How to Keep Your Work Site Safe This Year

Despite the common perception that the construction industry is an unsafe place to work in and that accidents are on the rise, the reality is usually the opposite. Due to improvements in workplace safety, strict enforcement of OSHA regulations and largely also due to better tools for construction safety, such as the FASCO® (a BECK brand) line of tools, it's easier than ever to avoid accidents.

Misfortunes still do happen of course. As the numbers show, about 20% of workplace deaths in the U.S. occur on construction sites, despite construction workers making up only 6% of the workforce. In part, this is due to construction being more physically demanding than the largely office-based service jobs that have come to dominate the U.S. labor force. With that said, a sloppily run construction site will always be a risk to everyone involved, but it's mostly avoidable. Here's how to achieve just that.

Improved Training

Proper training is an easy first step to help your workers avoid accidents on the job. It’s best to conduct this in-person and on site. Do a thorough walk-through of your workers' responsibilities and plainly explain why certain things should be done in a certain way without cutting corners. By doing this, you can let new hires understand exactly how it's in their own best interest to follow procedures.

Introducing staff to new equipment, new tools and showing them how to use these tools during supervised training before actual work starts are also powerful measures for accident reduction. Many of today's best workplace tools for fastening, cutting and precision work are already built with maximum safety in mind, but refining the human element makes accident avoidance much more effective.

Better Construction Site Practices

Construction site safety can also improve by always having the right practices in place. That means reinforcing them with regular supervision and refresher training on procedures.

Examples of sound, increasingly common practices include: efficient site organization that minimizes obstacles, strong lighting throughout the site, having employees take firmly scheduled breaks and ensuring that they properly refresh themselves during these breaks for better workplace focus.

Other useful trends include making sure that personal protective equipment (PPE) is always being used onsite and that nobody cuts corners with its use or with care of this equipment. You should also make efforts to provision workers with basic PPE like goggles, work gloves, harnesses and hard hats--and keep them in good condition.

Technological Innovations

Another important trend in construction safety is technological innovations. Entirely new technologies are also capable of reducing the need for dangerous work or accidents. Some excellent examples include:

Drones: Compact, affordable drones with highly maneuverable flight systems and superbly sharp cameras let construction site staff survey high-elevation or dangerous areas of the site without having to physically send employees into dangerous places. This is a huge innovation for workplace safety.

Wearable exoskeletons: This might sound like something straight out of a science fiction movie, but it's happening in the real world of construction already. Some companies are increasingly having workers with physically demanding jobs use wearable technologies that minimize stress on the body itself by transferring it to this type of external machinery.

Basic Tool and Fastening Innovations

Aside from these complex technologies, simple innovations in the quality of fastening and other types of tools can make an enormous difference in workplace safety. BECK takes this seriously, and products such as the Jumbo SCRAIL® is a perfect example. These extra-long and ultra-tough fastening screws are designed to forcefully hold together a wide range of materials for heavy duty industrial strength uses, after being rapidly driven in with a FASCO® Jumbo Nailer. Click HERE to learn about how this tool can help you and your crew be safe on your next job.