By Christian Hurd, Resource Coordinator
Don’t ignore construction safety! Make it a priority for your organization, and work towards ensuring the well-being of your tradespeople every day and for every construction project. A safe construction site means less risks and more productivity, as well a great industry reputation for your company. With that being said, keeping your tradespeople safe must be your prime concern. Below, we provide some hints on how to make sure that your workers are always safe and that they perform every construction job by sticking to safety guidelines and procedures.
Get Everyone Situated
The more you talk about safety, the more you are prepared for it. In order to keep your tradespeople safe, you need to make sure that they are aware of the risks and hazards of the construction job that they are doing. When you bring in new hires, provide them with the necessary safety training that allows them to understand what is expected of them and how they are going to perform their duties. During safety training, engage with them by asking them questions that help them embrace construction safety. Hold toolbox talks on a regular basis to bring your workforce up to speed with procedures and guidelines. In other words, keep everyone educated and aware of how to stay safe on the jobsite.
Keep Inspecting Safety
Once your tradespeople receive the necessary construction safety training, you need to make sure that they have the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and proper tools to carry out their construction job. Do your carpenters wear protecting glasses when they cut materials? Are their saws working properly? Do your painters use the correct size ladder for the painting job? Do your electricians use protective gloves when they do wiring work? You get the picture. Keep your tradespeople safe by walking the jobsite to check if everyone is doing what they are supposed to do the smart way.
Bring In Technology
Technology is changing the construction industry and has an impact on construction safety. Drones, mobile devices and wearables are just a few examples of how your company can implement best practices and keep your tradespeople safe. For instance, you can use devices to monitor the safe level of sound or cameras to ensure proper usage of equipment, etc. Embracing technology, however, can be a challenge for any organization, especially for small companies. A great way to make sure that your company doesn’t stay behind is by doing research and identifying the technology that matches your needs and make it part of your operations.
Reinforce Compliance
A great number of accidents on construction sites take place due to irresponsible behavior from substance abuse. In order to keep your tradespeople safe, you need to eliminate irresponsibility and ensure that your workers follow the rules when they do their construction job. Perform background checks for new hires and hold random drug tests to detect foul play. If you work with other vendors or a construction staffing firm, make sure that they have a solid screening process in place and use references to provide you with great construction talent. Work with partners who exercise physical tests that prove the skillset of the candidates they send your way.
Manage Risks
As said before, taking action to keep your tradespeople safe must be your top priority. Construction safety, however, is not only about preventing incidents. It is also about having a process in place to deal with disasters, if they do take place. For example, do your tradespeople know what to do in case there is a fire on site? Do they know where your first-aid kit and safety equipment are located? Who is in charge of the evacuation process? Is anyone on your team CPR certified to offer help, if needed? Establish a construction site emergency plan that allows you to take control of risk management and helps you get your operations back to normal as soon as possible.
Key Takeaways for Keeping Your Tradespeople Safe:
- Keep training your workforce on construction safety
- Provide the necessary PPE to your workers and inspect their equipment
- Embrace technology as means to keep your tradespeople safe
- Perform background checks and random drug tests to eliminate irresponsibility
- Have in place a construction site emergency plan to control risk management
About TradeSource
Founded in 1993, TradeSource is a construction labor solutions firm focused on delivering labor solutions to contractors throughout the United States. By supplying skilled tradespeople – where and when they’re needed – we help contractors grow their companies, without the associated costs and hassles of full-time hires. Likewise, we match qualified employees with rewarding and well-paying job opportunities in the construction industry. www.tradesource.com
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