Safety on the job site does more than protect your workers from injuries, it also ensures the health of your bottom line.
In addition to the humanitarian reasons, there are financial reasons that should motivate every company to maintain a safe workforce. One of the most evident cost is that of workers’ compensation insurance premiums (which are closely tied to the incident/injury rate). Greater yet are the hidden costs, which include low employee morale and productivity, work stoppages, hiring and retraining of employee(s) as well as the redirection of valuable resources to assist with policy enforcement and/or incident investigation. For an ever-increasing number of companies, the most pronounced cost comes at the loss of the ability to bid and/or obtain work due to incident rates that are unacceptable to the host employer.
Most Common Hazards
Some of the most common hazards are also those that are avoidable by considering ones own actions, following safe work procedures and selecting PPE that provides the most protection rather than the minimum allowable.
Most of fatalities and serious injuries can be avoided by by simply as following regulations established by OSHA. This should be a starting point for any company serious about worker safety.
Heavy commercial and industrial job sites pose a greater danger because there are often more people present on a commercial job. With more people working in one area, the are chances for an accident of some type are compounded.
What You Can Do
As mentioned, observing OSHA safety regulations is the first place contractors should start. Secondly, consider the external dynamics of the job site- outside of the establish safe work procedures, what is different or how does this instance vary that may require additional steps to say safe?
For instance, when a job begins, map out your tasks and identify the potential hazards associated with each. Consider not only what safety measures should be in place based on the typical hazards associated with that task, i.e. fall protection, fire extinguishers, PPE etc…, but also any additional hazards that could be introduced based on the location, time, and even the experience of those performing the task. Each crew member should be included in making this assessment and have a clear understanding of how each task will be performed in a safe manner?
Other suggestions for maintaining a safe job site:
- Establish Safe Work Teams made up of workers from all levels.
- Perform regular Tool Box Safety Talks and give employees the opportunity to discuss relevant topics.
- Update your Material Safety Data Sheet and ensure that every employee know how to access it.
- Monitor the job site every day to make sure it is clean and neat and that all safety measures are in place and operate properly.
OSHA Rules
Safety citations on sites are usually issued to the employers whose employees are exposed to the hazard (exposing employer), however, the following employers may also be cited irrespective of their employee exposure:
- The employer who created the hazard.
- The “controlling employer” who is responsible for safety and health conditions on the work site.
- The “affecting employer” who has the responsibility for correcting the hazard.
For additional suggestions on how you may improve job site safety, contact the author -SBasham