Top 5 Common Construction Safety Issues & Mitigation Plans in Construction Industry

Construction sites are dangerous places. Some of the dangers, such as heavy construction equipment are obvious. But there are also hidden dangers of working in construction that, while not obvious, lead to injuries every day.

In this blog, we managed to jot down top 5 most common safety issues cause in a construction site in which might lead to injury, illness, and death as well as mitigation plan to overcome the problem.

1. Working at Height

The construction of buildings, or indeed, demolition works, frequently requires operators/ workers to work at height. Fatalities and injuries involving height relating factors account for many accidents each year. The risks associated with working at a height are often increased by added access and mobility restrictions.

2. Moving Objects

A construction site is an ever-changing environment. Hazards are inherent to this industry and only increase as a construction project progress, as things rise and expand.

Construction sites can get quite hectic with the sheer volume of constantly moving vehicles and tradespeople including overhead lifting equipment shifting heavy loads, supply vehicles, dumper trucks everywhere, maneuvering around a usually uneven rough terrain forklift.

3. Material & Manual Handling

Materials and equipment are being constantly lifted and moved around on a construction site, whether manually or by the use of lifting equipment. Different trades will involve greater demands, but all may involve some degree of risk.

4. Slips, Trips, & Falls

When you consider the diverse range of activities going on at a construction site at any one time it seems hardly surprising slips, trips, and falls happen on an almost daily basis. Construction sites are a mish-mash of holes in the ground, buildings at various stages of completion, scaffolding, stored materials, and equipment: you really do need eyes in the back of your head at times.

5. Electricity

Electricity is a silent hazard. People working near overhead power lines and cable, as well as with electricity in commercial and residential buildings, are very much at risk. There are also a growing number of electrocutions cases involving workers who are not qualified electricians but who are carrying electrical work, such as plumbers and joiners, and decorators.

How to mitigate the safety issues at a Construction site?

While there is a plethora of advice regarding construction site safety, here are just a few tips in which you need to adhere:

a) Workers Need Proper Tools & Equipment

It can be surprisingly common for workers to start a job without proper tools and equipment, particularly if they are quickly switching between tasks. Your organization’s safety should emphasize that workers should never start any job (no matter how small) without all of the required tools and safety equipment as accidents can happen in split seconds. 

b) Continuous Safety Training is Necessary

Requirement laws and policies surrounding safety in the workplace are constantly changing, and a number of factors can change safety policies in which including new laws and standards, incidents, new equipment, and new projects. This means that safety training is not a one-time thing! Conducting regular safety training to teach new safety practices, as well as to reinforce old ones, is crucial to a successful safety management program. These programs exist for virtually all construction safety components including fall protection, fire safety, and welding safety among others.

Although many employers provide on-the-job training through their on-staff safety specialists, there are educational programs available to be further enhanced in Singapore.

c) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)   

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn to reduce employees’ exposures to occupational hazards and is required to be available on-site. In fact, new OSHA regulations dictate that where PPE is required, employers are now responsible for providing it. Otherwise, employers are ultimately responsible for determining the level of PPE their employees use for optimum protection. Hard hats, eye, ear, and hand protection, earplugs, and other protective equipment provide protection from falling objects, head injuries, sparks, dust/fragments, and burns.

Unfortunately, many workers choose to forgo this level of protection due to discomfort or disinterest. In response to this issue, many safety distributors now offer a range of comfortable and more fashionable gear to choose from, including eyewear that resists fog and prescription-strength safety glasses.

In Conclusion

Construction workers should not be afraid of putting their lives or health at risk. While not every single hazard can be eliminated, it is imperative that workplace safety solutions are properly implemented to reduce the risk of injury or harm whenever possible.