Why is Construction Site Safety so important?
Construction is one of the most dangerous jobs and hazardous workplaces due to the high risk exposure among workers.
In 2018, out of 5,250 workers that died on the job, 21% were directly from the construction industry as stated in this report – https://www.osha.gov/data/commonstats If averaged out, it would equate to just about 21 workers passing away per week, or approximately 3 deaths per day throughout the year.
As construction site superintendents, project managers, and safety supervisors, it is your responsibility to make sure that your workers, contractors, and even subcontractors have the right personal protection equipment (PPE) to do their job and remain safety compliant while on the job.
If ignored, your workers can suffer injuries or fatal accidents and file lawsuits, most of which could have been prevented. If negligent, your construction site will be cited for violations for failing to meet OSHA standards. All have a direct impact on financials for your company, projects, and your wallet.
Below are the Top 10 Safety Standard Violations that are cited by the Federal OSHA in fiscal year 2019 (October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019):
- Fall protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501)
- Hazard communication standard, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200)
- Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451)
- Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147)
- Respiratory protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134)
- Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053)
- Powered industrial trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178)
- Fall Protection–Training Requirements (29 CFR 1926.503)
- Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212)
- Eye and Face Protection (29 CFR 1926.102)
There are many practices to improve site safety, such as in-depth training sessions, routine safety classes, communication, strong supervision, and frequent in-house safety checks. All are highly recommended and should be employed if not already.
In some cases, the problem is not because of the lack of site safety practices and proper equipment, but a reckless and careless individual. These workers are prone to accidents, as they leave themselves exposed to mishaps that can not only affect other workers, but the construction project as a whole, which is why the enforcement of construction site safety policies and procedures is so vastly important.
In order to enforce construction site safety effectively, you must have proper documentation. The documentation can be proof of an individual’s inability to be safety compliant, allowing you to reprimand or remove the bad apples from the batch. Documentation not only helps enforce site safety, but can protect your construction company from lawsuits and other litigation.
The goal of site safety and safety compliance policies, is to not only protect your workers, but protect your construction company as well. Good workers will not want to work at your site if their safety is not a priority. The productivity and quality of your work is directly impacted by the safety of your site. Risk management and mitigation are of utmost importance for all construction projects.
Remote Site Safety and Project Management Solution
SentriForce has designed and created specialized job site cameras for the purpose of managing risk and improving site safety in a multitude of ways.
- SentriForce cameras record the job site continuously. When a near miss or safety incident occurs, a project manager or safety compliance individual can review the footage to determine the root cause and have documentation of the activity.
- Monitoring the compliance with a construction company’s quality assurance processes is simplified by having detailed images and video documentation helping to avoid high costs and delays often associated with a lawsuit.
- Analyzing the flow of workers and materials on a job site can allow project teams to identify potential bottlenecks and hazards, all while having minimal impact on the actual job site.
- Reducing travel time and costs between active job sites to validate material deliveries, verifying job stages in construction and worker appearance on the job site.
Combining industry leading technology with our Texas-based and owned monitoring facility to help you and your team reduce loss and mitigate risk.
For more information on Managed Video Surveillance as a Service for your construction site, commercial, and retail properties, contact SentriForce.
