Addressing Construction Accidents

Kompas/Agus Susanto

A reinforced concrete pillar with steel rods collapsed on Tuesday (20/2) at the construction site of the Bekasi Cawang Kampung Melayu (Becakayu) toll road project on Jl. DI Panjaitan, East Jakarta. Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono has temporarily halted construction on all elevated roads.

We are concerned about the construction accidents that are continuing to occur at the sites of infrastructure development projects. The last accident was on Tuesday (20/2), at the site of the Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Melayu (Becakayu) elevated toll road project.

The Becakayu toll road accident makes us question why such accidents continue to happen at construction sites. Earlier, we saw an accident in the last week of January at the site of the light rail transit (LRT) project in Kayu Putih, Rawamangun. Other accidents that have occurred in connection with  the LRT project were the one in October 2017 on Jl. Nias, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta, and another in early August 2017 in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Prior to the latest incident, a crane collapsed on Sunday (4/2) at the double-track railway project in Matraman, Jakarta. Only a day later, the underpass retaining wall near Soekarno-Hatta International Airport collapsed, not long after that infrastructure had been inaugurated.

As with all previous accidents, comments and evaluation steps have been made. This time, following the Becakayu toll road incident that injured seven people, the Public Works and Housing Ministry immediately deployed the Construction Safety Committee (KKK) to investigate the cause. The government has taken the correct steps in the matter, such as in improving the policy to supervise construction and post-construction phases at accident sites. It was also good to establish the safety committee.

After these steps, however, it will be prudent for us to take a deeper look. The safety committee’s duties will certainly be many and heavy, considering that the current administration has prioritized infrastructure development. We understand that infrastructure development involves construction work.

We hope the safety committee will assess projects from start to finish; supervising their construction is no less important. We have heard from experts that construction site supervision covers five aspects: building materials, human resources, standard operating procedures, equipment and the environment.

In addition to the rising volume of construction work as infrastructure is pushed forth as a government priority, there is the fact that modern construction methods are increasingly sophisticated, not only in the completed structures, but also in construction equipment and methods. Of course, this requires the management of highly qualified construction companies, better trained workers, and more careful scrutiny.

Companies that frequently experience accidents in their project implementation need to be evaluated by their directors. This is also the right step to take, because projects can only proceed smoothly if they are handled by sophisticated, professional management.

In taking this opportunity to evaluate, we hope the government will coordinate with construction companies to formulate safer operating procedures in realizing infrastructure projects. Sanctions also need to be considered against construction companies that are still found to be negligent or incompetent, even after implementing more stringent rules.

As for infrastructure development, It is still good to continue with these projects because they will help accelerate equitable development and the distribution of other benefits. However, their implementation needs to be prepared more professionally.