As different jurisdictions and responsible construction companies start to understand the importance of safety for workers at their workplaces, the need to educate workers to take responsibility for their own safety at their workplaces is now higher than before. In the US and other developed countries, this need is not only high but is a requirement by law. All employers are required to provide basic information and training to their employees, In particular, employers are required to have new employees trained on safety matters before they start working. Various construction safety training systems and programs are available across all the US.

Construction sites are prone to various risks and employees are trained in the basics of construction safety. The training enables them to identify the obvious dangers and risks and be in a position to protect themselves against the same.

In general, safety training systems trainees are expected to cover the following training courses:

• The laws at the workplace – All trainees are required to know what the law requires of them at their workplace in relation to their own safety. Implementing construction safety strategies is not only a duty of employers. Employees must play their part for their own safety benefit.
• Construction workplace dangers and risks – All trainees are required to be able to identify and suggest ways of mitigating the various dangers and risks that they are bound to face at their construction workplace.
• Personal protective equipments – At the end of the training, trainees are expected to know how to use all the vital personal protective equipments to enhance their safety.
• Housekeeping – A well-kept workplace has minimal risks and trainees are expected to be able to housekeep their workplaces and thereby increase their own safety.
• Emergency response – Trainees are made aware and appreciate the fact that even with all the necessary safety measures put in place by employers, emergency situations are bound to occur and they are therefore equipped with the necessary skills and expertise in handling emergency situations.
• Machineries, mobile equipments and tools – Misuse of these is a common practice at most workplaces and Systems are designed to make trainees know that they can only handle machinery and equipments whose operations they have been trained on.

Construction safety programs are not only suitable for employees. They are very useful to construction site managers, supervisors and safety committees as well. There are various training system providers licensed to provide training services and which employers can engage to train their employees.

One of the unavoidable aspects of working on the construction site is the prevalence of construction safety accidents. However, just because they are an unavoidable part of the industry doesn’t mean one doesn’t have to make an effort to reduce its occurrence. The next best thing to completing eliminating accidents is reducing them, or at least reducing the risk of them occurring.

In order to achieve this objective, it is first best to understand what are currently the leading causes of accidents and fatalities on construction sites throughout the United States. Providing a solution to a problem is not impossible without first knowing the causes of a problem.

All types of accidents can be placed in 4 broad categories, which are shown below.

Electrical Incidents

Electricity is such an essential part of our daily lives that we sometimes tend to take it for granted. More importantly, we take for granted how dangerous a safety hazard such as electricity can really be. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requires that employees do not work near an electrical power circuit unless they are wearing protection. Here are a couple of hazards posed by electricity on a site:

• Contact with power lines
• Equipment not used properly
• Extension cords not used properly

Falls

Construction always involves people climbing great heights. In the US construction industry, falls are the leading cause of fatalities and hence, they need to be properly addressed. All construction safety plans must contain provisions in order to protect workers from falling from dangerous heights. Here are a couple of hazards to manage:

• Unprotected sides
• Bad scaffold construction
• Portable ladders not used properly

Struck-By

This category refers to dangerous contact between humans and heavy equipment. In most cases, accidents and fatalities are caused by cranes and trucks. Apart from heavy vehicles, you must also watch out for falling objects and unstable walls.

Trenching & Evacuation

Contrary to popular belief, cave-ins are not the leading cause of accidents and fatalities when it comes to trenching. Here are a couple of other hazards to watch out for:

• Lack of oxygen in a confined space (leads to asphyxiation)
• Toxic fumes
• Drowning
• Unexpected contact with underground pipes and lines

Now that you know the leading causes of accidents, it’s time to take appropriate and immediate action to minimize the chance of those occurring any time soon.

One of the key principles of Occupational Safety and Health Acts and the OSHA standards is hazard analysis – the process of identification, assessment and elimination or Control Of Hazards in the workplace.

Once hazards in the worksite are identified and risks assessed; the high risk hazards are required to be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable risk levels – do something about them before you carry out the task. Controlling hazards in the workplace is one of the most critical steps in hazard analysis.

Eliminate or control hazards – DO SOMETHING

Control measures to eliminate or reduce the risks are determined considering the following hierarchy of controls:

Eliminate the hazard (first resort) being the most preferred and; use of PPE is the last resort and the least preferred.

Examples of questions related to risk assessment and consideration of hierarchy of controls

Scenario

An analysis of incidents has identified that serious bodily injury was an outcome due to human interaction in and around the work zone of backhoes and excavators.

Significant number of the incidents resulted in injury to either the operator or a person in the vicinity of the backhoe or excavator; they were: handling logs and trees, handling polyethylene pipe and using the arm of the machine as a lifting device.

Control Of Hazards working in the vicinity of backhoe and excavator would mean to implement control measures according to the hierarchy below:

1) Eliminate the hazard

a. Remove the offsider from the work zone of an excavator or backhoe.
b. Place hard barrier controls to prevent an offsider from entering the work zone without the machine operator being fully aware of the intent to enter.

