Unlike an office environment, a construction site poses numerous safety challenges for construction contractors and employees. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), about sixty thousand fatal accidents occur in the construction industry each year. If one digs deeper into the numbers, it becomes apparent that falls, slips, and trips are the most common reasons behind injuries and deaths in the industry.
Unfortunately, more than one thousand construction site workers lose their lives each year. Currently, the construction industry experiences the most accidents globally and fatalities while the government sector, agriculture, and forestry are runner-ups.
Despite the shocking statistics, construction companies often neglect this aspect of the work environment. However, an employee’s safety primarily depends upon the reliability of the construction contractor.
As a responsible employer that prioritises employee safety and health over everything else, Taurus leads the way by upholding the necessary precautions and worker safety standards. To help steer others onto the same route, we are hereby providing a few pointers that are important for construction site safety.
Pointers To Ensure Employee Safety On Construction Sites
We strictly stand by the philosophy of ‘no job is so important that it cannot be done safely’. For this reason, we strive to ensure that our work environment is safe for every employee.
Although the whole process is quite comprehensive, here are a few pointers we strictly consider to ensure worker safety:
1. Employee Education And On And Off-site Training
Most of the accidents mentioned above result from recklessness, distractions, and a lack of equipment handling skills. Hence, regardless of an employee’s experience in the industry, they must be fully trained on the use of the equipment, possible site hazards, and what to do in an emergency.
Moreover, this training should not be confined to theoretical room training. Instead, instructors should arrange demonstrations on the construction site. The latter will give the workers a clear picture of what they need to do.
Again, the awareness creating process should not halt after the initial training. Rather, construction companies must carry out such training sessions regularly.
2. Proper Documentation Of Standards
Strict enforcement of your company’s safety policies is critical. People might forget what they were verbally told. Hence, safety standards and policies should be documented and made available to the workforce at all times.
If possible, incorporate fines and penalties for those unwilling to follow the safety rules.
3. Strict Supervision And Implementation Of The Standards
Recklessness is part of human nature. Resultantly, your employees might overlook their safety and not adhere to the policies mentioned regardless of the documentation and fines. For example, some workers may wear their hard helmets only in the presence of a construction manager but will take them off as soon as he/she is out of sight.
For this reason, a strong supervisor with a positively domineering personality is also essential. This person should strictly enforce the safety rules upon employees and remind them that a hard helmet is replaceable, but a skull is not. Your employees should never ignore the importance of their personal protective equipment (PPE).
4. Inspection Of Scaffoldings And Aerial Lifts
Since falls are the primary reason behind most construction-related fatalities, a company must consider all the instances in which they may occur. The first thing that crosses a mind in this regard is the proper working condition of scaffoldings and aerial lifts. Hence, these and other similar items must be regularly checked for defects and immediately fixed.
5. Regular Machinery And Equipment Maintenance
Another aspect that contributes to accidents on construction sites is the machinery involved in the process. Hence, these should also be regularly inspected for any damage and defects.
6. Proper Markings And Signs To Alert Workers Of Potential Dangers
This pointer is not just for the benefit of the workers but also the general public. Undeniably, a construction site is full of surprises. Due to the in-progress construction work, a seemingly harmless site might be prone to falling objects.
Thus, placing proper signs with clear warnings can save people from many accidents.
7. Encourage A Two-Way Communication Process
Despite your best efforts in the training sessions, some employees may not clearly understand certain things. However, in fear of being judged, the worker might not gather the courage to ask any questions.
Every manager should slay such fears from their team’s minds and encourage them to ask questions if they are in doubt. Resultantly, instead of experimenting with equipment, employees will feel compelled to ask things they do not understand. The latter will significantly reduce the risk of incidents.
Who Are We?
We provide a perfect fusion of state-of-the-art technology and premier service delivery to fulfil all your construction and site service needs. Taurus’s unfaltering commitment to quality and use of unrivalled technology makes us an elite construction service provider in Edmonton. Get in touch today to get to know us better.