The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) signed an agreement earlier this week, with the government saying that one of the key initiatives outlined is the implementation of joint inspections at construction sites by both authorities.
The news broke at roughly the same time the news emerged that four people have been charged with involuntary homicide following the death of a construction worker, Bari Balla, after a building collapsed on him in Sliema last year. They pleaded not guilty and the case will continue on in court.
The government, in the BCA-OHSA agreement announcement, said that in August the authorities had launched a pilot project for joint inspections at construction sites, “which clearly demonstrated its necessity.”
“Since the last week of August, approximately 550 joint inspections have been carried out, resulting in 134 actions taken by BCA officials and 147 actions taken by OHSA officials. Notably, during these inspections there were a number of instances where both the OHSA and the BCA had to take action on the same site,” the government said.
This move for joint inspections is one aimed to bolster safety in an area where it is sorely needed. By conducting joint inspections, it hopefully means that inspections on more sites could be carried out, as repeated work by inspectors from either authority, so to speak, will not be required. If it succeeds in its aims and results in better, stronger enforcement, then that is a good step.
The fact that, out of 550 joint inspections until now, so many actions were taken by the authorities shows that there are still many things wrong on construction sites, and highlights the importance of having strong, well organised enforcement arms with the necessary resources. On this latter point, government said that the BCA workforce has grown to 84 employees in the past months, with 26 assigned to the enforcement division, and that it will be further increased with an additional 20 officers in the coming months. It said that at the OHSA, the workforce rose from around 30 to 55 employees, with further expansion planned.
One hopes that the planned increases will be enough to deal with the amount of construction sites. If more are needed, then more should be sought.
Enforcement in this sector cannot be lax. It cannot be a situation where construction companies are allowed to let things slide. The time for the wild west, so to speak, is over. There have been far too many injuries and deaths related to construction over the years. Good legal changes were introduced giving the authorities the power to revoke licenses if needed. The increase in enforcement and regulatory powers is hopefully acting as a deterrent to any abuse. But the authorities should not fear using such a power in cases of serious breaches and repeat offenders.
