WORK METHOD STATEMENT

For the purpose

PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF CHUKA PW AHP PROJECT, CHUKA
IGAMBANG’OMBE CONSTITUENCY, THARAKA NITHI COUNTY WITH
ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE

CLIENT: STATE DEPARTMENT FOR HOUSING AND URBAN

DEVELOPMENT
Table of Contents
1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION........................................................................................3
1.2 PROJECT TIME SCALE..........................................................................................3
2.0 SITE ESTABLISHMENT..........................................................................................3
2.1 SITE BOUNDARIES..............................................................................................3
2.2 ACCESS AND AGRESS..........................................................................................3
2.3 UNLOADING DISTRIBUTION AND STORAGE............................................................3
2.4 WASTE MANAGEMENT..........................................................................................4
2.5 TEMPORARY SERVICES........................................................................................4
2.6 FIRE PREVENTION AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES..................................................5
2.7 SITE SECURITY...................................................................................................5
2.8 NOISE & DUST PREVENTION.................................................................................6
3.0 CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY...........................................................................6
3.1 SITE CLEARANCE................................................................................................6
3.1 SUBSTRUCTURES................................................................................................7
3.1 SUPERSTRUCTURES.............................................................................................7
3.1 BUILDING ENVELOPE...........................................................................................7
3.1 SERVICES INSTALLATION.....................................................................................8
3.1 INTERNAL FIT OUT..............................................................................................8
First Fix................................................................................................................8
Second Fix............................................................................................................8
Finishes................................................................................................................9
Snagging/ De-snagging..........................................................................................9
Testing & Commissioning......................................................................................10
3.1 EXTERNAL WORKS.............................................................................................10
4 HSE PLAN & RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CIVIL WORKS..................................................11
Excavation/Earthworks - Hazards..............................................................................12
Overcrowding......................................................................................................13
Casualty handling.................................................................................................13
4.2 Concrete works HSE Requirements...................................................................14
5.0 Controls...........................................................................................................15
Safe Working Procedures......................................................................................15
Training..............................................................................................................15
First Aid..............................................................................................................16
1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project involves the construction of;

Name PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF CHUKA PW AHP

PROJECT, CHUKA IGAMBANG’OMBE
CONSTITUENCY, THARAKA NITHI COUNTY WITH
INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS
Site location Igambang’ombe Constituency, Tharaka Nithi
County
Scope 385No. Of Units in 4No. of blocks distributed as
follows
1No. Of Type A Blocks
111No. Of Units21No. of studio units 111No. Of
Units 10 No. of 1 Room units 20 No. of 2 Room
units 40No. of 2Bedroom units 10No. of 3Room
10No. of 3Bedroom units 2No. Of Type B Blocks
10 No. of 2Bedroom units AHP 160No. Of Units
30 No. of 2Bedroom units MKT 10 No. of
3Bedroom units AHP 30 No. of 3Bedroom units
MKT 1No. Of Type C Blocks 20No. of studio units
114No. Of Units 10 No. of 1 Room units 18 No. of
2 Room units 37No. of 2Bedroom units 10No. of
3 Room units 10No. of 3Bedroom units 9No.
Retail Shops

1.2 PROJECT TIME SCALE

Duration: 540 Days

2.0 SITE ESTABLISHMENT

2.1 SITE BOUNDARIES

On possession of site, a secure, solid perimeter hoarding will be erected
along main access road prior to actual site works commencing.
The hoarding will be inspected by Site Management on a daily basis to ensure its
integrity and quality of appearance and any deficiencies identified will be
immediately dealt with.

2.2 ACCESS AND AGRESS

The site cabins will be established close to the entrance of the site at the end
of the access drive clearly visible to incoming traffic Car parking for
construction staff and visitors will be provided on the drive.

2.3 UNLOADING DISTRIBUTION AND STORAGE

A designated loading zone will be established within the site area for dealing
with deliveries. This zone will include a holding area for short term
containment of goods to facilitate effective offloading and movement of
delivery vehicles onto and off the site.

Following acceptance of a delivery and as required by programme and site

progress, materials will be distributed from the holding area to the site
storage area or relevant location on site. Materials handling and hoisting on
site will be mainly carried out by gantry crane. Concrete pumps will be
employed to place concrete for foundations and slabs.

Our intention to adopt a ‘just in time’ approach for materials through

effective planning, thus minimizing storage space required. A designated
storage area will be established for a limited amount of materials. This will be
strictly managed to control content. A designated member of the site team
will be responsible for the management and co-ordination of key vehicle
movements and lift operations. They will also ensure that all plant and
equipment is operated within current health and safety guidelines.
2.4 WASTE MANAGEMENT
Maintaining a high standard of site cleanliness is essential to allow works to
progress in an efficient safe manner. Our approach to site cleanliness will be to
make the suppliers responsible through site constraints issued as part of enquiries
and orders.

