a backup copy of your work
on disk/memory stick.
Doing the Assignment:
Before you start writing, read the assignment and check what format is expected (essay,
report, etc.). Make sure you understand the task, and ask any questions well in advance.
Give yourself plenty of time to find out the availability of relevant books and where to find
relevant material. The alternative sources of information for example - journal articles,
HSE case studies, HSE reports, Industry reports as well as books. Take note of the
learning outcomes, because these are the criteria that your assignment will be marked on.
Check at the end that you have covered all of them. Read the Course Handbook, which
sets out the format and requirements for assignments, for example numbering your
pages and including margins, and gives the general criteria for the marking bands.
NOTES
Structure your work, including introductions and conclusions, and make sure that you
haven’t left out any part of the brief. Make assumptions to define the scope of the work
and manage the expectations.
If a word limit is specified, stick to it, in both directions. It is useful to include a word count,
both as a reminder to yourself and as an aid to the marker.
Avoid writing in note form, or overusing bullet points in reports. Proof read your work
before submission. You will be penalised for grammatical and spelling mistakes.
If you use an author’s work in the text or give a direct quote, you must also give a
reference (otherwise it is plagiarism). Library & Learning Resources have a vital guide to
citation and referencing as an online guide, which gives information on the required
Harvard system of referencing. Attach reference list at the end (not a bibliography and
works that you do not make reference to).
When you state your opinions, back them up with evidence, from reading or practice. You
are expected to read around the subject, prepare notes and give critical appraisal of the
material. Please avoid sweeping statements that are difficult to justify.
Put your correct registration number, name and module details on the cover sheet and
header/footer of the assignment.
 Hand it on time – otherwise this assignment will be capped to 40%.
Date for submission:
Wednesday 12th January, 2011, not later than 2.00 PM.