Are you a builder? Do you spend most of your time setting up and working on construction sites? If the answer to both questions is yes, today’s handy guide is for you! As the owner of a construction firm, you are responsible for the health and safety of your team.
By their nature, building sites can be dangerous places. That’s because trucks, machines, and people are moving around the site all the time. And everyone has to work together in a confined space. As you can appreciate, the risk of a workplace injury occurring is high.
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The following tips outline what you can put in place to increase safety and security on your sites. Here is what you need to know:
Identify any hazards
Wherever your building site is, you need to perform regular risk assessments. Doing so will enable you to identify hazards, so that you can take steps to make them safer.
For example, let’s say that your team is constructing a high-rise office building. Once they are at the top, there should be suitable edge protection in place.
Another thing you need to do is make sure any dangerous areas are well-marked. Safety signs are a good way to warn people of such locations on a building site.
Install perimeter fencing around your building site
The thing about security fencing is that it serves two purposes. It defines a clear boundary, and it stops unauthorized people from gaining access.
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Your team won’t be working 24/7 on your construction projects. When the sites become unattended, you don’t want thieves or vandals to gain access. Apart from doing criminal damage and stealing things, they will make your sites unsafe. That’s why it is crucial for many reasons, to install perimeter fencing.
Make sure everyone uses Personal Protective Equipment
Building sites can be dangerous areas to enter. That’s why anyone that works in them should wear PPE clothing. For instance, high-visibility jackets let people get seen from afar, even in the dark.
Hard hats reduce the risk of injury from flying objects like falling debris. Boots with steel-capped toes can lower the likelihood of injury to your feet. And gloves can protect your hands too.
In fact, there are plenty of other PPE clothing items I could list here. You just need to ensure that your team members wear the right ones for their work.
Put into place active security measures
Let’s face it; your eyes and ears can’t be everywhere at once! To help you keep your building sites safe and secure, you can put into place active security measures.
CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras can record the movements of anyone on your building sites. Security guards can patrol both the perimeter and the interior of them too. Access control systems like electronic barriers help to keep unwanted persons out.
The sad truth about the construction industry is that theft is rife. What’s even worse is that it can occur from your team members, not just strangers that break into your sites! By increasing security, you can lower the risk of those things happening.
Featured image credit: ShutterStock
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