Additionally, we will have a multi task labour force directly employed whose activity
will be to police site cleanliness and to coordinate the removal of waste containers.
A Waste Management Compound will be set up within the site, allowing for the
segregation of refuse and recyclables in separate skips including:

2.5 TEMPORARY SERVICES

Our M&E Co-ordinator will be responsible for the installation and periodical
testing of temporary services and electrical equipment.

General safety lighting will be provided across the site, with specific mobile
task lighting being employed for specific operations as the buildings are
erected.

All temporary services will have identified isolation points to enable quick and
effective isolation in case of an emergency and efficient management of
energy.

Meters will be installed as applicable to facilitate monitoring of energy usage.

2.6 FIRE PREVENTION AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

Emergency procedures will be developed and agreed in the construction
phase health and safety plan. These procedures will include an Emergency
Contact Notice giving details of all relevant authorities and services being
displayed on site.

The project manager will be responsible for establishing a Fire Safety Plan
which will be updated as required during the construction process.

Designated fire ‘call points’ will be established around the site in strategic
locations supported with an evacuation plan and directional signage
identifying the escape routes and muster point.
2.7 SITE SECURITY
Security on site during the Construction Phase will be provided at the site entrance
at all times while the site is operational, and the management team will be
responsible for:

 Delivering site safety inductions for visitors to the site

 Recording vehicle movements on and off site
 Checking deliveries against the delivery schedule
 Validating deliveries that have not been notified with Site Staff
 Ensuring operatives, staff and visitors are equipped with PPE on entry

Security lighting will be provided around the cabin accommodation and

storage internally and externally.

Areas such as container storage will be externally lit with photocells and
movement detectors which will only be illuminated when there is activity in
the immediate area, at times of darkness.

Intruder alarms will be fitted to the main Site Office accommodation and to
the building at a later stage. The system will be linked directly our 24 hour
Helpdesk. The need for further alarms in secure containers and/or in the
building as it progresses will be monitored on an on-going basis.

Pedestrian Access to the site will be controlled by site staff.

Additional to the measures described above we will take a proactive approach

to Crime Prevention and will engage with the local Police Crime Prevention
Officer to put in place measures and procedure to reduce the possible
incidence of crime that could be associated with the site.

2.8 NOISE & DUST PREVENTION

Noise arising from Site Vehicles and plant will be managed first of all by
rigorously implementing the site hours. Before commencing works on site
we will agree to the acceptable operating times for the site.
All plant used on the site will be sound attenuated and will be regularly
serviced and maintained to ensure it is operating correctly. The site
induction for plant operators will cover the issue of noise and they will be
warned against over revving of plant and the operation of horns in all but
necessary situations.
Machine operatives will be instructed to isolate plant and equipment during
idle periods reducing noise levels and ensuring efficient running of
equipment and reducing fumes.
Dust is more likely to present a problem during long dry spells and in these
periods damping down the affected areas of the site will be employed to
avoid windborne dust crossing the site boundary and causing inconvenience.
All the measures mentioned above and others will be monitored by our site
staff and management team.

3.0 CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY

3.1 SITE CLEARANCE

All redundant fences, structures, slabs and tree stumps will be removed,
followed by stripping of the topsoil, which will be stored along the boundary,
clear of the wall.

The hardstanding for the container storage and the access road will be
formed and the cabins erected, allowing the temporary services to be
connected and the lighting and security installations.

3.1 SUBSTRUCTURES
The subsoil is clay and bulk excavations for basement up to 6.0 meter in depth are
required for the structure.

Once the excavations for the foundation have been completed, the concrete works
for the column bases, columns retaining walls, basements floors shall commence in
line with our programme requirements.
3.1 SUPERSTRUCTURES
When the substructures are suitably advanced the construction of the
reinforced masonry walling will commence.

Scaffolding will be erected to permit the raising of the walls, ground floor flat
roof construction and internally, concrete floors will be installed.

Trussed roof components fabricated off-site will be craned into position onto
the wall plates and secured/wind-braced, followed by the actual roof
coverings.

3.1 BUILDING ENVELOPE

As the superstructure and the floors are completed, the trades associated
with the completion of the building envelope will follow.

External render application, installation of doors and windows will be

coordinated with the installation of the roof coverings to ensure that a
weather tight structure is achieved in a timely manner with no adverse
impact on health and safety standards, or programme.

Floor partitions will be built using masonry. Ceilings, linings and plastering will then
complete the actual construction works.

3.1 SERVICES INSTALLATION

A designated M&E co-ordinator will be responsible for managing the design
and installation of building services.

