Let’s face it; working in construction is dangerous. In 2015, one in five worker fatalities occurred in construction. Is it any wonder why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted almost four times as many inspections and issued over twice as many penalties for the construction industry compared to the next closest industry classification? By the numbers, that’s 11,869 inspections, 29,777 citations and nearly $72 million in fines from October 2015 through September 2016.
OSHA Compliance
When it comes to job site safety, it is important for OSHA compliance to be the foundation of your safety program. In fact, it is necessary. However, focusing solely on OSHA compliance does not make for a complete safety program.
Even though there are many contractors that would consider themselves OSHA compliant, they may still experience frequency and severity issues when it comes to employee injuries. When too much time is spent on compliance, we tend to lose site of the simple things we can do to keep ourselves and others safe. What follows are six construction safety tips to help create a more impactful job site safety program. Some of these have roots in OSHA compliance, but all are just good safety practices.
Job Site Safety Tips
Plan ahead to make sure all the appropriate equipment, tools, and safety gear is available and staged prior to starting the day. For example, proper planning and staging will ensure employees have the 8’ ladder they need instead of trying to make do with a 6’ ladder by standing on the top step!- Provide training for any equipment that will be used for both new and current employees. Don’t assume new employees who may have “years of experience” can operate equipment safely. You cannot be certain as to the level of training (if any!) they received from a previous employer. As for current employees, it is never a bad idea to review procedures on how to operate equipment safely.
- Promote and enforce good housekeeping practices. The saying, “A clean workplace is a safe workplace,” is not too far from the truth. A housekeeping issue is often a contributing cause of a job site accident, such as a trip and fall.
- Enforce and reinforce safety – but there needs to be balance. Top management and foremen need to enforce the rules when they observe or become aware of an unsafe act or condition. At the same time, they need to reinforce positive behaviors. When you see the crew taking the time to work safely, you should take the time to recognize their effort!
- Empower employees to be part of the safety program by encouraging them to report safety concerns to foremen, supervisors or upper management. If a hazard or concern is reported, management must act on it – don’t ignore it! If you ignore it or blow it off, you will kill your safety program. Take advantage of the time during new employee orientations, formal safety meetings, or tool box talks to remind employees that they should say something if they see something. Many accidents can be avoided if someone just speaks up.
- Do not become complacent. Job sites present new safety challenges every day. Both management and employees need to maintain constant vigilance of their surroundings.
Teamwork
Ultimately, owners of construction companies are responsible for ensuring a safe work environment for their employees. However, it is everyone’s responsibility to follow rules, procedures, and protocols to avoid accidents.
Safety is a two-way street. As an employee, you have the right to speak up. As an owner, you have the right to expect everyone will stay vigilant to uphold and follow safety policies and procedures. While it may sound cliché, the cost of instituting a safety program far outweighs the cost of an accident.
Really, when it comes down to it, the key to effective job site safety is teamwork. It takes a team to complete a construction project and it takes a team to make sure everyone goes home the same way they arrived. You should take as much care to keep your fellow employee safe as you do to keep yourself safe.
If all else fails, ask yourself this one question: How would we do this job tomorrow, if someone was injured or worse yet, died, doing that job today?
For more information on strategies for construction safety in Society’s online Risk Control Library. You can also find construction-specific information on the OSHA website. Use these resources to identify, reduce and eliminate hazards for your team.
-Pat O’Brien
It definitely makes sense that construction sites need to be inspected in order to ensure that the conditions are safe and up to code. I’d assume that it would also need to be inspected to make sure that the project will not potentially harm the environment. I feel like these definitely help to make sure that construction process will be beneficial to all involved.
It is utmost that contractors follow health and safety guidance, as it is always sad to see someone getting injured during work.
You end on a great point – managers can only do so much to prevent an accident if their employees aren’t following protocol. Thanks for sharing these tips!
That’s a good tip to plan ahead and stage all your necessary tools at the beginning of the day. That will the right tools will always be available. There are OSHA standards that require the right tools be used for the right task, so make sure it’s easy for workers to access them; you wouldn’t want to be non-compliant.
Some people might not think of it as being important, but I think the article makes a great point about “good housekeeping” on the construction site. After all, accidents are a lot less likely to happen if there isn’t stuff to trip over on the ground of the construction site. Keeping the work area clean also helps things move a bit more efficiently and smoothly, making the job easier.
The tips shared above for the construction safety are very good very effective. Every worker working on the construction site should follow these tips.
Along with these tips, a user should also follow the safety measures while working with the tools. Before working with any tool, a user should be aware of its safety measures and should wear complete safety gears while working with them.
This article actually stresses out very important and vital part of the construction industry. Builders should be aware of proper safety measures. Now and then people are getting jobs on building sites without proper training given.
The Construction industries are moving with the highest accident and fatality rates, every time the statistics announced by OSHA makes clear “How hazardous the construction industries are”
The Highest importance should be given to employers and workers training for every construction projects.
Thanks to the author for sharing good safety bites.
My favorite tip you mentioned was how it’s important to be constantly vigilant of situations and surroundings on a job site to ensure the safety of everybody. I’d imagine this would be especially important to remember if heavy construction equipment is being used on a project as well. Do you think it would be smart to have a checklist of things to look for each day?
This is my first time to visit your blog and I find it so entertaining to read especially this article about this 6 safety tips for a construction job. So helpful for us. Thanks for sharing this one. Love it!
Great tips! Very helpful. Thanks a lot for sharing these wonderful tips. They should be consider by the workers and their employers while working at the construction site.
Construction Sites
Thank you for all the construction safety tips. My husband and I are adding a large extension on our home, and I want to make sure we stay safe. I really like your tip to plan ahead and make sure we have all the appropriate equipment before we start. I’m sure that would help keep everyone safe.
I like what you said in point number 2 where you talk about providing training for all equipment. I’ve been getting into the construction business and often times find myself unsure of the proper way to use a tool. Finding proper training would be a fantastic help in my career. Thank you for the safety tips!
Construction can be very dangerous and so I wanted to look up a few safety tips. I really appreciated the tip about enforce and reinforce safety. Being aware of unsafe act or condition is so important in a construction site.
Good post regarding safety. There are places where people and workers have to be careful. Wearing proper safety equipment and following safety procedures is the best way for safety.
Great tips! Very helpful. Thanks a lot for sharing these wonderful tips. They should be consider by the workers and their employers while working at the construction site.
Keep up the good work.
Wow this is a really informative article. I had no clue the fatalities were that high.
This was great to read as I am starting my job in construction so want to keep my safety first!
I really like that you suggest planning ahead to make sure you have all of the right equipment and supplies. Making sure you have the best equipment for a job seems important. Hopefully, people look into finding the best companies to supply them with the equipment.
I never thought that one way to keep one’s construction site safe is to practice vigilance at all times and reinforce positive behaviors in the workplace. If I were to get a construction project underway, I would hire a company to help manage it for me. Doing so will not only keep everyone within the construction site safe but be able to finish the project on time as well.
I really appreciate your tip on how you shouldn’t assume the level of training that new hires have when you go to a construction site. My brother told me that he wants to work on a construction site to get some extra money but he is concerned that he won’t be able to get the job because he isn’t trained. I will be sure to tell my brother that a good manager won’t assume his level of training.
Since you mentioned that part of keeping a construction site safe is to make sure that the proper safety gear is available, I believe that one should also consider adding rain gear as part of an employee outfit. Weather conditions can vary from time to time depending on where the site is, so getting them protection from the rain can help keep them healthy and dry. Any tips on how to choose which kind to buy for everyone?