Over the last few months, throughout our series of English lessons in „Inżynier Budownictwa” monthly, we have managed to cover various topics related to the construction industry. Most of them tackled the issue of occupa- tional health and safety on a construction site including earthworks, concrete and reinforced concrete works, electrical works as well as works at heights. In addition we learned few facts about railway construction, resi- dential housing and bicycle paths. We could also read about superstitions regarding building a house, as well as New Year’s resolutions. The following quiz is a great way to check what you remember from those ten lessons published from September 2016.

Work at height means any work done at a height of 1.0 m or more above ground/floor level, if the surface is not enclosed on all sides to a height of at least 1.5 m. Due to specific conditions it is considered a particularly dangerous work. According to the statistics of the National Labour Inspectorate, falls from scaffolding, ceilings, roofs, ladders, stairs as well as various platforms and bridges account for about a half of all serious and fatal accidents on the site.

Making an electrical system not only means installation of cables, sockets, as well as safety and measuring elements in the building under construction or renovation (where the system is installed permanently) but also providing power supply to the site, which is a part of land development. In such a case it is a temporary system, which is often moved to other locations. Temporary does not mean provisional.

Conditions and methods for execution of concrete and reinforced concrete works are governed by the Regulation by Minister of Infrastructure of 6 February 2003 on occupational health and safety during works (Dz.U. 2003, No. 47, item 401 – Section 13 and 14).

A bicycle path (road) is a separate traffic route designed for cycling. The definition is set out in the Law on Road Traffic (Act of 7 March 2007 Journal of Laws 2007 No. 57, item 381) and the Notice of the Minister of Infrastructure and Construction of 23 December 2015 on the technical conditions to be met by public roads and their location (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 124).

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction estimates that by 2030 the number of flats per 1000 Polish citizens will reach 435. The current figure is 363 flats. This target is to be met through implementation of various schemes, including Mieszkanie+ CFlat+D. By way of comparison, according to the 'Property Index: Overview of European Residential Markets' for 2015, the average housing stock in the EU Member States was 486.5 flats per 1000 citizens.

The start of a new year usually brings about New Year’s resolutions. We tend to reflect on our accomplishments in the previous year and set goals for the year ahead. It is also good to consider what resolutions we can make and keep for 2017 for our industry. Below please find the three of them. Although rather standard, if successfully followed, they can significantly improve the construction environment in which we operate.

We have passed the time of customs and rituals related to celebration of All Saints' Day, Polish Independence Day, St. Martin's Festival or St. Andrew's Day. And we head toward Christmas, rich with many beautiful traditions. Interestingly, there are also customs and superstitions which are linked directly to the construction industry, especially building a house. Many of them are forgotten, while others lasted for centuries and are still known nowadays.

Almost every single construction works start with excavations. Many upgrade projects also require earthworks in order to erect or replace service lines.

The railway in Poland began in 1835, when a railway line from Warsaw to Zagłębie Dąbrowskie and Cracow was opened. More lines were built afterwards. Prior to World War Two, there were 306 km of 115 km/h rated railway lines and 2035 km of 100 km/h rated lines. Following its accession to the EU, Poland began adapting its railway system to high-speed operations (200-250 km/h) which require novel construction technologies for the railway industry.