5 Job Site Safety Tips for Construction Companies

The impact of job site safety on worker health can’t be ignored.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 937 fatalities in 2015. Just over 1 in 10 job site accidents were fatal.

Preventing workplace accidents must be a priority for a construction company. Protecting lives increases productivity and reduces costly delays.

Read on to learn more.

Job Site Safety

The following tips give a brief overview of the most important categories of job site safety.

Make a plan for each of these items and you’ll reduce job site problems and increase work hours.

1. A Clean House

Basic math rules apply: the fewer items in an area, the fewer items that can cause injury.

Keeping a workspace clean allows more room to work. Cramped spaces force workers to place themselves physically closer to harm. Cramped and cluttered spaces also invite the domino effect.

Essentially, one mistake pushes into the next until a larger injury occurs further down the chain.

2. Scaffolding Systems

Scaffolding systems prevent injury in multiple fashions.

First, they limit the places where poor footing can lead to falls. Second, they supply strong attachment points for safety harnesses.

Scaffolding inspections must be done consistently to ensure the scaffolding works. Improperly attached and secured scaffolding serves none of its safety functions.

3. Safety Monitors

Connecting a network of safety devices to provide an early response when an injury occurs saves lives. These exist in two general categories: personal and area.

Personal monitors enhance safety by limiting time between injury and response. These include motion monitors and impact sensors.

Hazardous gas detectors and alarms tell workers that danger exists. These area monitors prevent injury through audible warnings to avoid an area.

4. Personal Protective Equipment

PPE standards protect workers by preventing undue risk. Proper PPE must be worn in applicable areas to protect against the most common dangers within that area.

Hard hats, gloves, and safety toe cap boots prevent many of the most common injuries on a job site. While most of the injuries these items prevent don’t fall into lethal categories, they do reduce lost work hours.

Ear protection and high protection form the next largest category of PPE. These items prevent critical injuries in many common job site environments.

5. Training with a Side of Training

No safety measure works if not utilized properly. Safety equipment doesn’t protect when worn improperly. Safety harnesses lead to injury when used incorrectly.

Consistent and thorough safety training provides a two-fold effect. The first maintains proper usage of equipment and areas. The second reminds workers that safety always matters.

When workers become complacent about the dangers of job site safety, that’s when they start making critical errors. Continual training reminds everyone the importance of caution and care.

Sending supervisors to be certified in safety programs helps keep workers working. Programs such as ASSE have yearly training in the latest techniques.

Learn More

Job site safety impacts a company’s workforce. Hiring the right people and helping them acquire the best skills prevents injury and enhances productivity.

Check out our templates for business and staffing to help you see where you can make improvements.

We also offer a whole list of tips and articles to inspire positive change in your business.