Construction Safety Not Just A Slogan

JAKARTA, March 8 (Antara) - Keeping safety as a top priority in the entire construction process of Indonesia's elevated infrastructure projects must not only be a slogan but must also be adopted as part of the work culture of the country's construction workers. The necessity of adopting this work culture is obvious, following a string of incidents that had occurred in the country's elevated infrastructure projects. Over the past six months, there have been 14 infrastructure project-related accidents in Indonesia. They have not only resulted in the deaths and injuries of scores of workers but have also triggered certain parties to question the quality of construction in the country. The latest incident that has sparked an outcry from the public and forced the central government to announce a temporary suspension of the construction of elevated infrastructure projects around greater Jakarta areas and other parts of the country occurred in the Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Melayu (Becakayu) toll road project in East Jakarta in the early morning of Feb 20, 2018. It is one of the central government's elevated infrastructure projects being constructed as part of its endeavors to improve the country's inter-regional connectivity. In this latest work accident, seven construction workers were wounded after they were hit by the debris of the casting materials of the collapsed lane wing of the scaffolding used for supporting a pier shaft of the Becakayu toll road. This tragedy has raised an alarm bell on the country's construction safety, because the collapse of the scaffolding is not the first occurrence amid the government's efforts to finish its infrastructure development projects on time. The Becakayu case is the fourth infrastructure project accidents in the country over the past two months of 2018, leaving four workers dead and 12 others injured. In response to a series of incidents of the country's large infrastructure projects that are under construction, including the Becakayu one that has again put Indonesia on the radar screen of local and foreign media, members of the Construction Safety Commission worked to evaluate 37 suspended elevated infrastructure projects. The commission that the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing set up on Jan 24, 2018, concluded that 34 out of 37 construction projects could be continued. Among the elevated construction projects whose suspension status had recently been revoked by the commission headed by Syarif Burhanuddin, a top official of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, include PT. Kresna Kusuma Dyandra Marga's Becakayu toll road, PT. Citra Wasphuttowa's Depok - Antasari toll road, PT. Trans Jabar Tol's Ciawi - Sukabumi toll road, and PT. Jasamarga's elevated Jakarta-Cikampek toll road. Despite this positive initiative, there are other lessons that can be learned from the Becakayu and other construction incidents. According to Juliari P Batubara, a member of parliament representing the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Faction, tightening of the supervision on the construction safety is a must. Batubara argued that legal sanctions should also be imposed to those responsible for the work accidents, particularly those causing fatalities, in order to prevent similar construction incidents from recurring in the future. Therefore, others will be more cautious and careful while doing their work. In connection with the Becakayu incident, the Indonesian police had probed into the case and had named AA and AS as suspects. As the accidents were unintentional, they were not sent to jail. According to East Jakarta police Chief Senior Commissioner Yoyon Tony Saputra, the collapse of the Becakayu toll road's scaffolding was likely related to a human error. Indonesia is not the only country facing the devastating reality with regard to the accidents in the infrastructure projects under construction. Many countries, including India and China, have experienced several similar construction accidents. India, for instance, underwent a tragic accident in 2016 (Hindustan Times, 2017). As revealed by Hindustan Times' editorial, a string of construction incidents occurred in India's infrastructure projects during the year. Among them were the collapses of flyovers in Maharashtra and Orissa, as well as a dam in Bihar. The newspaper linked the country's crumbling infrastructure to several factors, such as "corrupt nexus among politicians, bureaucrats, and contractors" and "lack of proper maintenance and regular safety audits" (2017). Hindustan Times alleged the corrupt Indian politicians, bureaucrats, and contractors of having applied a simple strategy for the country's infrastructure development projects, namely "building like there is no tomorrow, and always low quality structures". We do believe that the infrastructure projects being massively developed in different parts of Indonesia over these past few years are high-quality assets. In building them, the construction safety is adopted as the work culture of those involved in the projects.