are still more prone to accidents that could cause serious injuries or even fatalities.
Here are a few simple reminders of how to keep your teams safe on the job:
Basic Safety Gear
Suiting up is one of the most important steps before beginning a job and when on the construction site, safety gloves, hard hats, safety goggles, ear plugs, and other necessary safety accessories should always be worn. Taking the few extra minutes to ensure your team is wearing appropriate injury-preventing gear can not only keep construction workers safe but also legally compliant with workplace safety regulations.
The clothing workers wear is often mandatory. Durable, thick materials, especially long sleeves and pants can protect the entire body from potential hazards like burns, cuts, chemicals, equipment malfunction, and maybe even worse. A safety helmet, safety goggles, gloves, and steel-toed boots or other job site-appropriate footwear can also protect your extremities from these potential hazards. Remind your workers that even if it feels uncomfortable, basic safety gear is required for a reason.
Basic Equipment Care
Tools that are used daily by construction workers are likely to need replacing or updating after continuous use. Make sure to recognize which tools are worn and which aren’t working effectively and replace them in a timely, regular manner to not only will make the job go more smoothly but also to decrease the risk to you and your team of potential injury from that piece of equipment. Take the time at the beginning or end of each day to assess the condition of your tools and update them when necessary. Even scheduling weekly, monthly, or quarterly tool checks can help to mitigate injuries.
Be Careful and Steady
While the end goal of any construction project is completion, rushing to complete the project does not only mean that corners may be getting cut, increasing the risk of having to redo some of the work, but it also puts your workers and future property users at risk, exposing them to potential electrical and structural hazards that could cause injury. When working at great heights, always employ a safety harness. When working with electrical, always wear proper safety gear and install everything according to code—and double-check code compliance upon completion. Sticking to the fundamentals and taking a few extra minutes to be sure the job is done right and safely at the beginning will ensure worker safety as well as building integrity.
Recognize Health Hazards
When your team is on the job, even a minute or two away from the job to cool down or warm up can provide a buffer of physical safety between workers and environmental hazards. Staying hydrated and fueled up throughout the day can ensure they’re in the best physical condition possible. Wearable technology can also help mitigate environmental or health hazards. On a particularly hot and sunny day, wearable AI monitors can help track internal and external temperature, heart rate, heat exposure, track sleep cycle to mitigate fatigue, and more.
Assess and Address
Not all jobs are the same, so evaluating the project and particular safety protocols before beginning can save you trouble in the long run. During the design process, incorporate safety measures into each stage of development, knowing which stage will require which safety measure, when those stages will take place, and when the safety measures will be required. Looking at what the job requires at all stages proactively and determining which gear is needed upfront ensures it is implemented later on to ensure the prolonged safety of the workers and the project itself.
Provide The Right Coverage
Accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance is important to protect your team members’ families financially if something happens to them. When you search for the right AD&D coverage for your workers, take a close look at the types of incidents covered, because not all policies cover everything. Whether an accident is fatal, causes immobilization indefinitely, or the recovery process is difficult, the right AD&D insurance can give your workers and their families peace of mind.
With experience and wisdom often come ways to save time while still achieving quality work; however, when it comes to safety, shortcuts are always dangerous and the simplest of safety measures when implemented correctly are the most effective.
