Analysis of Safety Control Measures for Steel Structure Construction

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Analysis of Safety Control Measures for Steel Structure Construction. Compared with reinforced concrete structures, steel features high strength, low self-weight, and high stiffness; therefore, it is particularly suitable for constructing buildings with large spans as well as those that are extremely tall or heavy. It offers advantages such as lower overall construction costs, shorter construction periods, the ability to reasonably divide functional areas, and the possibility of starting operations sooner to generate profits. However, precisely because of the short construction period, there is a lot of work at heights, complex interlayer operations, frequent lifting of heavy components, and construction workers are almost always working at heights of over two meters throughout the construction process, which increases the risk of accidents. Based on years of experience in managing and supervising steel structure construction, this article analyzes the characteristics of various stages of steel structure construction as well as the potential hazards, and explores how effective safety control measures can be implemented to reduce the likelihood of accidents. 　　Accident analysis and prevention measures for steel structure lifting operations. The main risk factors during the lifting of steel structure components are as follows: 1. When the crane lifts steel columns or beams and attempts to temporarily fix them in place, the crane may tip over due to an excessive lifting angle or an improper selection of the lifting points for the components. 　　2. An excessively low safety factor of the lifting steel wire rope, quality issues with the rope itself, as well as lack of maintenance that leads to wear, rust, deformation, fatigue, broken wires, and exposure of the rope core, can cause the rope to break during lifting, resulting in the falling of components and injury to people. 　　3. The cranes that enter the construction site have irregular origins; in some cases, their owners are individual private persons. These cranes have not passed inspections or been submitted for review by the supervision or general contracting parties, which leads to accidents during operation. 　　4. There are no full-time crane operators, riggers, supervisors, or on-site safety monitors; work is carried out in violation of regulations and recklessly, especially with unlicensed personnel often taking on the roles of riggers and supervisors. 　　5. During lifting operations, no exclusion zone was established, nor were there any effective safety precautions in place; as a result, personnel moving around or crossing the lifting area were struck or injured by components. 　　6. Strong winds and extreme weather conditions (such as winds of force 6 or above, extremely cold, or scorching heat) lead to accidents as workers take risks in attempting to meet deadlines. 　　Safety control measures for the lifting of steel structures: 1. A specialized safety construction plan must be prepared for the lifting of steel structures; this plan should specify the specifications of the lifting and binding steel ropes, based on parameters such as the weight and length of the heaviest steel components ； Select lifting points appropriately based on the center of gravity of the steel structure ； When selecting a crane, the lifting angle and the extension length of the boom should be taken into consideration ； Crane travel route map ； The sequential steps of the lifting construction work, as well as the safety measures for the working environment, etc. A specialized safety construction plan must go through the procedures of compilation, review, and approval. 　　2. The owners of all cranes entering the construction site must possess the necessary qualifications and safety permits; the cranes must be devices that have passed inspections by specialized equipment inspection agencies. Upon arrival at the site, their documentation must be submitted to the supervisor and the general contractor for review. 　　3. The crane operators, riggers, and supervisors involved in lifting operations are all considered to be workers engaged in special types of work; they must hold corresponding special operation permits to carry out their tasks. Before starting the work, they must submit a list along with these permits to the supervisor and the general contractor for approval. 　　4. During lifting operations, prominent warning lines should be set up in the lifting area, unnecessary passages should be blocked off, and dedicated safety supervisors should be on site to oversee the operations. 　　5. When lifting beams and columns, appropriate lifting points must be determined. Regardless of the size of the component, it should be lifted once to raise it about two meters off the ground, in order to check for any issues in various parts. Only after ensuring safety and reliability can the lifting process proceed officially. 　　6. High-altitude work should be stopped in case of strong winds and extreme weather conditions (such as winds of force 6 or above, extremely cold, or scorching heat). 　　7. All personnel involved in lifting operations must have extensive experience in the installation of steel structures. Crane operators should be familiar with the capabilities, scope of use, and operating procedures of the cranes, as well as the procedures and methods for installing steel structures. Crane operators, signalers, and riggers must be well aware of the safety protocols specific to this project. Before beginning lifting operations, crane operators, signalers, and riggers should get to know each other’s signaling methods, including gestures, flag signals, and whistles. 　　1. When steel columns are temporarily fixed without being aligned after being in place, the fixation is not secure, which can lead to the columns toppling over and injuring people, resulting in object strike accidents. 　　2. There is no safety ladder on the steel columns for workers to use in order to ascend and descend vertically; instead, workers rely on traditional climbing methods to move up and down the columns, and they may fall from a height due to fatigue or mistakes during the climbing process. 　　3. When connecting and installing steel columns to steel beams, there is no reliable working platform for the workers, who have to work while suspended in the air. No life-saving ropes are installed on the steel beams, and workers walk directly on them, exposing them to the risk of falling from a height. 　　4. When installing roof purlins, welding, butt-jointing, and tightening bolts, a bamboo ladder or scaffold is placed on the steel beams as a working platform (this is a common construction method during site inspections). Workers wear safety belts attached to the bamboo ladder or scaffold, and as they work they move the ladder or scaffold forward. If the ladder or scaffold is defective, or if there is poor coordination among the workers during movement, it can cause the ladder or scaffold to slip, resulting in all workers on it falling. Some even find it troublesome to wear seat belts, so they simply crawl on the steel beams; if they lose balance, they are prone to falling. 　　5. When lifting roof or wall purlins for maintenance, using a manual winch for fixation can be unreliable, leading to a drop and resulting in object strike accidents. 　　