The construction industry is one with danger lurking around almost every corner. That’s why it probably won’t shock you to learn that it’s the sector with the most workplace deaths in the UK. From falls from height to slips, trips and falls, there’s plenty to think about whenever your employees step onto the building site.

This is why health and safety contingencies are a must in the world of construction. The onus is on the site managers to put these contingencies into place, so if that’s you, we’re here to help you out. Our guide below is filled with health and safety advice for you to bear in mind next time you’re putting plans in place for an upcoming project. Read on to find out more.

Perform a risk assessment

Before putting health and safety actions in place, you must know all the dangers of the work site. Perform a cautious walkaround and note down any dangers that could impact your team. From here, you can plan ways to reduce the danger and take action before your staff visits the site for the first time.

Maintenance

Heavy-duty machinery can be very dangerous when it’s not operating correctly. This means you should perform maintenance checks regularly and replace parts that are past their best to improve functionality while your staff are using the items.

It’s not just machinery that needs to be checked either with replacements for items like ropes being important for worker safety when using harnesses for example.

Personal protective equipment

Personal protective equipment(PPE) is essential before anyone steps foot on the worksite. These pieces of equipment can be lifesaving, so they should be a part of every staff member’s attire. Common PPE you should equip your staff with include:

• Hardhats
• Steel capped boots
• Masks
• Gloves
• High visibility jackets

Signage

Clear signage should be all over your worksite to help workers get around and understand where to go in an emergency such as a fire. Put these up all around the workplace to highlight fire assembly points and areas where workers need to be extremely cautious.

Training

There’s plenty of training that construction staff members should do before they step on site and it’s your job to make sure they’ve completed it before they do any work. These training sessions could be on how to use equipment properly and stay safe on building sites.

Once this has been completed, talk them through the risk assessment of the site, so they know what to look out for while they’re working.

Once you’ve taken all these precautions, your construction site should be in a much better position for safe working practices. This should make your job easier as you’ll face less dangerous challenges as your project goes on.