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5 construction site safety practices

2020-02-28T08:28:51Z

Sarah Smith:

There are jobs more perilous than others and working on an active construction site is definitely one of them. Heavy loads, working at height, and heavy-duty machinery all make a typical construction a dangerous place to stay, let alone work at.

Because of such a high risk of injury, there are safety practices that the employer introduces to keep their workforce safe at all times. These practices include more than simply forcing the workers to put on protective goggles of a helmet. We have singled out the 5 best construction site safety practices and procedures that will ensure safety for each and every worker.

== The importance of personal protection gear ==

In order for individual workers to feel safe at the construction site, they should be issued proper protective gear. The parts of the body that are most prone to injury are the extremities and the head, with the face being especially vulnerable.

Workers should wear safety goggles to protect their eyes from sparks, toxic chemicals, wood chips, dust, and other hazards commonly found at a typical construction site. The aforementioned helmets made from Plexiglas are mandatory and they should be equipped with shock-absorption pads, much like the ones polyurethane military helmets have.

Furthermore, the helmet should cover the ear and possibly the neck, depending on the type of hazard a particular worker is exposed to. On the worker’s part, they should maintain the gear clean and operational to ensure it does its job when needed since a muddy anti-slip shoe won’t provide much traction.

== The danger of falling ==

Working at height might come with a great view, but the dangers multiply the higher the structure gets. On skyscraper builds, every new floor needs to be secured with a barrier. In some cases, even fluorescent tape will get the job done but in order to be totally sure you should add metal barriers along the edges.

Moreover, workers performing tasks on beams protruding from the main structure should be attached to lifelines which will act as bungee ropes in case of a fall. Elevator shafts, skylights, and vents holes pose a danger of their own, so they should be sealed off. Finally, be sure to clearly mark any excavations in the ground, as these holes can be quite wide in diameter, with steep edges that cannot possibly cushion a fall.

== Making the job less risky ==

Apart from using the standard protection measures, another way to go is to eliminate most of the possible risks. The risk of a fall will always be there but there is a lot that you can do when it comes to fire safety, for instance.

Soliciting the help of building inspection companies will help you identify the biggest threats to workers’ safety. Even [https://skillsify.com.au/course/white-card-training/ workers taking a white card course] need to get acquainted with the most common risks in order to avoid them in advance. Once you know what the risks are on a specific construction site, it will be easier to implement countermeasures that your workers will be an essential part of.

== Education and protection ==

You can equip a worker with protective gear from head to toe but you as the employer shouldn’t skip the most important step in construction work safety: education. How are the workers going to know what the potential risks are if no one has briefed them about all the perils?

Frequent staff meetings that will involve an expert, for instance about fire safety, should be a regular occurrence. The more construction workers are instructed on how to safely operate equipment the more protected will they be at their respective jobs. A word of advice, don’t schedule these briefings too often, as it might backfire on you, leaving the workers fed up with sitting hours on end.

== Dealing with toxic chemicals ==

One of the biggest hazards found on nearly every construction site in the world is the use and storage of toxic chemicals. Materials such as lead, silica, asbestos, and wood polishers are all [http://www.greenspec.co.uk/building-design/toxic-chemistry-health-environment-pollution/ considered toxic] and should be stored in a different location from the rest of the building materials.

The same goes for hazardous chemicals commonly found at construction sites like cadmium, zinc, mercury, and beryllium. Workers should wear additional personal protective gear when handling them. Furthermore, not all employees should be allowed to have access to them. In the case of a major spill-out, there should exist evacuation procedures and hazmat units should be called instantaneously.

There are countless more safety practices applicable to construction sites but the 5 we have listed above form the core of workers’ safety. The construction industry is booming today but that doesn’t mean that you should cut corners on worksite safety. Only a safe workforce is a happy and productive workforce.

[[Category:Education]]

5 construction site safety practices

2020-02-28T08:26:35Z

Sarah Smith: Created page with "There are jobs more perilous than others and working on an active construction site is definitely one of them. Heavy loads, working at height, and heavy-duty machinery all make a..."