A construction site is a high-risk environment, and unfortunately, accidents do happen.
With that said, there are precautions that you can take and procedures that you can implement that reduce the risk element and make your construction site a safer working environment.
Here, we’ve shared 5 of the best ways to prevent construction accidents and injuries.
TL;DR:
- All construction sites should have adequate health and safety measures in place to avoid accidents and injury on site.
- You should provide safety training and education, conduct adequate risk assessments, supply the appropriate safety gear for every construction worker on site, use safety signage, and maintain and inspect all equipment and machinery as outlined by the manufacturer.
Why Is Health And Safety Important On Construction Sites?
Health and safety is essential on construction sites for obvious reasons – to prevent injuries and save lives.
2021/2022 data released by the Health and Safety Executive revealed that 30 of the 123 work-related deaths occurred during this period in the construction industry.
Unfortunately, many of these deaths occurred as a result of something that could have been avoided if proper safety measures were in place. Falls from a height were the most common cause of fatal injury, followed by collapsing/overturning items, falling debris, moving vehicles, and contact with electrical discharge.
59,000 non-fatal injuries occurred in this same period, telling us that a lot of construction workers had a lucky escape – but many of these accidents could have been prevented in the first place.
How To Prevent Construction Accidents And Injuries: 5 Safety Tips
Read on to learn how to greatly reduce or prevent accidents and injuries on your construction site.
Provide Safety Training and Education
When it comes to individual and team safety on a job site, proper safety training and education makes all the difference.
Make sure to provide comprehensive safety training to all your workers, including new hires and contractors.
Educate your employees about potential hazards, implement a list of mandatory safe work practices and display this list at all entrances to the site, and make sure that all staff are trained on proper equipment usage and emergency procedures before they get started.
Having a written safety policy is the best way to outline your safety protocols and highlight the possible hazards within your construction site. Awareness is often all it takes to prevent accidents and serious injury.
Conduct Adequate Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are absolutely essential to workplace safety in the construction industry.
Before and during projects, regularly assess the construction site to identify potential hazards and record your observations in writing. A risk assessment isn’t optional, either – it’s a legal requirement for any workplace that has more than five people.
Possible hazards to identify in a risk assessment include:
- Uneven terrain
- Hazardous materials
- Falling debris
- Electrical wiring issues
- Unstable structures
Evaluate the risks associated with each hazard and work out the most appropriate measures to mitigate them. From here, you can provide training and education (as outlined above) to help construction workers on your site to follow your occupational safety measures and reduce the risk of accidents and injury.
Wear Personal Protective Equipment
Another essential safety measure on any construction site is the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Make sure that all construction workers have access to, and consistently wear, appropriate PPE when on site, including hard hats, safety goggles, gloves, high-visibility clothing, and safety boots.
PPE can help protect against head injuries, eye injuries, falls, and other common hazards. It also makes your workers visible, so, while construction crews are working, they can keep an eye on their fellow employees and make sure to safely operate machinery or conduct any potentially dangerous activities when there’s no one in the area who could get hurt.
Choose a supplier of durable, high-quality high-vis construction attire. At Pronto Direct, we sell high-vis jackets, trousers, sweatshirts, vests, t-shirts, and shorts, so you can find the right attire for your situation.
Use Safety Signage and Communication
As we mentioned earlier, awareness is often key to preventing or at least greatly reducing the likelihood of accidents on construction sites.
Your site should use safety signage in all applicable locations, such as on any entry gate into the site, on machinery, and in certain areas of the site that have specific safety measures in place.
Your safety signs should be displayed to indicate potential dangers, restricted areas, safety protocols, and emergency exits. Make sure your signs are large enough to read from a distance and difficult, if not impossible, to avoid (i.e. use bold colors and place all signs at eye level).
Along with your signage, you should also promote effective communication among your workers, ensuring that your employees report hazards, near misses, or unsafe conditions promptly. This will help you to identify possibly overlooked hazards and act swiftly to prevent accidents.
Maintain And Inspect Construction Equipment
Faulty construction equipment can lead to accidents, so it’s essential to routinely inspect your equipment and perform maintenance and servicing as and when needed.
This might mean hiring a professional to inspect construction equipment on your behalf, perform any scheduled maintenance tasks, and advise you on anything further that you may need to do to sustain the equipment’s safety of performance. Check the manufacturer’s instructions or contact your equipment rental company for more information.
Using properly maintained equipment is one of the common ways to prevent machinery- and equipment-related accidents and injuries.
Final Word
Regardless of your construction project, on-site safety should always be your number one priority.
Make sure to protect employees with the right safety gear, educate your staff on your workplace safety standards, have a trained first aid responder on site, and conduct regular safety meetings to review your procedures and plan ahead to manage hazard risk before each new phase of your project.
These are all effective ways to minimise construction accidents on your job site and greatly reduce the likelihood of devastating workplace fatalities.
