The construction business is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous places to work. Because building projects are complicated and have so many moving parts, companies must care for their workers’ health and safety. Many new technologies are being used in buildings, but most companies still need to follow good safety management practices. This means that more people are getting killed on the job.
To stop accidents and make the workplace safer, building companies need to know exactly what goes wrong on their sites that lead to fatalities. Here is a list of construction accidents and safety rules to help you make your workplace safer and keep your workers safe. The list goes from the most common causes of death to the ones that can be avoided the most. Before discussing some rules that your company should follow for building site safety, let’s talk about what safety on a construction site is and why it’s essential.
Defining Construction Site Safety
Construction site safety includes all the rules, procedures, and practices that general contractors or project managers use to reduce or eliminate possible workplace dangers. As mentioned earlier, a construction project features many moving parts, so many things can also happen that can put workers in danger, such as working from ladders or roofs, using electrical circuits, or being too close to heavy machinery.
You can eliminate these risks by following safety rules, getting training, and following the rules set by the government. However, you must develop rules and regulations that fit your company’s needs.
Common Accidents in Construction
One of the critical responsibilities of a general contractor or a project manager is to create an efficient safety management system. To do this, you need to know and understand the risks that could happen.
In this section, let us look at construction workers’ most common issues and dangers.
Falling or Height-Related Accidents
When managing construction, you may build a two-story home or something as high as a 22-level high-rise building. This can cause many unwanted things to happen to your crew who work at heights, like scaffolding coming apart or people falling off ladders.
The truth is that falls are more likely than other kinds of injuries to kill or seriously hurt someone. It does not matter how high the fall was. Most falls hurt workers in the neck, head, and spine, which can be very bad or even deadly.
The company can avoid most cases and injuries by better managing the workplace and making the stairs, halls, routes, and site cabins easier to get to.
Demolition and Destruction Accidents
Demolition means destroying, taking apart, or wrecking a building on purpose, usually so that it can be rebuilt or a new structure can be built. Taking down buildings, or parts of them, that are no longer needed is a delicate process that needs to be carefully thought out, planned, and carried out, as it is very disruptive.
When demolition works are happening nearby, construction workers must be extra careful. When a building is being torn down, parts of it often fall without warning, leaving workers in the rubble where they can get hurt or even killed.
Vibration-Related Injuries
Another scenario where building workers can get hurt is when they use heavy tools like jackhammers and bulldozers. These heavy tools utilize vibrations that affect different body parts in various ways, depending on the type of gear. One example is a jackhammer, which can vibrate hands and arms. Over time, this can lead to wrist and hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). The nerves, joints, and muscles in the arms and hands can break down because of this problem.
Fires and Explosions
An uncontrolled fire is one of the scariest things that can happen on a building site. Even a tiny bit of dust or a thin strip of flesh can quickly set the construction site on fire, interrupting the everyday work of building a house.
Sparks from construction tools and other heat sources can start massive fires in things that are easily caught on fire. Other possible reasons are bad wiring and mixing chemicals that must be fixed together.
Crane and Forklift Accidents
Forklifts, cranes, and other heavy machinery are needed for most construction jobs. They help get things done faster and more efficiently but can also be dangerous if a professional does not run them. People usually get hurt by cranes and trucks because they are not used properly or are not maintained.
Trench Accidents
To put it simply, a trench is a hole that is deeper than it is wide and shorter than it is long. People who work in construction see this a lot because building projects, like making a house, need builders to use trenches to set the bases of buildings and connect utilities like pipes and wires.
Due to their depth and narrow form, cave-ins can hurt or kill people. They can also lead to a number of accidents, such as cave-ins, dangerous gases or fumes, or loads and objects falling from above. The cave-in of the worker inside the hole is the most hazardous of these accidents.
Machinery Accidents
When working on most construction jobs, you must deal with heavy machinery, whether building a road, a custom home, a condominium building, or a bridge.
Despite the efficiency you can take advantage of, these massive machines can cause inherent risks to workers, jeopardizing their safety. Let us look at the common accidents that these machines can cause.
Rollovers
When a machine loses its balance, it rolls over. Most of the time, these kinds of crashes happen when operators suddenly lose control of the machine or go too fast on a rough surface. As a result, operators must be trained to drive heavy machines with caution.
Collapses
Heavy machines fall apart when they hit the ground, primarily because of the weight of their goods. To avoid these kinds of accidents, employers should check their heavy equipment often and only load it according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Burns
Burns may occur if a worker comes in sudden contact with scorching surfaces, such as the engine or exhaust system, or even during a fire. To prevent such accidents, you should provide protective gear and clothing, such as fire-resistant vests, to their workers.
Exposure To Dangerous Chemicals or Toxins
Most construction workers are constantly exposed to chemicals and toxins, which puts their health and safety at risk. Most illnesses or injuries caused by these dangerous chemicals may not appear for years after exposure. They often make people sick with metal smoke, fever, lead poisoning, and cancer.
Elevator Shaft Accidents
When elevators suddenly get stuck, they can open the elevator shaft, which can be very dangerous if you fall it. This means that people who fall can get scrapes, bruises, or broken bones. So, these accidents will be worse if they don’t have the proper safety gear. They could cause spine injuries, brain injuries, or even death.
Tips to Ensure Your Construction Workers’ Safety and Well-Being
The construction industry site is full of risks and dangers, and no one can promise that nothing wrong will happen. However, most of the above safety risks can be avoided if the crew and the company follow the building site safety rules in the letter.
Ensure Proper Safety Training
Everyone who works on a building site should get enough safety training to learn how to follow OSHA rules and keep people from getting poorly hurt or even dying.
Hold Regular Safety Meetings
Having regular safety meetings with the crew and spreading the word
Everyone on the team should be aware of the possible safety risks. Holding safety meetings regularly will help raise awareness and lower the risk of accidents.
Provide Protective Gear and Clothing
This one is clear. People should only wear the right clothes and gear to the building site. Your construction crew will be working with flammable chemicals or tools with sharp and pointy edges, so keeping them safe from those is critical. If not, the safety risks will become hundreds of times more dangerous.
Keep The Workplace Organized and Clean
One easy way to avoid them is to keep your office clean and well-organized. Although this may sound like a simple job, it requires much work to follow on construction sites. You must clean up a ton of debris, especially after construction. Having an efficient waste management system can help keep your space clean.
Maintain Your Tools and Equipment
Your building workers need to ensure that all the tools and gear they use are in good shape. In that case, the broken tools could seriously hurt or even kill people. Conduct monthly or yearly maintenance of your tools and equipment to ensure its quality.
