Efficient job sites

4 ways to improve construction job site safety

A construction hard hat is hung on the edge of a steel structure with rust.

Why would anyone in construction ignore steps to reduce the chances of being injured or killed?

With all the safety courses, rules and stories out there, it’s hard to imagine anyone could forget to put on a hard hat, wear safety goggles or secure a rope. Yet, the “fatal four”— falls, being struck by objects, electrocutions and being caught in-between materials or equipment – accounted for 60% of construction-related deaths.

Think of this: the more a team works without a hard hat, they might think they don’t need one. Consider how skipping construction safety measures might save time while building. Now, looking over a few safety measures may seem even more appealing when a deadline is approaching.

As crew members ignore safety out of convenience and speed, it becomes the norm – creating a recipe for dangerous accidents.

To solve this, let’s talk about safety culture and climate – and how you can make job site safety a priority in your construction company culture.

What is safety culture in construction?

Safety culture represents policies and principles that guide risk management decision making. Safety climate represents how those policies are enacted throughout the construction job site.

Here’s an example: Wearing a hard hat at the construction site is part of the safety culture. Seeing people wearing hard hats is the safety climate.

Understanding the difference is important to creating a safer work site for your crew. Here are four tips to meld safety into your construction business.

1. Make safety part of your construction company’s culture

Before you think about profits and impressing clients, establishing a norm around protecting your team members is important to creating a culture of safety. How you behave on the job site is just as crucial. If crew members see you slacking off or dismissing safety precautions, they can take it as a cue to also ignore those rules.

Hold safety meetings at the beginning of the workday to learn about any concerns. During this time, open the space to let your team voice any issues they may have. This proactive measure can help avoid potential accidents.

Putting safety first can also help improve productivity, boost morale and reduce costs. Some insurance plans incentivize accident-free job sites.

2. Empower your crew to get involved

When everyone in the organization embraces a safety culture, it’s reflected in how they perform. You can create a safety task force to encourage your team to become more involved.

As your team plays a greater role in job site safety, they can gain a sense of ownership for the culture. Establishing this safety task force can improve job site efficiency and gives individuals the ability to report any hazards they might come across. Again, this reinforces a proactive approach to safety.

Accidents can happen and when they do, you’ll be ready. Assembling an accident response team gives your crew tools to react to potential hazards. If something does happen, have a playbook to handle these types of situations. Consider training your team in first aid to make sure everyone can handle potential injuries.

3. Find more areas to keep improving

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Well, maybe fix it a little? As the world evolves and more changes are impacting the job site, it’s important to continue making progress. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regularly updates rules and standards to fit safety measures. Stay on top of these changes to make sure your work site is compliant.

Only meeting OSHA standards is a bare minimum. Take account of your organization and keep stock in what’s working well. Also, determine if there are any measures you can make to improve worker safety.

Frequent and regular inspection of your processes is vital to ensuring your safety plan and program are effective.

4. Leverage construction management software for job site safety

Accidents can happen at a moment’s notice. Construction management software, like Buildertrend, can alert everyone in your organization of potential events.

Use one platform to send out a mass message to crew, subs or even clients about potential safety hazards. Take this further and ask crew members to upload photos of broken equipment or areas that might need inspected through daily logs.

By uploading photos and taking notes about safety issues or events, you’re creating a documented history of how your company has approached job site safety. Construction management software now becomes an asset to your safety culture and climate through documentation and reporting.

Schedule a demo today to learn how Buildertrend can improve your safety needs.

About The Author

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Buildertrend Staff

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