The services installation will generally follow the works sequence as outlined
above, so that services can be installed, tested and commissioned by the
completion date.
The M&E co-ordinator will be responsible for managing a sign-off process aimed at
identifying and dealing with defects throughout the construction period. This
process will commence at the first fix stage with a permit system being operated to
log inspections and sign off to allow next stage of works to progress.
The process outlined above not only serves the construction process but also
provide an early compliance check in regards to design. Throughout this process we
engage closely with Building Control and the warranty provider to ensure they are
fully involved and informed on works progress and quality standards

3.1 INTERNAL FIT OUT

The internal fit-out will commence as soon as the houses are made
watertight. Wet trades such as floor screeds and plastering will be completed
at the earliest opportunity to take account of drying out periods in readiness
for applied finishes.

Maintaining the phased sequence outlined previously the fit-out will progress
through 5 key phases as follows:

First Fix
Co-ordinated closely with the Mechanical and Electrical installation the first fix
stage of the fit out will mainly be focused around installing floor screed and
constructing partition walls.

Second Fix

Maintaining strong links with the Mechanical and Electrical installation teams
the second fix stage will see the completion of partition walls, installation of
ceilings, plastering, first fix joinery, and general preparations for applied
finishes.

When all parties are satisfied that the first fix element is complete the
permits will be signed off to provide clearance to progress to the next stage.

Finishes
At this stage the M&E installations will be substantially complete and
progressing into the pre-commissioning stage.

This stage of the works will be focused on second fix joinery e.g. door sets, fitted
furniture, wall protection, wall and floor finishes. Having activated the building
heating systems during the previous stage the aim will be to maintain a consistent
environment to allow natural materials to acclimatise and avoid stressing due to
sudden changes.

The snagging process during this phase will become very focussed on the
standards of finishes and quality of workmanship in driving towards a defect
free.

During this stage of the project the aim is to complete the construction works and
achieve a ‘dust free’ environment to enable us to move into the final testing and
commissioning of the building services.

Snagging/ De-snagging

This stage of the process will run parallel with the testing and commissioning
process. A final detailed snagging procedure will be implemented in conjunction
with an independent Inspector.

The snagging works will be inspected and signed off until all items are closed out.

At the appropriate stage a final builder’s clean will be carried out to prepare the
building for completion.

Testing & Commissioning

The commissioning of the houses will be carried out in 2 distinct phases and
all individual activities within these phases will be fully detailed on the
commissioning programme prior to the commencement of the commissioning
exercise. The two phases of commissioning are as follows:

• Pre-Commissioning – After all services have been installed

the individual systems will be energised to ensure all
component parts are working and that no faulty piece of
 equipment, needs replacement. In addition to checking that
all equipment is working checks will be made to ensure that
the items of plant are capable of achieving the outputs as
specified. Each service will be ‘signed off’ as having passed
each stage of the commissioning process.

• Main Commissioning – This will only be done after the main

construction activities have been completed and the houses
have had a good cleaning so that dust etc. has been removed
from the buildings. Each service, in turn, will be run at all
operational levels as specified in the output specification.

3.1 EXTERNAL WORKS

The external areas can only be started once the external scaffolds around
the perimeter of the houses have been dismantled and in order to maintain
as much space as possible on site, the majority of the utility connections
and site drainage will be completed during the Substructures stage.

Around the perimeter of the houses the hard landscaping works will follow
the dismantling of the external access scaffolds and the site hoarding.

During the last weeks of the contract, the site cabins will be removed to
permit the completion of the car park and access drive. Fences and gates
will be erected, paths laid and soft landscaping planted/turfs laid.

4 HSE PLAN & RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CIVIL WORKS

4.1 Excavation/ Earth works

Hazards associated with excavations will be communicated to the crew
working in excavations before commencing work and every morning during
Toolbox Talks. The person responsible for
communicating hazards to workers shall be the CONTRACTOR HSE officer at
site. Since excavations are part and parcel of confined spaces, when people
are working in excavations, there will at least someone out of the
excavations to keep watch; this will primarily be the supervisor. Care must
be taken during digging of excavation pits, reinforcement and concreting
since there are many risks associated with excavations.
Typical hazards associated with excavations include:
 Workers being buried below ground level when excavations collapse
especially in areas with loose soils.
 Workers being crushed by collapsing excavations in areas with loose
stones.
 Moving equipment falling in excavations, when driven too near
excavated pits.
 Workers falling in excavated pits.
 Children drowning in excavated pits filled with rain water if not
properly barricaded.
 Workers being harmed by exposed or damaged underground services
such as high voltage electricity, water under high pressure, sewage,
pressurized pipe systems for Kenya Pipeline Company containing petrol
or diesel.

Key Risk Mitigation Measures

The crew working in excavated pits must receive detailed training by the
CONTRACTOR HSE officer at site. Toolbox Talks shall also be conducted every
morning before work in excavations
starts. Moreover:
 Proper planning must be done and documented prior to subjecting
employees to work in
 excavations;
 There must always be on-site supervision to monitor risks during
working hours.
 Regular professional maintenance of equipment,
 Ongoing training and awareness-raising of workers,
 restricting access to excavated pits,
  Barricading excavated pits
 Displaying coloured warning signs.

