The construction industry is a scary place. It is ranked among the top industries for work related fatalities. Being safe on the jobsite is paramount to staying healthy and alive! Here our some tips we have amassed to try and help keep everyone safe on the jobsite.
Focus Four Fatalities
65.5% of the fatalities in the Construction industry come from these four areas:
- Slips, Falls & Trips
- Struck By Incidents
- Caught in/between Incidents
- Electrocutions
- All other injuries
Slips, Falls & Trips
- Check for any holes or gaps in walkways or the ground, or unstable/ uneven surfaces.
- Wear PPE when on a job. Hard hats, gloves, steel toes, and eye protection.
- When operating heavy equipment, stay away from ledges and unstable ground.
- OSHA has specific guidelines on preventing falls.
Struck By Incidents
- Watch out for any material that is hanging, or suspended above the ground, as it could fall or tip over onto you.
- Wear your hi-vis gear to be seen!
- Avoid the direct or indirect paths of equipment in the area.
- Use spotters, equipment blind spots can be large and are not your friend.
- Be aware of your sourroundings, and make sure that others are aware of you.
- Use eye contact and hand signals to indicate where you are going, if around equipment.
Caught in/Between
- Be aware of moving parts on equipment or machinery in your immediate area.
- Be vigilant of your surroundings.
- Wear hi-vis clothing (it's not just for fashion!)
- Watch for spotters and stay out of equipment blind spots.
- Be wary of the swing radius on excavators in and around tight areas.
- If you are servicing a piece of equipment, make sure the parking brake is engaged if it has one. Use chocks to block the wheels if needed.
Electrocution
- Perform maintenance on your machinery carefully, do not touch exposed, hot wiring.
- Follow proper Lock-Out, Tag-out procedures for the area you are in.
- Watch for overhead power lines when operating tall equipment.
- Check for proper grounding of lines on and off of equipment.
- Be aware there may be faulty wiring!
What are the impacts of implementing Safety Programs?
- You can negotitate better insurance terms!
- Willingness of jobsite workers to report unsafe working conditions.
- It can improve your standing in the industry versus competitors.
What to do
- Use safety training as a proactive tool. Don't hold safety meetings as a reaction, instead make them an ongoing process. It may not be fun to talk about these sort of things, but doing it proactively will reduce the amount of times you have to hold a follow-up safety meeting.
- Lead by example. Make sure you and your leaders are following your own rules. If someone sees the top brass getting away with something they shouldn't, they are more inclined to do it themselves.
- Make safety a priority. Construction is inherently dangerous! Freak accidents happen.
- Be strict on safety protocols. It's for everyone's good!
- Track safety data, even small things. Project managers can identify trends and foresee potential issues, and be proactive in avoiding them.
From all you friends at ConEquip Parts, be safe out there.
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