How to Make a Construction Area Safer
Oct 12, 2021
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Whether you’re a contractor looking to make your next job site more secure or a homeowner interested in a major renovation job, safety should be one of your top priorities in construction. A safer work environment for your construction employees (and potentially, passersby) will result in fewer injuries, higher morale, greater efficiency, and cost savings.But what are the best ways to make a given construction area safer?
Establish a Culture of Safety
Your first priority should be establishing a culture of safety. Your company and work environment should be populated with people who are cognizant of the importance of safety – and willing to do whatever it takes to make a safer environment. Safety deserves to be taken seriously, taking priority over all other goals, and the only way that’s going to happen is if that attitude is baked into your culture.
Choose the Right Layout
Next, you’ll want to consider the layout of your construction site. There are many things you’ll need to keep in mind here. For example, you’ll need to place stationary objects (like construction dumpsters) in a place where they’re conveniently accessible, yet out of the way enough that they don’t cause an obstruction. You’ll need to create and remain aware of walking paths, so no heavy machinery is operating near or above moving workers. Even small changes to your layout can greatly minimize the risk of injury.
Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (and Enforce Its Use)
Make sure every member of your team has access to personal protective equipment (PPE) that fits them appropriately. Depending on the type of construction job you’re undertaking, this could include helmets, goggles, respiratory gear, high-visibility safety vests, gloves, hearing protection, face shields, and fall protection (when working from heights).
The second part of this strategy is to enforce the use of PPE. Don’t allow people to work unless everyone in the area is wearing the designated equipment. If you catch someone working without PPE, discipline them in some way.
Train and Educate Each Employee
You can’t assume that all your employees will understand how to work safely. Therefore, it’s your responsibility to spend time training and educating each employee on your team. Teach them how to use PPE, how to handle the construction equipment in a safe manner, and the proper protocols for all other procedures. It’s important to ensure this information sticks, so consider issuing tests to verify each individual’s understanding.
Post Warnings and Instructions
As an educational tool and a reminder, be sure to post highly visible warnings and/or instructions throughout the construction area. For example, you can warn people that certain types of machinery are in use in the nearby area and advise them to exercise caution. You can also remind people not to operate certain types of equipment unless some predefined conditions are met (such as closing the door, wearing the right equipment, or clearing the area).
Empower Your Leaders
Safety culture works better from the top down. When your leaders showcase prioritization of safety, your employees will be more likely to follow. Accordingly, it’s important to empower your leaders to be bastions of the safety mindset.
In line with this, encourage your leaders to discipline and/or reprimand employees who don’t follow proper safety standards and give them the power to shut down an entire operation if there’s a safety issue at play.
Encourage Employees to Hold Each Other Accountable
Your managers and supervisors should do a good job at facilitating a safe environment and taking action when something is unsafe – but they can’t be everywhere at once. That’s why it’s also important to empower your employees to hold each other accountable. Make them feel comfortable voicing their safety concerns, and reward them for bringing safety issues to your attention. The more consistent this environment is, the safer it’s going to be.
Hold Regular Safety Meetings
It may also be worthwhile to hold regular safety meetings with all hands on deck. These can be used for a variety of purposes, such as educating team members about new safety standards, reminding them of certain protocols, bringing previous safety issues to the group’s attention, and discussing current safety concerns among employees.
Adapt as Necessary
Finally, you’ll need to be prepared to adapt as necessary. Your initial safety standards may need to evolve to afford your workers greater protection. For example, your construction site may have new equipment, or there may be new laws governing how you can operate. Take the time to create new policies, modify old ones, and educate your team.
No construction area will ever be 100 percent safe since freak accidents are always a possibility. However, with these construction safety strategies, your worksite should be far less prone to worker injuries.
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