Jobsite safety is important every day, but as the weather gets warmer and the calendar fills up, having safety as a top priority can be critical for contractors.
When schedules get tight, it can be easy to cut corners, accidentally overlook important safety protocols or overwork in hot weather. Having your company and crews follow best practice safety standards helps keep everyone safe and promotes a positive work environment.
To keep safety top of mind during the busy summer season, here are five jobsite safety tips including ways to manage heat and how to help protect against some of OSHA’s top jobsite hazards.
It’s cool to be covered
Wear more clothing while working in the summer sun. Most people already know to hydrate when working in heat. However, one overlooked tip is to wear more clothing. This includes long sleeves, pants and hard hats with the goal of covering your skin without relying solely on sunblock, which requires frequent applications.
Many clothing companies have apparel designed to protect against the sun with UV-rated materials while also helping to keep the body cool.
Move less to do more
An efficient jobsite setup helps crews travel shorter distances. Carefully planning the placement of tools and workstations can help make the jobsite not only more efficient but safer.
A well-planned jobsite can help workers travel shorter distances between stations, which can speed up work and reduce exertion in summer heat.
Even short heights dangerous
Use protective measures for fall hazards of 6 feet or more. Falls are consistently among the biggest risks for construction workers. These risks can be substantially mitigated with safety systems such as guardrails and personal fall arrest systems.
It’s important to have these systems put in place by a qualified person, continually monitored and adjusted as needed.
Dump damaged equipment
Immediately label broken or damaged ladders “DO NOT USE.” With the right precautions in place, OSHA says deaths from ladder falls are almost entirely preventable.
All ladders on the jobsite must be in good condition and free of defects. In addition to using the correct ladder for the job, make sure your crews are familiar with and follow guidelines for securing, placing and extending ladders.
If you use scaffolding instead of ladders, make sure it’s placed, moved, or modified only under the supervision of a competent person.
Don’t wear it out
Regularly inspect personal protective equipment. Personal protective equipment is essential to individual safety. Head, eyes, face, feet and hands must be protected from jobsite hazards, including sun exposure.
Wearing PPE is just the first step; regularly inspecting the equipment and replacing it as necessary is equally important. For example, you should regularly inspect hard hats for dents, cracks or deterioration, and any hard hat that’s taken a heavy blow should be replaced whether damage is visible.
While these tips are a good start to jobsite safety, you can do more for your workers and company by implementing a comprehensive safety program.
Keep it clean
Both during and after the job is finished, keeping a clean work environment is vital to everyone’s safety. Utilizing a professional construction cleaning service ensures the jobsite is properly sanitized for the owner upon job completion.
Jacqueline Bridges-Gillman of Gillman Construction Clean-Up adds, “We save builders and remodelers time and stress by taking care of all the cleanup, from hauling debris away to drywall dust removal.”
For more information on keeping your build sites safe, including the local HBAGC member directory, visit the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga’s website at www.HBAGC.net.