Keeping your construction site safe is essential to the overall health of your workers and business. OSHA sets and enforces safety standards, and you could find yourself liable if your organization doesn’t meet them. Here’s what you need to know.
Safety is a vital topic for any business owner because they never want to see employees hurt while on the job. The good news is that bodily harm is rare in an office setting. Safety standards are in place in such locations, but they’re usually to prevent hazards such as slip and falls that occur in controlled, indoor environments.
The focus on safety holds greater importance in the construction industry because of the seriousness attached to potential injuries. Workers deal with power tools, heavy equipment, and extreme heights on a daily basis, for example – all of which can cause severe injury if not handled with care. Even a minor slip-up can lead to dire consequences, so construction sites need strict enforcement of their safety rules.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for creating and enforcing these safety standards, but individual construction companies must ensure they comply day-to-day. Here’s a look at some of the safety-related issues you could run into on a construction site as well as tips to ensure you remain compliant with OSHA safety standards.
Common construction site safety violations
Dangers are everywhere on construction sites because of the size of the equipment workers are using and the heights at which they often operate. Safety violations commonly occur because of:
Work on scaffolding
More than half of all construction workers find themselves on scaffolding on a job site. This exposes them to dropping objects, potential falls, and even a risk of electrocution, depending on the job at hand. Always ensure your scaffolding is built by a competent person, take time to inspect it daily, and set safety rules for every employee working in such environments.
Improper ladder use
Ladders are another dangerous spot because the equipment itself or the person climbing it could fall. It’s crucial to regularly inspect the ladders your employees use and only purchase OSHA-approved items. Putting ladder safety protocols into effect can also help.
Fall protection
Adequate fall protection is a must on construction sites. Employees should wear personal fall arrest systems when working at heights, for example, and you might consider installing guardrails and safety nets. Not having adequate fall protection could have severe consequences.
Poor hazard communication
Everyone who enters your construction site should know about any potential hazards in the area. Communicating the presence of toxic materials, heavy equipment, and falling objects is essential to preventing the possible injuries that could be caused by such items.
Falling debris
There’s always the chance of tools and equipment falling from a building and doing damage. Hard hats are essential pieces of safety equipment for that reason, as are barriers protecting workers below from falling debris. Failing to have these protections could lead to significant injury.
Poor training
Your workers must have the necessary safety training and know their rights and responsibilities while on the job site. OSHA publishes resources to assist here, and holding safety sessions using this material can also help. Failing to provide safety training for your construction employees could put you at fault when an injury occurs, as well.
Inadequate supervision
In a perfect world, you supply your employees with the training and tools they need to stay safe and everything proceeds smoothly. In reality, supervision is essential because workers are bound to get comfortable or entirely ignore safety protocols that make their lives more challenging. Of course, the foremen who have on-site are a good step in the right direction, but you might also consider using technology so you can monitor employee behavior yourself.
Maintaining awareness of possible OSHA violations allows you to focus on preventing them and keeping your employees safe while on the job site. Staying compliant with these construction site safety standards should be of the utmost importance moving forward because a construction company with an unsafe work environment will struggle to survive.
How video surveillance can help
Keeping watch over your workers comes with challenges because you can’t be everywhere at once. Foremen could also struggle to monitor every employee on a construction site because there are so many things to observe at any given time. There are steps you can take to ease this problem, however.
One solution involves installing video surveillance equipment at your job sites. The idea is that you can place surveillance equipment in high-traffic areas around your construction sites, and doing so has many benefits:
- These cameras can protect your equipment from theft and damage.
- They can record thieves and vandals to assist law enforcement with identifying perpetrators.
- Cameras allow you to monitor workers’ behaviors throughout the day.
- This ensures everyone is staying in line with government and company safety regulations.
- It also means you can stop and correct unsafe behaviors before they become problems.
Mobile video surveillance equipment makes it possible to remotely view your ladders and scaffolding, too, so you can order necessary safety adjustments, send out reminders to supervisors, or contact someone about repairs if something doesn’t look safe. Focusing on these elements makes it easier to remain compliant with OSHA standards on the job site while creating a safe environment for your employees.
The Mobile Video Guard difference
When you run a construction site, you know there are inherent safety and theft risks. Mobile Video Guard offers video surveillance solutions for sites like yours. Our team of security professionals helps you create the perfect system to monitor your space, then remotely monitors your surveillance cameras for you to identify problems as they arise.
Our services also ensure you can monitor your job sites for compliance and theft 24 hours per day, thereby minimizing OSHA violations and financial losses in the process. Contact Mobile Video Guard today to speak with an expert about your construction site monitoring needs.