Excavation/Earthworks - Hazards
Access & Egress

Entering and coming out of the pits shall be by means of ladders and steps. Every
excavated pit where work is taking place shall have its own ladder.
Ladders shall be regularly inspected by the employees using them to find out if they
are in good working condition. Damaged ladders shall be removed from site and
taken to the workshop for repair. Entry into excavations must be in an area where
stabilization measures have taken place; this shall be suitably identified.
Poor lighting or low light

Working in excavated pits shall only take place in broad day light. Any work
required to take place at night shall only be permitted if effective and efficient flood
lights are provided. When there is darkness and visibility is impaired, work shall be
stopped immediately.

Overcrowding
The number of people entering excavated pits shall be kept to the minimum.
Overcrowding per excavated pit shall not be permitted; this will help to prevent the
possibility of exhausting oxygen in the pit and causing asphyxia. A record shall be
kept of persons working in excavated pits.

Personal Protective equipment (PPE)

Appropriate PPE shall be worn by personnel

working in excavated pits, such PPE will include:

 A full body safety harness with double lanyards;

 Hand gloves if operations entail manual handling or activities that might result to

hand injuries and

 Hard hats with chin strap.

Casualty handling
Soils or debris shall be cleared from the face of the casualties and from their chests
to enable them to breathe and for necessary first aid to be administered effectively;
resuscitation equipment shall be taken into the pits by a first aider at site or by the
rescue team members.

Excavated pits shall be ventilated or breathing apparatus given to casualties. Sharp

tools shall never be used in areas where workers have been buried by excavations.
4.2 Concrete works HSE Requirements

Concrete being a mixture of cement, sand, water and aggregate has certain risks,
which must be prevented so as to protect workers from injuries, harm and having
poor health. Cement which is used in concreting is the most dangerous owing to the
substances used to make it. Most dangers associated with concrete emanate from
cement itself, and as a result, it is imperative to handle both cement and concrete
carefully in order to prevent these risks.

Concrete work is associated with certain hazards, these include:

 Trips and falls due to poor housekeeping; to prevent this good

housekeeping shall be practiced.
 Chemical burns on skin and eyes caused by wet cement; workers
handling cement shall wear long sleeved overalls.
 Hand injuries due to manual handling; workers shall be provided with
waterproof hand gloves.
 Injuries due to reinforcing steel; training and proper supervision shall
be effected.
 Collapse of poorly installed steel; to prevent this quality work shall be
undertaken and inspection done by quality supervisor.
 Collapse of poor reinforcement; Proper reinforcement shall be done
and inspected by reinforcement supervisor.
 Lung cancer
 Allergic reactions
 Being hit by concrete buckets; to prevent this there shall be no
working under loads

AAC shall ensure that concrete work activities are carried out in a manner likely to
promote safety and good health of all employees involved. To achieve this certain
controls shall be put in place and adhered to by all workers.
5.0 Controls
Safe Working Procedures

Dry cement shall be mixed in well-ventilated areas to avoid the possibility of

workers inhaling cement dust. When an activity entails kneeling on wet cement, dry
boards or waterproof kneeling pads shall be used to protect the knees.
Jewelry such as watches and jewelry rings shall be removed by workers handling
concrete to avoid the possibility of cement collecting under them and causing
damage to the skin.

Training
Workers handling cement shall receive effective trained to educate them on
the hazards associated with concrete and mitigation measures. Daily Toolbox Talks
shall be conducted every morning to educate workers on best ways to handle
concrete.

Hygiene

 Workers handling concrete shall remove any clothing that is contaminated by wet

cement.

 Any skin that is in contact with concrete shall be washed immediately with

running clean water.

 Workers shall not be permitted to wash hands in buckets used for cleaning tools.

 Working area shall be cleared of concrete immediately after work in the evening

and also before commencing work in the morning.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

The following PPE shall be worn by those handling concrete.

 Overalls with long sleeves and full length trousers shall be worn by workers

handling concrete.
 Waterproof safety boots shall be worn by concrete handlers.

 Dust masks or respirators shall be worn by concrete handlers.

 Waterproof hand gloves shall be worn by concrete handlers.

 Goggles that fully cover the eyes shall be worn by concrete handlers.
 Fall arrestors.

 High visibility clothing.

 Hard hats with chin strap.

First Aid
 In the event that one’s skin or eyes come into contact with concrete, either of

the following should be considered:

 Wash skin contaminated with wet or dry cement with cold running water as

soon as possible.
 Flush open sores or cuts thoroughly with suitable dressings.

 Wash contaminated eyes with running water for at least 15 minutes.