As it turns out, quite a lot. If you operate in the construction industry, you might be troubled to hear that it’s one of the most dangerous job sectors in the world. This shouldn’t be too surprising when you think about the average day spent on a construction site. You’ll be lifting heavy materials, often using large pieces of equipment such as cranes. Workers will be at high heights, typically wearing safety gear but without any harnesses in the case of a slip or fall. In fact, it’s amazing that construction injury rates aren’t a lot higher, all things considered. So, what does cause injuries in construction and how can you avoid these dangers on your own work site?
Dangerous Machinery
The machinery used during construction is undeniably dangerous. But there are ways to avoid accidents related to the mechanical failure. For instance, you should be checking the machinery used on the job site on a regular basis. If you do this, you should avoid any accident due to what will essentially be wear and tear. For instance, imagine if the coil on a chainsaw snapped. This could cause a nasty injury that you will certainly want to avoid. Of course, the problems with equipment can be larger than this. For instance, a flange washer is used on cranes where a high load is required. If these are damaged, it could reduce the ability of a crane to carry the load, and it could cause it to drop. We can’t even begin to imagine the damage to the site and the danger to people working there. But we bet you want to avoid it.
Security Measures
You need to think about security measures for your construction site too. It is often incredibly difficult to fully secure a construction site. But you do need to try. This isn’t just about protecting your workers. It’s about ensuring that trespassers aren’t injured if they enter the site. It can happen, particularly if there are dangerous materials lying around. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that you use portable cameras on the construction site. These can be easily set up and taken down once the job is complete.
Training And Procedures
You will discover through research that a large percentage of accidents in construction are a result of human error. We all make mistakes in our job at some point or another. The only difference is that making a mistake on a construction site will result in a serious injury or even a fatality. It’s worth spending time and money making sure that your team of builders are well trained for any job. It will help you avoid high injury rates as well as ensuring an efficient service for your clients.
Proper Safety Equipment
Finally, you should be providing quality safety equipment and clothing for anyone working on a job site. This won’t prevent an injury from happening, but it will lessen the damage. In some cases, it could be the difference between a broken leg and death.
