People who work in construction may be exposed to danger regularly, but there are ways you can keep your employees safe. Keep reading to find out how to ensure your job sites are as safe as possible.
Communicate Safety Program
OSHA reports that the most critical step to keep your job sites safe is communicating your safety program effectively to your workers.
You should write a safety policy endorsed by your managers that details your company’s commitment to workplace safety. The policy also should promise to keep workers safe.
The program should be communicated to everyone at the worksite, including:
- Contractors and subcontractors
- Temporary workers
- Vendors and suppliers
- Customers and visitors
You should highlight your commitment to safety in every business decision. This includes making project bids, choosing contractors and subcontractors, and bringing safety procedures on construction sites to life.
If you’re responsible for managing a construction site, you know how important it is to keep your workers safe. There are many potential hazards on a construction site, and it’s essential to have a way to track your workers’ whereabouts in case of an emergency. That’s where an employee GPS time clock app can be beneficial. With an employee GPS time clock app, you can see where your workers are at all times. This can be invaluable if there’s an accident or other emergency on the construction site. In addition, an employee GPS time clock app can help you manage employee breaks and lunch periods. By seeing where your employees are, you can ensure they’re taking sufficient time for breaks and not working too long hours.
Also, you should be a visible part of this commitment to safety; follow the same rules that you demand your employees follow.
Encourage Employees To Participate
After you have established your construction site safety program, the next step is to encourage employees to be a part of it. This involves providing your workers with the tools, equipment, and training to stay safe on site.
You should acknowledge when workers are following the rules and staying safe. Also, have an open door rule that encourages your employees to discuss safety matters with managers.
Tell Employees To Report Safety Issues
Those working on homes, buildings, and other construction sites are often the best to pinpoint safety issues and report them. They may be aware of site hazards, near falls, actual accidents, and more.
You can help them report safety issues by making it simple to report accidents, near misses, dangers, and injuries.
Provide regular updates to your workers about reported incidents and share what you’re doing about them.
Have Workers Wear Appropriate Clothing
You also should have your workers don the appropriate clothing and gear. Again, this may sound like a no-brainer, but not all workers go to the time and trouble of putting on what they should.
If your employees work in a construction zone, they must wear close-toed shoes or boots, and steel-reinforced is best.
They should also wear safety helmets as well as gloves, goggles, or protective glasses. Simply making sure everyone is wearing clothes and gear to keep them safe can help avoid lawsuits and construction accident attorneys getting involved in your life.
Make Sure They Know Ladder Safety
OSHA reports that falls from the incorrect ladder use are a common safety problem on job sites. Therefore, you should ensure that your construction site supervisors train workers on proper ladder safety to avoid serious or even fatal accidents.
The most important ladder safety tip is to make sure the ladder is stable and grounded before anyone climbs it.
Hire A Site Safety Manager
A construction site safety manager oversees all safety aspects and procedures at a job site. This manager is charged with setting and enforcing safety and health standards to reduce injuries.
This safety professional can guide and train others and reduce the number of accidents and sick days for your employees. They also will ensure that your job site meets standards and codes for that area.
The safety manager is up to date on critical regulations and will do regular audits to avoid problems.
They also can save your company money by preventing serious accidents that lead to investigations and lawsuits.
Keeping employees safe on a construction job site is the right thing to do from a business and personal perspective. Following the above guidelines ensures that your job site will be as safe as possible, and that’s always good for your bottom line, too.