2) Substitute the hazard with a lesser one

a. Substitute the method of controlling the load instead of reliance on hands-on human interaction with the load, e.g. use tag lines.
b. Substitute the risk in consultation with engineering advice to ensure lifting and pulling equipment is used within its rated capacity.
c. Substitute in consultation with engineering advice to use fit–for-purpose equipment suitable for the task, e.g. use of log grab and pipe handling devices.

3) Engineering the hazards

a. When handling pipes and logs provide guarding for cabin windows.
b. Use proximity detection technology to warn an operator of the unintended presence of a person in the work zone of a backhoe or excavator.

4) Use administrative controls

a. Has an approved safe work method statement been created?
b. Do the supervisor, operator and offsider review the procedure and risk controls specific to the site before commencing the work task?
c. Is the method of communication between an operator and the offsider effective?
d. Have the operator and offsider been trained and assessed as competent for the work task?
e. Is work place compliance the subject of frequent supervisor observation, audit and review?

5) Use personal protective equipment (PPE)

a. Wear appropriate PPE.

Control Of Hazards in the workplace is likely to result in fewer worker injuries and illnesses; safer, more effective work methods; reduced workers’ compensation costs; and increased worker productivity.

Control Of Hazards must be documented and included in the hazard analysis for the project.

One of the key principles of Occupational Safety and Health Acts and the OSHA standards is hazard analysis – the process of identification, assessment and elimination or control of hazards in the workplace.

Given that the construction industry is a high risk activity, it is the utmost important task to conduct a hazard analysis before works commence on site.

OSHA’s 3071 Job hazard analysis publication is must read to further enhance the importance of hazard analysis in the workplace

What is a hazard?

A hazard is anything (including work practices or procedures) that has the potential to harm the health or safety of a person.

What is risk?

A risk is the likelihood that death, injury or illness might result because of a hazard.

Hazard analysis is the process of:

• identification,
• assessment, and
• elimination or control of hazards in the workplace.

How is it done?

You should involve your work teams in the process of hazard analysis, this will:

• get the whole team involved in the process
• give you many different points of view
• encourage safe thinking right across the workforce
• help you comply with the OSHA Act

The steps involved in the process are:

• Hazard identification: Look for and find the hazards on the workplace. Walk around the workplace and look what potential hazards may be present in undertaken each task o activity
• Hazard assessment: Judge how dangerous they could be. Ask yourself how seriously someone could be affected and how likely this is to happen
• Hazard control: Eliminate or control risks to safety and health – do something about them

Hazard analysis must be documented and included in the construction OSHA safety plan for the project. This is a crucial part of the safety plan with big consequences that it must be never be taken for granted. It must be monitored and reviewed regularly as construction works progress; stay on the lookout, always anticipate hazards.

An OSHA safety plan is a written document that describes the process for identifying and assessing all hazards associated with the works and as well as control measures to be implemented to ensure that personnel working on site, members of the public and visitors to the site are adequately protected from risk of injury or illness.

Why You Need To Have A Written OSHA Safety Plan

An OSHA safety plan which is also known as a construction safety plan is written to implement OSHA programs or similar other programs (eg. Injury and Illness Prevention Program in California) required by federal and state OHS legislations

Federal OSHA and at least 24 states require written safety plans for specific workplace activities. Many states require written safety and health plans under workers’ compensation rules and many organizations implement safety plans to increase productivity, reduce work-related injuries and save costs in workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

In California, every employer has a legal obligation to provide and maintain a safe and healthful workplace for employees, according to the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973. As of 1991, a written, effective Injury and Illness Prevention (IIP), Program is required for every California employer.

Contents Of Safety Plans In The Construction Industry

An acceptable construction safety plan needs to be:

• specific to your organization and specific to each project,
• easy to understand and implement,
• made in consultation with the team that is going to deliver the project, and
• a reflection of your organization’ work practices.

The critical elements of an effective construction safety plan should include the following:

• OSHA management responsibilities
• Hazard analysis, ie hazard identification, risk assessment and safety control measures
• Emergency and accident response
• Training, consultation and communications, and
• Recordkeeping

Where To Get A Construction OSHA Safety Plan

There are a couple of resources you can use to come up with your own safety plan.

The first one involves state government OSHA websites. Depending on what state you live in, you should get access to your corresponding government website as they have valuable and helpful information to help you come up with your own safety plan.

On the other hand, if you are not keen on writing your own safety plan, you can always opt for a pre-written and pre-structured one which will save you a lot of both time and money.

Ensafe offers a professionally-written and structured construction safety management plan to help contractors in the building and construction industry all around the USA come up with their own tailored plans.

Whatever you do as a contractor in the construction industry, make sure that a safety plan is your number one priority before commencing work.