Construction is one of the most intense industries simply because it involves erecting new buildings from raw materials. As a hands-on profession, it’s important to know how to stay safe when surrounded by heavy materials and machinery. These ways to improve construction site safety will guarantee a more efficient and ideal work environment for everyone involved.
Prioritize Training
As with any job, to improve workplace safety and reduce the chance of errors, you must prioritize training. This ensures that workers know and understand the seriousness their jobs require and any possible risks that can occur. Remember that proper training is not a one-time event. It requires regularly reinforced protocols that test workers’ knowledge of safety and culture on the job site. It reinforces the best practices for everyone to implement. Not to mention, continual training retains this knowledge for your employees to use in the future.
Hold People Accountable
Still, everyone is responsible for the team’s safety and integrity, no matter what their role is. Everyone should understand the risks involved with unsafe work practices and how it affects their personal safety and their coworkers’. When someone doesn’t abide by these expectations, you must hold them accountable. Enforce consequences for these errors depending on their severity and context. Also, make sure all employees can report misdeeds and unsafe conditions without repercussions. The team’s safety is more important than pausing work for a brief moment.
Reward Ideal Behavior
Similar to penalizing those who fail to abide by safe practices, you should reward those who adhere to them. Someone who attends safety meetings, wears their appropriate protective equipment, and reports any concerns or possible issues is a worker who understands and respects the safety protocols. However, you should still use these rewards sparingly to avoid setting a safety program based on incentives. Otherwise, no one would follow the rules without feeling they deserve compensation.
Only Have Skilled Operators Use Equipment
A great way to reduce serious injuries or damages is to only have skilled operators use machines. There are many different machines on construction sites, but certain ones, such as construction lifts, must have the right operator on hand. This ensures safe practices throughout the entire project. You should even have a specific training protocol in place for non-machine operators when heavy equipment is in motion to reduce any potential dangers.
Conduct Daily Inspections
Finally, perform preventative maintenance and daily worksite inspections to ensure everything works well before daily operations. Preventative maintenance is the act of maintaining your tools and machinery before issues arise. This helps ensure each machine works well for the task. If a machine were to fail afterward, it would be easier to troubleshoot and diagnose the issue.
