How to Make a Construction Site Safe

Construction sites across the world are increasingly focusing on construction site safety for safety of both its employees and machines. India however is lagging behind when it comes to safety of both the man and machine on the site. Stringent rules are yet to be brought in place and strict implementation is a far away dream. However here are some basic measures that companies can take to ensure a safe site free of any accidents

Basics first: Read up the basic safety precautions and requirements for the type of job site in question. Every one working and present on the job site should be well aware of the necessary precautions and safety rules on the construction sites. It is advisable for companies to have site safety sessions for its employees in addition to having compensation options and or insurance in place for its employees to support them in case of an accident. Employees should be well aware of the safety precautions to be observed on various parts of the job site.

Gear up: People on job sites should be properly geared with neon safety jackets, hard hats, proper gloves, shoes, ear and eye protection to start with. In case workers are required to work at heights, proper good quality harness should be used to ensure safety of the workers. The neon vests are mostly to ensure that people working on the site are easy to notice in both cases to prevent accidents and to find the employees in case of an accident. Good quality safety gear should be made mandatory on job sites.

Danger Zone: Depending on the top type of construction site in question, the area should have the required cones and partitions to mark the site and the caution zones. Buildings usually have a grill type fence to prevent people from falling while road and bridge sites have huge partitions to keep all non essential personnel away from the job site and its various extra caution zones. Additional safety in form of scaffolding help stop keep the debris falling on workers on the site and injuring them.

Heat and electricity safety: All wires, live and otherwise should be handled with utmost care. Safety gear used on the site should not conduct heat and or electricity to ensure safety of the workers. No wires or water lines should never be left unattended since it may cause serious injury.

Untrained/ unqualified workers: Most workers and operators on the job site are uneducated people with little or no formal training of working on one. Many operators learn how to operate the machinery form people they know and miss out on crucial information that can possibly lead to accidents on the job site. With limited scope for formal education in the field, the safety on a job site is compromised at the very basics.

Simple measures and combined efforts are required to ensure job site safety failing which accidents on the site can cost the company heavily in terms of both time and money.