![6 Tips for Construction Site Safety teaser]()
09 Apr 2018
You know a construction site is a dangerous place. The importance of safety cannot be stated enough. Your employees are inclined at what they do and already realize it’s crucial to follow certain safety precautions. However, as the business leader, it’s your responsibility to make sure the right protocols and standards are in place to ensure maximum safety at your construction site. Beyond your rules and processes, you must also ensure you have the right safety and security equipment to keep your site truly safe for everyone.
Below are six tips that will help you maximize safety at your construction site.
1. Administer a Strict Hard Hat / Steel Toes Rule
A busy construction site can be dangerous even for those that aren’t busy working. Supervisors and people walking through can become victims of freak accidents. Hard hats are a simple “accessory” to wear and can guard someone from traumatic head injuries. Especially around scaffolds, there should be no reason for anyone to not be dressed in a hard hat and steel toes.
2. Train for Any Job Duty That Presents Fall Risks
It’s well-known that falls are one of the most dangerous, casualty and injury-causing incidents in construction sites. Your employees should always be trained specifically for any task they take on which could result in a fall. This process might seem redundant but these few moments could mean the difference between life and death for your worker.
3. Create Safeguards That Reduce Fall Risk & Severity
Guard rails can be put up to reduce the risk of a fall in areas where there’s nothing else to protect your employee. Take things a step further and reduce the impact of a fall if it does happen. In high-risk areas, set up safety net systems in the area below. An even more effective approach for workers at high heights is a Personal Fall Arrest System (PFAS), which is an anchored full-body harness that prevents them from hitting the ground.
4. Keep Pedestrians Away - There’s No Predicting the Unknown
A work site is a place for workers, not the general public. It’s easy for a pedestrian to get injured when passing through a construction site if they’re not in any safety attire. Remember, your staff aren’t watching out for strangers to pop up and their job shouldn’t be to babysit anyway. A minor investment in a modular pedestrian control system (such as De-fence Panel System) will mean the difference between a pedestrian getting hurt and a personal injury lawsuit against your company.
Pictured: De-Fence Panel System
5. Set Team Safety Leaders and Monitor Their Reports
Make someone responsible on each team. Hold them accountable for the safety precautions that are taken. Make sure they are aware of all key protocols to follow, what equipment to use and where to get it, but also let them know to take initiative and use their own judgment. Get reports from them on safety efforts from each team member. If there’s a particular person that’s an inherent risk on the team, whether to themselves or others, make sure they’re confronted.
6. Use Temporary Markers for Short-Term Work Sites / Hazards
Was there a spill or glass shattered in a particular area? If so, put up a caution wet floor sign or place traffic cones around the impacted area. Use belt posts to section off places that are temporarily getting worked on so people know they’re exposed. Also, make use of reflective tape when necessary; reflective tape is the ultimate item that can serve as a temporary safety marker in most situations.
Pictured: Wet Floor Sign Plastic A-Frame
Again, there is no overstating the importance of keeping a construction site safe. Your workers, yourself and anyone else that’s there should come out alive. At the end of the day it’s “just a job” and not something that’s worth risking your life over. The same is true for your employees, so please take the time and invest in a construction safety site plan that leaves no weaknesses.
Here at Backsafe Australia, we provide solutions for safer work environments. Contact us via phone at 1300 305 314 to give you the right advice on the best materials handling equipment for your business.
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