It’s no secret that construction sites are high-risk areas. Heavy machinery, moving robotic arms, and hazardous chemicals are just a few of the many things that can cause major health and safety risks.
Why is it Important to Consider Health and Safety on Your Work Site?
Sadly, there are thousands of injuries on consultation sites every year, some of which lead to fatalities. Not only is a fatality saddening for the family of the victim, but it also damages the construction company’s reputation and causes a lot of legal trouble for the site owner.
As a construction business owner or site manager, it’s important to pay attention to the health and safety of your team members and visitors at all times. Taking the necessary protective and precautionary measures on your work site will significantly reduce the risk of injuries.
When your staff is safe and happy on site, they can work efficiently and efficiently. Better workflow leads to project success and satisfied clients, which can exponentially grow your construction business.
Proper health and safety measurements minimize the risk of personal injury claims, saving you a lot of time, stress, and money.
How to Reduce the Risk of Injuries on Your Construction Site
There are plenty of things that you can do to minimize the risk of injuries to your employees and visitors. Although you may need to take task-specific health and safety precautions, there are general measures that you should implement at all times on your site.
Provide everybody with personal protective equipment (PPE)
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a must-have for every construction site. At every turn, there is a potential health and safety risk, whether it’s a piece of heavy machinery or strong chemicals that could be toxic if spilled.
PPE includes body and fall safety equipment, such as helmets, gloves, goggles, ear muffs, steel-toed boots, and high-visibility jackets. Your employees will need to have all of the above when working on-site, and your visitors may also need to kit themselves in PPE if they’re walking in high-risk areas.
You should update your health and safety equipment regularly, as it can become ineffective if it becomes worn out and damaged.
Carry out risk assessments at the start of every project
Risk assessments are mandatory by law in every workplace, but they’re particularly important for businesses who provide construction services due to their high-risk nature. Before every project, you must complete a full risk assessment to comply with the law and keep your employees safe.
Your risk assessment should involve identifying potential health and safety risks or hazards and determining how you’re going to minimize these risks. You can also include the protocol that you’re going to take if somebody does end up getting injured during a project.
To streamline the risk assessment process, create a general template that you can use for every kind of project. You can always project-specific sections if needed.
Repair or replace equipment when necessary
Faulty or broken equipment can be harmful to your employees and may cause serious accidents and injuries.
Testing your construction equipment at least once a year is legally required. As tempting as it might be to skip these tests to save time, it is illegal and puts your staff members and visitors at risk.
You should repair or replace defective or damaged equipment as quickly as possible. If you cannot repair or replace a piece of equipment immediately, set it aside so nobody can use it.
Use warning signage in all areas of your work site
Health and safety signs are mandatory in all work areas but especially on high-risk construction sites. It warns people of nearby hazards and guides them to the correct area of your site so they don’t end up in areas where they shouldn’t be.
Signage is usually split into different colors according to the type of warning:
Red signs – prohibitor or danger signs to stop people from going any further or informing them to evacuate the area.
Yellow signs – health and safety hazard signs to warn people to take extra care and caution.
Blue signs – mandatory signs to inform people of how to behave or to wear personal protective equipment.
Green signs – signs to denote the location of the first aid kit or emergency escape routes.
Businessman presenting work safety concept, hazards, protections, health and regulations
