Dust management is occupational safety

Inhaling construction dust is harmful, and even dangerous. Still, many construction workers are exposed to construction dust on a daily basis, because the dust control implemented is insufficient or does not exist at all.

There are experienced guys at the construction site who have been doing work for decades without taking care of adequate protection from construction dust. Some are already sick or allergic. Either his ignorance or his indifference. There are technical solutions to protect the construction worker's lungs, but are the attitudes okay? Changing attitudes is slower and more difficult than dust control, but it is the only way to bring about lasting change.

Construction workers should be concerned about the dust generated on the construction site, as they cause harm to health and comfort. A dusty construction site exposes workers to substances that irritate the respiratory tract, skin and mucous membranes, which are known to cause cancer. Long-term and high exposure also causes COPD, which is an incurable disease. Dust also causes a fire and explosion hazard, as well as a momentary decrease in visibility, which also have occupational safety implications.

Don't just protect the building – protect the worker too

Many people think that good dust management only means good protection of ventilation ducts, dust management during finishing works and effective final cleaning. This does help to get closer to the goal of construction; safe and healthy building. But it doesn't have a big impact on occupational health if the process involves first spreading the dust and then cleaning it up.

Dust control should be done throughout construction. This means, among other things, the use of target extraction devices, air cleaners and negative pressure in all dusty work phases. Cleaning as the only dust control measure only repairs damage that has already occurred. In the end, the building will be clean, but the health hazards caused by dust cannot be repaired afterwards.

Control dust problems with a three-stage dust control process

There is not just one effective solution for dust management on a construction site. Instead, a planned and systematic process is needed on construction sites, which is built on different methods and work steps.

From the point of view of occupational health, it is of primary importance that as little dust as possible is produced on the construction site. Using dust-free work methods and collecting dust as soon as it occurs is the most effective way to reduce dust harm. The work steps that produce dust are separated into so-called from clean premises in the finishing work phase, and the spread of airborne dust is prevented by negative pressure. The use of efficient air cleaners ensures that it is safe to breathe on the construction site and that small particles do not travel into the building's structures, and thereby end up in the breathing air of the building's users.

Building cleaning prevents dust deposits from ending up back in the breathing air. Regular construction cleaning maintains cleanliness and ensures a clean construction result.

A functioning dust control process has three simultaneous phases, which are implemented throughout the construction site:

1. To prevent the occurrence of dust nuisance: targeted removal, dust binding, dust-free work methods.
2. We prevent dust from spreading with air currents and clean the air: compartmentalization, negative pressure, air purification.
3. Prevent the spread of dust by keeping surfaces clean: building cleaning.

In addition to these work steps, planning, supervision and training are needed, as well as the will to do things better than before.

Dust management brings cost savings from more than just increased work safety

Dust management is often perceived as an additional expense item in construction. However, good dust control pays off. Better processes, general cleanliness and comfort increase productivity and reduce errors. It is more profitable to do the right thing at once than to correct mistakes afterwards. At worst, indifference leads to the dismantling of structures in order to clean the dust traps and sniff the IV channels. Final cleaning done many times is not cheap, not to mention late fines.

In the long term, cost savings occur when sickness absences and employee turnover decrease, but the cost savings are only one-tenth of the financial benefit that can arise from business improvement. Business benefits arise when personnel work more efficiently and with higher quality. More turnover per employee is generated, and with it more euros on the bottom line. A healthy business enables better working conditions, thus creating a positive cycle. (Source: Economic effects of occupational health and safety. Finnish Center for Occupational Safety and Health. 2017)

A clean construction site creates a positive cycle

We regularly visit construction sites and interview workers to better understand the motivators and biggest obstacles to dust management. One foreman said that when the construction site started investing in dust control, the workers also started cleaning up more of their own marks. The foreman was amazed at the side effect of dust control, because the order of the construction site had changed much better than itself.

Cleanliness at the construction site creates a positive cycle. Dust management as a key part of the construction process can therefore encourage and commit employees to work more cleanly and to take more responsibility for the dust damage caused by their own work - and their own health. We claim that on sites that have a dust control process under control, the rest of the construction remains in good hands. When things are done in the right order and at the right time, occupational safety can also be improved.

Antti Väisänen
product development director, industrial designer
Consair Oy

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Antti Väisänen works at the Finnish company Consair Oy, which develops dust control equipment and methods. In his work, Antti has studied the construction industry and work on construction sites, as well as becoming familiar with work safety and managing conditions on construction sites. Antti's core competencies are user-oriented product design and ergonomics and usability design. The management and utilization of user research and user-oriented design methods have played a paramount role in e.g. In the design of the Fennia Prize-winning CAMU1200 dust control device. Read more about construction dust and occupational health on Consair's website!