How to improve the safety of a construction site?

Incorporate safety into everything you do

At the very least, all tradesmen must follow their industry’s local health and safety regulations. Everything you do above will help you achieve better health and safety results on the job.

At Bear Plumbing, we’ve made it clear to all of our employees that – to use a cliché – safety comes first. Our employees are our most valuable assets, which is why we are committed to ensuring their safety via training and performance assessments that highlight areas for improvement.

Workplace training and growth are essential

Consider establishing an employee training program and talking about your team’s goals and growth prospects. Continuous support not only makes people safer on the job, but it also promotes job satisfaction. Furthermore, if you show your employees that you care about their careers, they will be more inclined to stay with your company for the long term, contributing their expertise to your projects year after year!

Make your team accountable

Make your team responsible Set the expectation that, in addition to regular training, employees would be responsible for any concerns that develop on the job. All personnel must understand their duties in ensuring that safety protocols are followed, and they must be fully communicated. Set some fines and KPIs if necessary to keep your team on track – even a happy shared lunch after a successful project may help to reinforce good habits.

Keep a record of occurrences and figure out how to prevent them in the future

Even if no one was wounded, it’s critical to document and reflect on each occurrence so that mistakes can be avoided in the future. After all, we develop by learning from our failures! Create a procedure for debriefing and improving processes after each event or near-miss that works for your company.

Get team agreement

Consider what the pain spots in your system are if part of your problem is that your employees are just not engaged with your safety processes. Are steps skipped because they slow down production? Perhaps your employees don’t feel listened to when they raise safety concerns? Change your policies and culture to foster buy-in from your team once you’ve figured out why these things happen.

Establish explicit communication standards

Make sure your client culture encourages your employees to provide feedback. Staff will be more willing to raise any on-site difficulties with their management if they feel listened to.  Make sure your employees know who to contact if they have any safety issues on the job, and schedule time for them to be discussed. This will foster a culture of courteous dialogue and vital information exchange, which will lead to better results.

Employ the appropriate tools and equipment for the task

This is the exciting part – your justification for going tool shopping! But, in all seriousness, this concept is critical and straightforward: safeguard your employees with properly maintained instruments, and you will increase on-site safety. Check off training with newcomers on your team to ensure they know how to securely use their tools. Also, take use of the ever-increasing technology that is boosting workplace safety in a variety of ways.

Protect your employees with high-quality PPE

Too often, firms provide suitable safety equipment that falls short of industry norms, even if it fulfills industry standards. If you demonstrate the significance of safety by providing reliable PPE, your employees will take it more seriously. Yes, it will cost more up front, but wouldn’t you rather spend a little more for better PPE than have a catastrophic avoidable accident on the job?

Select the proper personnel

It may sound harsh, especially if they’ve been with you for a long time, but if your employees don’t believe in your health and safety policies, it’s time to fire them. Employees that do not follow your safety policies quickly become a liability. Set clear expectations for prospective employees and question their references appropriately. Do they pay attention to instructions? Have they had any mishaps, and if so, what actions have they taken to strengthen their procedures?

Never stop working to improve your safety procedures

There will always be additional possibilities to improve, set up review procedures, tweak safety standards, and use new technology to improve construction site safety as time goes on. To keep informed and safeguard your employees, set up Google alerts and subscribe to industry-relevant safety information and government rules.

Accidents aren’t only a health and safety concern; they also have an impact on the project’s timetable and, ultimately, profitability. Provide your employees with the tools they need to increase construction site safety, and you’ll enjoy the rewards in the form of fewer accidents, happier and more pleased employees, and fewer project delays.

CALL US if you want to work with a commercial plumbing company that priorities site safety throughout the whole process.