As the owner of a construction company, I have always been very well aware of the dangers which exist on a construction site. With personal injuries happening in so many workplaces across the country, I am always keen on ensuring maximum safety on my sites. In order to best protect my site and the workers, I consulted the guys at Groth & Associates, to find out what the most common cause of accidents was, and how I could best ensure that the people who are working on my sites, can be safe in the knowledge that we are doing the utmost that we can, to prevent accidents. If you have a construction business or work on sites, here is my advice on ensuring that it is a safe place to work.
Safety Training
Everyone who sets foot on a construction site should have the correct Onsite Safety Training, whether they are a foreman, a welder, a plumber or a hod carrier. Within this, you can design the training yourself if you want it to be specialised to your own site, alternatively you can consult the health and safety standards commission, who have comprehensive training material.
Strong Signage
Throughout the workplace there should be clear and well placed signage, explaining the potential dangers of the various areas of the site. These signs should be clearly visible and succinct in their warning. Should someone not wear a hard hat in an area which is clearly signed as a ‘hard hat area’ they can have no complaints should something go wrong. The responsibility to notify your workers is yours.
Due Diligence
Often on construction sites there will be contractors or self-employed workers and it is your job to ensure that they have the necessary certificates in their field. Allowing someone on to your construction site who has not been checked out could cause problems and so due diligence on your part is an important process.
Cleaning Standards
The majority of accidents which take place on the construction site are caused because of debris, tools or materials being left in places where they shouldn’t. In order to resolve this you must have incredibly high cleaning standards, and ensure that everyone knows exactly what they are. You should also take swift action against anyone who does not work to the standards which you have set.
Protective Equipment
In terms of the protective equipment which is required for many workers, you should give them the option of using provided equipment. If a contractor uses their own safety equipment, the onus is on you to ensure that it fits in with your standards.There are numerous jobs on a construction site which require highly specialised safety equipment and it is vitally important that you invest in it. You may think that this is a cost which you should have to pay but if someone has an accident and you haven’t provided them with equipment, you’ll have to fork out a lot more than the cost of the gear. At the very least, you should be providing your workers with protective clothing, like these protective gloves you can find on unigloves.com. This helps to make inherently dangerous work, like construction, much safer and helps to reduce injuries.
Be aware of the dangers on a construction site, and make sure that as an owner, you’re doing all that you can to keep everyone safe.