It isn’t
enough to put up posters that say safety first. It won’t work if management
isn’t actually putting safety first and empowering employees to do the right
thing. The best way to protect your construction workers is to build a culture
of safety so that it flows from the top down and is reinforced at the ground
level. Let’s learn how to build a better safety culture in construction.
Ensure That Safety Really Is First
Ensure
that safety really is the first priority. Don’t let managers put profits or
schedule pressures ahead of worker safety. If people want to stop work to
resolve a dangerous situation, support it. Discuss the benefits of safety first
to managers and supervisors. For example, accidents lead to costly unplanned
delays and cost overruns. Accidents will raise insurance costs and could take key
personnel away from the work site for weeks while they recover. Hold everyone
accountable. Everyone who visits a job site needs to be responsible for safety.
This means managers touring the site must be informed of the safety rules and
follow them.
Train, Train, Train
One of
the best ways to create a culture of safety is to continually train regarding
safety. Training cannot be a one-off event, whether it is a once a year safety
lecture or safety training that occurs when they’re hired.
Ongoing
safety training in how to use personal protective equipment ensures that they
don’t forget how to use it the right way. Don’t assume that years of experience
means they can operate all types of safety equipment. Train everyone on how to
use any safety equipment on the worksite. Ongoing safety training ensures that
they know how to use the latest versions of personal protective equipment
properly. It also eliminates the risk that the prior training they had from
another employer may not be good enough.
Ongoing
safety training also reinforces best practices and keeps safety at the top of
their minds. Companies like ZOTA Professional Training offer online
training to help people learn about worksite safety and can get people certified
to work in areas like lead paint remediation.
Get Front Line Workers Involved
These are
the people who are at the greatest risk of injury. They must be included in
safety initiatives to be invested in the outcome. Create a safety committee
that includes construction workers, not just managers. Have them review the
safety program and give advice on how to update it.
Create
job site-specific safety plans for each project in the pre-construction phase.
They’ll help you identify potential hazards unique to that site and ensure that
everyone is properly trained for dealing with it. This also allows you to know
that you’ll have all the necessary safety gear available and staged before you
start working.
Include
them in the drafting and implementation of corrective action plans to be
followed when an accident occurs. Give everyone the ability to order a work
stoppage when there are unsafe conditions. Put employees who are working
on-site on the accident response team. And train a number of
employees in first aid. This will not just show that you’re invested in their
well-being but has the practical result of giving people the appropriate
medical attention as soon as possible.
Conclusion
The best
way to protect your team is to have a true safety culture. This requires far
more work than safety slogans, but it is worth it to your people and the
company’s bottom line.