There are few environments as potentially hazardous as a construction site, and if you’re an employer responsible for maintaining the safety of workers on and around a construction site, there are certain protocol you must follow, and steps you should take to keep everyone safe from harm, at all times.
To help you understand more about keeping your construction workers safe, here are some best practices you can implement immediately:
Make sure everyone is wearing the appropriate PPE at all times
From workers to visitors and inspectors, everyone on site should be wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment to minimize risk, and keep them safe. From high visibility vests and safety helmets, to steel-toed boots and hard hats, make sure everyone is aware of what they should be wearing, and enforce the wearing of it such items at all times.
Ensure equipment can be safely used
You must make sure that anyone responsible for operating machinery, knows how to use it properly and safely. You can set up regular refresher courses if necessary.
Carry out regular safety briefings
Whether you do this daily, or each time a new worker joins the team, make sure everyone on site understands their responsibilities in terms of safety, and ensure that everyone and everything is health and safety compliant.
Keep the site clean
Clean, tidy and organized construction sites pose the least threat to the safety of anyone working on them, so always make sure the site is kept as free of potential hazards and debris as possible.
Maintain adequate tool storage
Tools should never be left lying around on a construction site; ensure that every tool has a safe place to be stored when not in use, and that all tools not in use, are disconnected from their power source.
Put an emergency plan in place
Telling workers and visitors to a site exactly what they should do, and where they should go in the event of an emergency, is crucial, and ideally, this should be documented and put somewhere that it can clearly be seen at all times.
Carry out tool checks
All safety tools should be checked periodically to ensure that they remain safe to use. How often you ask your workers to do this is up to you, but ideally they should be thoroughly checked before each use.
Have a number of safeguards in place
Fences and barriers can help keep workers and the public safe on or near a construction site, and if toxic elements are present or high-voltage electricity for example, these should be clearly indicated.
Put a reporting system in place
If an employee needs to report an injury, illness or any type of incident in the workplace, it’s important that they know how to do this, and that they can do so with ease. It may be beneficial, where possible, to have at least one employee trained in first aid procedures.
To create and maintain high standards of safety at a construction site and ensure that your employees and any visitors to the site are safe at all times, it’s important to work with local authorities, follow all of the steps listed above, and stock up on all the necessary safety gear from a trustworthy, online supplier.