By Nigel Hilton
Workplace injuries are a constant danger for any company but they’re particularly troublesome when you’re starting a business in the construction industry. If you or one of your employees gets injured on site, you’ll have a whole lot of red tape to deal with and if the injury happened because you weren’t following safety procedures properly, you could find a big lawsuit headed your way. That’s going to cost a whole lot of money on top of the income you’ve already lost by being a man short. The key to avoiding injuries is being aware of the danger areas on site and knowing how to reduce those risks. These are the most common ways that people get injured in the construction industry and how you can stop it from happening to you.
Burns
Burns are one of the most likely injuries but they often get overlooked. People are usually vigilant of injuries from heavy lifting, falling objects, or power tools but they forget about all of the hazardous chemicals that are floating around. Handling them without using proper safety equipment opens you and your employees up to serious burns from even the smallest spillages. Beyond that, there is also a risk from exposed wires and leaking pipes that can easily burn you. Make sure that you’re using gloves and protective eyewear at all times.
Falling Objects
The risk of falling objects ranges from the very large to the very small. When you’re operating cranes and other heavy machinery, there’s a huge risk if they aren’t secured properly. If you’re not using a northern mat crane mat to secure the equipment, it can easily shift or topple entirely. If that happens then you risk injuring everybody on site as well as causing severe damage to the job as well. That’s going to set you back a long way, wasting time and money. If somebody gets injured by it as well, that’s going to be a big loss in profit.
There’s also a big risk from smaller falling objects as well. Construction involves a lot of working at height, usually using quite heavy materials. A brick falling from scaffolding is going to some serious damage to somebody that isn’t wearing a hard hat. Always be strict with enforcing safety clothes regulations on site and take extra care when working at height.
Falls
Another big risk of working at height is obviously the danger of falling yourself. When you’re up and down ladders and scaffolding all day it can be tempting to rush so you can get things done quicker. When you do that you massively increase your risk of falling off and seriously injuring yourself. You won’t be getting things done quicker when one of your best guys is laid up in a hospital bed. Having somebody hold the ladder steady while you climb might seem like a waste of a pair of hands but it’s far safer in the long run.
Cutting corners when it comes to health and safety might sound like a good idea but it’s only going to complicate things for you when somebody inevitably gets injured.
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