Construction Site Safety 101

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The reason why construction site safety is such a major issue is due to the fact that it’s one of the places where there’s a lot of heavy machinery, sharp tools and debris just lying around. Moreover, due to the fact that a lot of work takes place at a high altitude, the risk of fall is far more dangerous and so is the risk that something will fall from above, making damage or injury below. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several things that you absolutely have to know about the construction site safety.

1. Adequate training

In order to increase the site safety, you first need to instruct your personnel in the best manner of conduct. First of all, you need to understand that your staff isn’t intuitively going to know what the safest manner of conduct is. With some of the most complex equipment you won’t expect them to, to begin with, however, there are some situations that may appear fairly simple, yet, may cause a ton of injuries for your staff. Therefore, find capable and stern instructors and oversee their performance at all times.

2. Proper materials handling equipment

The next thing you need to understand is the fact that the overall safety of your staff depends on the materials handling the equipment. A trolley, forklift or a boom lift can save your team’s back and ensure that there’s no fall risk or falling heavy equipment. This both helps protect your staff and protects the materials that they are handling, which may be far from inexpensive. Overall, this is one of the things that you need to address as soon as possible. It also saves you a lot of time and labor, which is why it’s a clear and undeniable win-win-win scenario; one of the few there are.

3. Warning signs everywhere

Sometimes, it’s not about the fact that your staff can’t handle the job or that they’re ill-trained/ill-equipped to do so. Sometimes, the problem lies in the lapse of focus or a decline in your general awareness. This is why you need to combine safety signs and equipment in order to get a holistic system of protection. This way, even if one of your employees forget about the issue at hand, they can be immediately warned of the danger by just taking a look at the sign. It’s also quite effective when it comes to warning visitors on the site.

4. Proper PPE

One of the most iconic means of protecting your staff at a construction site lies in providing them with proper personal protection equipment (PPE). This includes eye protection, hard hats, hard boots, gloves, safety vests and many similar items. In places where long-term exposure to high-frequency of noise is a thing, providing your staff with an ear muffler can be a great idea. An investment in quality PPE can make a major difference when it comes to the prevention of both minor and major industries. Moreover, you need to supervise your staff in order to ensure that they’re actually wearing the PPE at all times.

5. Clearing the debris

The thing about the construction site safety lies in the fact that it assumes that the only thing there is on the construction site is the construction, the equipment and the personnel. The problem is, however, that there’s a lot of dangerous and hazardous debris everywhere that could seriously tamper with all your plans. This is why the neatness of the site needs to become an utmost priority. The more time you invest in keeping the place clean, the better off you’ll be.

In conclusion

In the end, it’s important that you know your limitations. It’s really impossible for you to create a scenario where you completely eradicate the probability of a construction site accident. However, you can make them less likely, less frequent or, at very least, less severe. Each of the three is a vast improvement and a goal worth working towards.

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