The Importance Of Construction Safety

General contractors manage a variety of important considerations as they supervise a building’s construction, including budget, materials and schedule. They also must ensure compliance with a wide range of regulatory requirements, from environmental standards to legal employment practices. But by far one of the most important concerns a general contractor must control is safety.

the federal government considers construction safety a highly significant concern. Over the past few years, incidents involving vehicles or equipment have been the primary source of construction workplace injuries . Other hazards that result in job site injuries include electrical shock and caught-betweens as well as Falling and  falling objects.

The best approach to maintaining a safe job site is a good strategy of planning, training and inspections.

Planning: Stopping and preventing  accidents

Planning allows workers to avoid problems before they occur. The  crew should do a pre-task planning every day Before work starts and  assess the tasks to be performed .this helps identify hazards and  eliminate them or engineer them out. This strategy takes place before the project starts and repeats every morning on the job site. because each job site presents its own spacial hazards, The planning varies by location, but the general process of continues planning remains the same.

On a strategic level, we have a formal safety plan. this  plan is thoroughly documented and available to everyone working on our projects. This ensures our operations stay within OSHA standards and we make sure that everyone , from our employees to our subcontractors to our clients, knows our standards and procedures in advance

Safety Training

Training is the anther important component of the successful safety plan.  We do extensive training for our employs. All of our people on the job sit have completed the OSHA 30-hour course, and have been trained in first aid and emergency response

One basic reason constant training is important is due to the constant evolving nature of personal protective equipment (PPE). Manufacturers constantly produce new or improved PPE in response to identified needs in the marketplace and  as a result of evolving OSHA standards, therefor  contractors must stay current on what is available.

OSHA’s requirements change frequently and equipment makers constantly innovate to meet those revisions so PPE changes all the time -The PPE that was totally compliant last year may not be today. For example, a few years ago there was no such thing as retractable lanyards for fall protection. Given all the different positions workers needed to be to get the job done, in many situations the standard harness didn’t suffice. So they come up with the retractable lanyard, one that creates an instant stop within two inches of the start of the fall, to respond to that need. This is one example of how this industry works – OSHA changes a requirement, manufacturers respond with new PPE and contractors are expected to stay on top of this.

Inspections

A Major component of a successful safety program is to self-inspect. safety representatives and Superintendents are on  the job site several times a week, observing work processes, documenting procedural violations and potential hazards, and implementing corrective actions. Often, these inspections result in procedural changes that are incorporated into the daily pre-task planning.

Benefits of Construction Safety Program

implementing the successful safety program requires a great deal of work at all levels of the project and The results are well worth the effort.

Our safety program gives us a big advantage in the marketplace and Our A+ rating with the insurance companies reduces premiums considerably, allowing us to be more competitive in our bids. They recognize that a safety-conscious general contractor reduces their potential liability for law suits. In addition, Our safety program is a legitimate marketing advantage that allows us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors in the field of construction.

Anther advantage of Our safety program is that we haven’t suffered a time-lost incident in more than ten years. Also, Workers come to our job sites, trusting that we operate a safe work environment, and that improves morale. We have a track record for safety, which establishes an expectation in our workers’ minds that we won’t tolerate anything less than safe work procedures. In that sense the program is self-perpetuating. Most importantly, on a moral level we want our workers to be safe. We want them going home in the same condition they came to work in. thus Our safety program provides cost benefits, marketing advantages, operating and efficiencies, and it is fundamentally the right thing to do.

In time we have learned that the greatest challenge in maintaining a safe job site is attitude. Getting people to recognize the inherent risk of working on a construction site is a big part of what we  have to do every day, It’s easy to cut corners on safety so we drill this attitude time and again .

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