6. The tools used for installation lack safety ropes, which may cause the tools to fall and injure people. 　　7. Workers did not properly use safety equipment such as safety belts and helmets when working at heights. 　　Safety control measures during the installation of steel structural components: 1. Before the steel columns are properly fixed in place after being positioned, reliable temporary fixing measures must be taken at their bases using bolts, welding, or wooden plugs, while the upper parts should be secured with guy wires. The components must not be disengaged until they have been corrected, welded, and securely installed. 　　2. To ensure the safety of construction workers when moving up and down, ladders should be installed on the steel beams or columns, with both ends of these ladders fixed firmly in place ； To ensure the safety of construction workers when climbing up and down, a safety rope is installed on the outside of the ladder, and the workers wear safety belts equipped with self-locking devices. 　　3. To ensure the safe operation of workers during the installation of steel columns and beams, as well as the welding and butt-jointing of purlins and the tightening of bolts, an operating platform or a specialized scaffolding for these tasks can be installed as appropriate. The hanging basket is attached to components mounted on steel columns or the wing plates of the main beam. The operator hangs the safety belt on the steel beam or safety rope; the hanging basket is easy to install and remove, and it is safe and reliable, providing a safety guarantee for tasks such as the docking and installation of steel columns and beams, alignment, welding, and ultrasonic testing. The size and shape of the hanging basket should facilitate its installation, it must be made of round steel – threaded steel is not allowed – and it should provide operators with sufficient space for movement. 　　4. Safety steel ropes, also known as lifelines, should be hung on both the vertical and horizontal steel beams. The hanging height is 1.2 meters; every 3 meters, a 1.2-meter-long steel pipe or angle iron is installed to support the safety rope, or basket bolts are used to tighten it, in order to prevent safety issues resulting from the rope being too long. When workers walk on steel beams, their safety belts must be attached to safety ropes. 1. The laying sequence for profiled steel sheets is generally loose laying, adjustment, and riveting. When the profiled steel sheets were lifted onto the roof, they were not secured, or the unfastened sheets and those that had been riveted were not acted on simultaneously. In both cases, when strong winds occur, the profiled steel sheets can be scattered and fall due to the wind, causing injuries, or they may slide along the surface. In severe cases, it can even knock construction workers and cause them to fall from a height. 　2. The profiled colored steel sheets were not stacked evenly on the roof, resulting in overloading of the roof and causing overall deformation of the steel structure. Severe cases can cause localized collapse of the steel structure. 　　Safety control measures during the installation (laying) of steel structure profiled sheets: 1. The lifted profiled sheets must be securely fixed before laying operations are carried out to ensure the stability of the steel structure. During the loose-panel installation phase, the workers responsible for adjustment must wear safety belts or fall arrest devices. The riveting workers should promptly rivet the adjusted profiled steel sheets; panel laying and riveting must be carried out simultaneously, and no rivets should be missed or panels riveted out of order, to prevent the panels from sliding due to missing rivets. When laying profiled steel sheets, unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering the construction area ； A no-entry zone should be established below the work area to prevent people from passing through. 　　2. Profiled colored steel sheets should be stacked evenly and dispersed on the roof; overloading the stack is strictly prohibited. 　　Analysis of hazard sources and safety control measures for steel structure welding, assembly, temporary on-site power usage, fire protection pipelines, fire protection coatings, and concurrent operations 1. Insufficient safety distance between oxygen and acetylene cylinders, as well as too close proximity to open flames. 　　2. The temporary electricity usage at the construction site does not meet regulatory requirements, and the measures for leakage protection, grounding, and neutral connection of electrical equipment are inadequate. The cables used are damaged, and the connections are not properly handled, which can easily lead to electric shock accidents. 　　3. The welding machine lacks secondary no-load protection. 　　4. There are no plans for the mobile work platforms used in fire protection pipeline and coating work, and their installation is not standardized, which increases the risk of collapse accidents. In the area where I live, there was an accident in which a simple working platform constructed using portal scaffolding collapsed, resulting in casualties. 　　5. When steel components are assembled on the ground, irregular signaling can lead to crushing and collision injuries; moreover, when larger steel components are placed upright, the lack of stabilizing measures can cause them to fall and injure people. 　　Safety management measures: 1. Oxygen and acetylene cylinders are placed at appropriate distances from each other to ensure sufficient safety, with a distance of over ten meters from any open flames. Maintain a safety distance of at least five meters between oxygen and acetylene cylinders; acetylene cylinders must be equipped with flashback arrestors, and the safety procedures for electric and welding workers must be strictly followed. 　　2. For temporary on-site electricity use, the “three-level power distribution and two-level protection system” of one machine, one circuit breaker box, one switch, and one leakage protection device is implemented. Electrical equipment must have reliable grounding or neutral connection measures. An no-load voltage reduction protection device is installed on the secondary side of the welding machine. 　　3. Mobile working platforms shall have a dedicated erection plan accompanied by calculation documents; after erection, an inspection shall be conducted, and they may only be used upon passing the inspection. 　　4. There should be a plan in place for the mobile work platforms used for fire protection pipeline and coating work; they must be installed in accordance with relevant standards, and generally shall not be used to transport people. 　　5. When assembling steel components on the ground, ensure consistent signaling; when lifting larger steel components upright, employ stabilizing measures such as double-sided bracing. 　　Although steel structure construction is a task with a high degree of risk, by providing necessary safety training and technical instructions to all workers in advance, formulating scientific special plans, and carrying out the work strictly in accordance with those plans and relevant standards and regulations, along with effective safety control measures and proper supervision, the occurrence of safety accidents can be reduced.