There are countless ways to prevent dangerous accidents at construction sites. These methods could include proper training, adequate safety gear, and regular inspections. Making an effort to avoid a construction site accident is important, as the injuries that stem from them can be severe.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), one out of five workplace fatalities involves construction workers. Even more workers suffer non-fatal wounds in construction accidents. The following steps could help employers prevent these accidents from happening.
Create a Safety Plan
Before employers take any active steps, they should first create a comprehensive safety plan for their construction site. The planning process begins with an assessment. Employers must first understand the safety threats that they face before developing a plan to address them.
A comprehensive safety plan should begin by complying with all OSHA requirements. However, going above and beyond these mandatory safety measures could be beneficial in many cases. Finally, a safety plan does little to protect workers unless it is enacted. That is, employers must not only create a plan but also put it into effect.
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Focus on Training
Focusing on safety training could pay dividends for employers on a construction site. Countless injuries could be avoided each year if construction workers received adequate and regular training regarding safety procedures. This training could not only help workers identify the hazards they face in the workplace, but it could also aid them in avoiding these hazards entirely.
Proper training could also be useful to mitigate the severity of an injury following a workplace accident. In some cases, fatal injuries occur because of the slow or inadequate response in the moments after the accident occurs. Proper training could not only save lives but also help get workers back on their feet faster following an accident.
It is not enough to schedule training infrequently or provide a printed handout to new hires. The best practice for preventing workplace accidents involves frequent safety meetings. In situations where high-risk work is being done, it is reasonable to hold these meetings daily.
Avoid Clutter and Debris
Avoiding some workplace accidents is as simple as cleaning up. Loose trash and debris represent an easily avoidable tripping hazard, and it can obscure other dangerous issues as well. Ensuring a construction site is free of debris and trash is an easy step to take to avoid an accident.
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Make Regular Inspections
Employers, supervisors, or safety team leaders should constantly inspect a construction site for potential hazards. It is not enough for workers to identify and address these hazards as they appear.
Unless supervisors or foremen take on this responsibility on their own, it is best to have dedicated safety leaders in place to ensure there are no violations. These safety leaders could not only prevent further accidents but also avoid fines from OSHA or other regulators.
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Rely on Protective Gear
There is a right tool for every job on a construction site. Some tools that are often overlooked include protective gear and other safety devices. The appropriate safety gear can vary from one situation to another.
Sometimes, the risk of exposure to harmful chemicals might require a full protective suit. In other situations, little more than steel-toed boots and a hard hart might be necessary.
Target Fall Prevention
Falls are one of the most dangerous potential accidents on a construction site. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), construction leads in the most amount of falls out of any industry at 51%. This number includes slip and fall accidents, as well as falls from a great height.
Addressing the risk of falls with scaffolding can go a long way to prevent falls on a construction site. While these tools can save lives, faulty or inadequate scaffolding increases the risk of an injury. Preventing falls requires an ongoing effort on every construction site.
Call Sevenish Law Firm, P.C. if You are Involved in a Construction Accident
Despite their best efforts, employers are unlikely to entirely eliminate avoidable construction accidents. Even following these suggestions to prevent construction site accidents might not eliminate negligence in the workplace entirely. When accidents happen, an attorney on our team can help.
The attorneys of Sevenish Law Firm, P.C. have experience in pursuing third-party injury claims following a construction site accident. We can work directly with your workers’ compensation lawyer to ensure you not only get the benefits that you need but that you also have the chance to pursue legal action against negligent third-parties as well.
If you are ready to get started on your case, reach out to Sevenish Law Firm, P.C. right away at (317) 636-7777 for a free consultation.
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