Safety Guidelines for Construction Workers

Added: 04 Feb 2012 15:22 - Workplace Health and Safety

Any construction site poses potential hazards to those working on it. Falling debris, uneven flooring and hazardous gasses are just some of the things construction workers need to be cautious of.

It is required by law that employers and contractors must ensure that health and safety guidelines are followed on site at all times. However, at times this can be rather difficult as the site manager is not able to follow employees constantly.

If employees follow the safety guidelines in place and wear the appropriate protective clothing whilst on site, then surely injuries and accidents can be avoided. Here is some advice to ensure optimum safety at all times:

Think before Acting

Before walking onto an active construction site, the employee should always consider the risk they are currently at. By assessing the risk, accidents and injuries can be easily avoided.

Construction workers should take the time to get into the appropriate clothing before beginning work. A hard helmet, steel cap boots and a high visibility jacket is essential wear for all people visiting construction sites.

Depending on the ongoing work, other safety equipment may be required, this can include:

• Gas masks.
• Protective goggles.
• Protective masks.

Each site will have different requirements – the construction worker should make themselves aware of these requirements before stepping onto the site.

Some construction sites may even have workholding equipment available, meaning employees will be able to work with a whole range of machinery and tools safely. It is important that employees take the time to discover what safety resources are available at each site to reduce the risk of accidents and injury.

First Aid Emergencies

Before any construction site work should begin, employees and construction workers should be made aware of first aid and fire procedures.

Each individual employee should be able to locate emergency phones, first aid kits and fire extinguishers. By having good emergency knowledge, the chances of serious accidents and injuries happening on a construction site will be significantly reduced.

Slips and Trips

Another reason why construction sites are so dangerous is because of the uneven and slippery flooring.

Construction workers should take their time when manoeuvring across a construction site and always be aware of lumps, bumps and dips in the ground.  At times, working equipment may be left to one side, posing a risk to those construction workers nearby. Look around for any leftover nuts, washers and screws left on work ground that people may slip on. Remove them to a safe area if found.

When getting on and off large machinery, employees should always check the sole of their shoe to remove any excess mud as this will reduce the chances of them slipping off the machine as they climb up the steps.

Learn the Specifics

Construction workers may be asked to use different machinery when working on a site, if so, it is important that they learn the specifics of each machine.

WDS Ltd supply many different machine parts to construction sites on a regular basis. As there is such a variation of equipment supplied on construction sites, the biggest cause of accidents and injuries is from employees attempting to use such equipment without any training or experience.

Each piece of equipment on a construction site should come with a set of instructions or requirements, the construction worker should always have access to these instructions so they can ensure they are using the equipment in the correct and recommended way.

By learning specifically how to use a machine or a piece of equipment, the chances of an accident or injury is significantly reduced.