Construction sites can, at times, be one of the most hazardous places to work. Less than ideal weather conditions can make them accident hot spots.That is why construction site safety needs to be a priority for business owners.
Without proper risk assessments, health and safety measures to prevent or control workplace hazards will sadly render your business non-compliant and that means staff are at risk, as well as your pockets.
According to the HSE, 47% of construction site injuries relate to working at height, with an even higher figure for slips, trips and falls. HSE regulations are aimed at protecting your workforce from accidents. Accidents and injuries can be avoided with proper health and safety regulations, and don’t forget that the HSE are hot on the tails of any company that tries to dodge their legal obligations as employees, so don’t let that be you!
Construction site safety in bad weather
Working outside will always leave employees vulnerable to changing weather conditions, so there should be definitive health and safety processes in place that address all conditions.
A safe construction site is one that has identified every possible risk that could come from all weather conditions, and put safety measures in place to prevent accidents.
Ways to prevent accidents:
- Conduct regular health and safety risk assessments – These should be done seasonally where possible to reduce the risk of missing weather related hazards.
- Invest in the right flooring material for the job – This is an essential aspect of catering for changing weather conditions. Being able to enhance grip and improve visibility by layering heavy duty and anti-slip panels for your workforce will lower the chance of serious injury come rain or shine.
- Ensure you have proper and up-to-date signage – This is essential to alert your workforce to where changing conditions might be present, including any change in height, surface change due to weather or where there may be falling debris.
- Clearly highlight entrance and exit points – When weather conditions are too dangerous to continue working, you should have clear exit points for any staff working at height. This will help them to navigate to safe points on your construction site and minimise risk of injury.
- Minimise obstructions – Entrances and exits should be free from obstructions. There’s no use having clear signage if you are going to block gangways
More information from the HSE can be found here.
Construction site common sense
As with all health and safety policies and procedures, common sense is essential for maintaining a safe and secure construction site. For example, when going up or down stairways every aspect of risk needs to be explored, but if someone will carelessly leave an obstruction at the bottom or top of stairs or ladders, then the risk of injury is doubled. It really is important that all of your staff are trained in the proper health and safety rules and regulations, so that when on site they can put into practice what they have learned.
Construction site safety with Safety First Group
Why Safety First Group?
As third party providers our skilled and experienced consultants have worked with many construction teams to help with their working at height regulations, manual handling training, vibration monitoring and more. If you have any questions, please get in touch here, where you can speak to one of our consultants about your construction requirements.
