Make Sure Your Construction Site Follows the Rules!
July 20, 2016 by Staff
Filed under Health, Money/Business, Weekly Columns
(Akiit.com) Anyone who owns a construction company will know that there are a lot of rules with which you need to comply. Here’s a quick guide to making sure that your construction site remains on the right side of the law!
Look out for substances getting into public areas
When you’re hammering away at all those materials, you’re going to get a lot of dust and debris flying around. You need to make sure this doesn’t get into any public waterworks. Sometimes it’s impossible to stop it from going out onto the stress, so make sure it gets cleaned up asap. One thing you really need to keep an eye out for is leaking petroleum. This can be quite common on a construction site. Don’t let that stuff escape into drains, rivers, or any other watercourses! Liquids also need to be kept away from public roads altogether, to prevent related accidents.
Make sure your workers are protected from injury
This is the first thing that people usually think of when it comes to construction site rules. It is, of course, your priority as an employer to protect your employees. Construction is dangerous work. Your workers know this, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go the extra mile to protect them. Make sure your site complies with any applicable OSHA standards. You should consider investing in something like CAI Safety Systems to prevent fall injuries. Make sure you’ve got enough construction site signs to warn of any dangers!
Be wary of summertime dangers
When the sun is out and doing its thing, construction becomes a lot less comfortable. It also becomes a bit more dangerous. Workers are more likely to suffer from heat problems, especially with all that protective gear they have to wear. Advise them to wear sunscreen and provide them with lots of drinking water. Of course, I’m not saying summertime is the only time you should be providing drinking water! You should make sure there’s a good supply of drinking water for your employees all through the year. And try to encourage your employees to actually drink that water! Too many people walk around dehydrated these days.
Check your workers before allowing them to operate machinery
The machinery on a construction site is nothing to be messed around with. Of course, I doubt your employees actually want to mess around with the equipment. But you still need to be careful with them. Alcohol and drug use can impair your workers’ ability to use such machinery, so you may want to consider appropriate testing. Remember also to make sure that a given employee has a suitable driver’s license before they operate any work vehicles.
Don’t allow members of the public to enter your site
You need to make sure the security measures for your construction site are second to none. Members of the public should never be able to get into your site. The fact that they might steal something should be the least of your worries. Someone breaking into your construction site may find themselves seriously injured. Sadly, that may see you suffer legal penalties!
Staff Writer; Andrew Taylor