When entering a construction site, the safety of your team is paramount. Use this guide to make the ultimate construction site safety checklist.
Constructing a new building can be an exciting time. Whether it’s a new house or a place of business, you shouldn’t forget about safety protocols while caught up in the excitement.
Not only is it required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but safety protocols can also help reduce unnecessary expenses and injuries. Here’s a construction site safety checklist of 10 ways to keep your team safe.
- Ensure Proper Gear Is Worn
As expected at a construction site, there are many health hazards about. The best way to protect your team is to provide them with all the equipment they need to minimize injuries.
For instance, you’ll want to have eye, face, foot, hand, and head protection. You must give your crew training on how and when to use their gear so if there’s an incident, they won’t be in harm’s way.
- Use the Right Equipment
It may be tempting to use one piece of equipment across different functions, but cutting corners may cost you. While you think a 6-foot and 8-foot ladder are pretty similar, it can make a significant difference when it comes to safety.
For instance, your crew may want to use the 6-foot ladder to proceed with the project, instead of waiting for the 8-foot one to come. By using the shorter ladder, they may inadvertently put themselves in danger when they use the very top step of it.
Always stress the importance of using the right equipment for the job. No amount of time shaved off a project is worth potential serious injuries.
- Provide Continuous Training
Just because an employee has years of experience doesn’t necessarily mean they know how to operate every piece of equipment correctly. It never hurts to provide training, whether it’s for new or experienced employees.
Having these training sessions periodically can also help more seasoned workers refresh their memory and ensure they’re using equipment in the right way. Encourage all members of your crew to attend every training session, as they may learn something new each time.
- Create Incident Forms
It’s inevitable that incidents will happen at your construction site, either big or small. When they do, you want to be prepared. This will help you in both the present and the future.
Make sure you have incident forms readily available. They should ask for a description of the incident (and any resulting injuries), the cause of the incident, the actions taken, and future actions to take to prevent similar incidents in the future.
- Encourage Incident Reports
Your team may be afraid to report incidents if they feel like they’ll be punished for it. Make sure your construction crew knows you highly appreciate any concerns they have and that it’s a safe space to report anything they wish.
On this note, always take reports seriously. If your workers submit a report and you ignore it, they may feel discouraged from filing future reports.
- Ask for Feedback and Implement Changes
This is similar to point #5. If your crew feels like they can trust you with their concerns, this creates a safer work environment for everyone.
While it may be tough to hear some things, understand that any feedback and following changes facilitate your projects since you have improved safety.
- Enforce Your Policies
It might not seem like a big deal if you allow one crew member to forego a hard hat since they’re only on the site for a couple of minutes. But all it takes is a few seconds for something to go wrong.
If you don’t enforce your policies, your team can see you as a lax leader and won’t follow safety guidelines strictly. This can lead to them disregarding key rules, such as wearing proper equipment while on the job.
When you enforce your policies, it sets a precedent that you take safety very seriously and that they should too.
- Install Industrial Safety Swing Gates
Not only are industrial safety swing gates easy to install, but they’re also adjustable. With these swing gates, you can protect all openings in your construction site.
Since they don’t use springs, you won’t have to worry about it failing at any time. Plus, they can be put up without the need to cut, weld, or drill anything. In fact, each swing gate comes with its own mounting and hardware kit so you don’t need additional tools.
- Replace Damaged Equipment Promptly
You might want to get a little more use out of your damaged equipment before you replace them. But the best thing to do is to just get new equipment when you realize the old ones are damaged or worn out.
By continuing usage of damaged equipment, you’re raising the risk of everyone on the construction site. Saving a few bucks isn’t worth injury and a halt in the project. Err on the side of caution and get replacements quickly.
- Always Reevaluate
There’s no such thing as the perfect safety plan on your construction site. There’s always room for improvement, so review your plans and checklists every few months or so.
Becoming complacent is the worst thing you can do when it comes to security on your site, so make sure you take the time to reevaluate and tweak your programs for maximum effectiveness.
Use This Construction Site Safety Checklist
With our construction site safety checklist, you’ll be able to make any site secure. Whether it’s the crew or visitors, you’ll be able to protect everyone from potential risks and prevent them from being in harm’s way.
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