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Written by
on 18 October 2012

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Construction, the most dangerous land-based work, is fraught with a number of fatalities and risks. There is a large incidence rate of fatal occupational injuries in most construction sites. The constantly changing work environment of construction industries makes it very difficult for anyone to implement the right safety measures during the construction processes.

Read along to understand how to minimize the risks and augment safety standards in an industrial environment that deals with risky construction processes all the time:

Determination of risk

Construction involves so many variables that it is sometimes almost impossible to determine the factors of different risks. Before implementing the different safety measures, it is important to first assess the causes of different risks. There are mainly two approaches to determine risk.

  • Quantitative approach-This approach relies on statistical calculations to determine risk. This approach involves calculating the probability of its occurrence and its impact on a particular industrial project.
  •  Qualitative approach– This process involves relying on judgments and uses criteria to determine outcome. In this approach, specific processes of a project are listed together along with the possible risks of every process. This is followed by development of strategies to control these risks.

The determination of risk at an early stage can be very useful in assessing the risks involved in the construction processes. This is also useful for understanding how to prevent these and control their occurrence.

Risk Management and Assessment – Minimizing risk exposure

Once you have assessed the major risks involved in the different construction processes, consider reducing risk exposure in every case. Some factors that expose you to higher risks during construction processes have been discussed below, along with the techniques to reduce their occurrence:

  • Team size: Whenever there’s a larger team working on a particular project, the risks are definitely higher. Most team members remain casual about their safety and do not take safety measures seriously. It is essential to coordinate the team in such cases and supervise it. Make it compulsory for all your employees to comply with safety norms at all times.
  • Staff expertise and experience: The expertise and experience of the staff handling your construction equipment is a major safety consideration. Make sure the construction staff you hire are well-trained and experienced. You can also consider training them again for ensuring proper safety. Trained and skilled workers are particularly important for handling high-risk construction processes such as welding.
  • Time compression: Most construction accidents take place when there is greater workload and less time. In a highly compressed schedule, risks are magnified. More time means greater flexibility and opportunity to mitigate impact of most errors.
  • Resource availability: It is essential to have more safety resources available in surplus. These resources do not guarantee protection from risks but they provide you with ample means to handle and manage them. Make it a point to equip every employee with personal protective equipment and other safety equipment such as welding curtains, welding blankets, etc. Make sure all the tools used by your workers are up-to-date and of good quality.

Carry out a timely inspection to avoid cases of accidents. Once you take up the safety responsibilities for all your employees, you can observe greater productivity and more loyalty from your workers and employees. Companies that prioritize employee safety are often fare better than their other counter-parts. With more focus on safety, you can easily reap more profits along with a safer work environment.

About 

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.

2 Comments
  • Safety at the job-site is probably the top priority considerations for workers. That is a primary reason why, the law bounds the organizations that really work in confined spaces or places like that, to employ safety officials like safety manager or safety coordinator to make certain that steps are taken to maintain the employees safe at their places of work.

  • You should identify sources of fuel and ignition and establish general fire precautions including, means of escape, warning and fighting fire, based on your fire risk assessment.

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