What are the best ways to keep your construction sites safe and healthy?

1. Regular Training & Awareness Programs 2. Site Security -Restricted Access: Limit access to authorized personnel only to prevent unauthorized entry. -Fencing and Signage 3. Hazard Identification and Control -Risk Assessment: Regularly assess the site for potential hazards and develop strategies to mitigate them. -Emergency Protocols 4. Site Organization 5. Regular Inspections and Maintenance 6. Communication & Compliance Requirements 7. Environmental Best Practices 8. Site Organization 9. Regular Inspections and Maintenance 10. OHSE Management System Implementation

Ensuring construction site safety and health involves implementing rigorous safety plans, conducting regular audits, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Drawing from my experience at Hensteel, where I achieved a 30,000,000 man-hours LTI-free milestone across 11 projects, collaboration, training, and proactive measures play crucial roles in maintaining a safe and healthy construction environment.

To have a site that is safe and has zero harm to internal and external stakeholders, there must be proper hazard identification and a thorough risk assessment that will be inclusive of all the team on site. The risk assessment must also be communicated to all new employees and contractors. Hazard hunt exercises should be encouraged with incentives to motivate workers to also participate in hazard identification to ensure that hazards are properly managed as low as reasonably practicable.

Certainly! Here are three essential ways to maintain safety and health on a construction site: 1. Regular Safety Training: Conduct regular safety training sessions for all workers to ensure they are aware of potential hazards, understand safety procedures, and use protective equipment properly. 2. Proper Equipment Maintenance: Regularly inspect and maintain all construction equipment and machinery to ensure they are in good working condition. Faulty equipment can lead to accidents and injuries. 3. Effective Communication: Establish clear communication channels among the workers, supervisors, and management. Encourage open dialogue about safety concerns and incidents.

Safety policies and procedures are needed and required. These should be clearly communicated to everyone involved with the site work. In my experience involving the work site in developing the on site safety policies and procedures is important. This involvement helps ensure policies and procedures reflect the true aspects of the site work. It also helps create the buy-in from the field staff; they had a hand in writing procedures they will follow. Many policies and procedures are written in the office and are complicated/confusing and cannot be implemented as written.

Yes, P&P's are important. But I believe even more important is developing the relationships and culture within your organization to effectively implement those policies and procedures and have them carried out. If the safety systems are so restrictive that people can not get the work done, they will never be effective in protecting the people they were intended to serve. Know your organization and know your people. As a safety professional, you need to recognize that the goal of your organization is to make a profit and safety needs to be a profit center for your organization. Not a road block that restricts the work. Be creative in developing the safety systems and programs within the organization that you are there to serve.

Implementing safety policies and procedures is very important in creating a safe workplace. Sometimes the policies and procedures are there but not implementing it is as good as not having them at all. Due diligence is not enough, efforts must be put to ensure that everyone understands their responsibilities and expectations. This will help improve safety performance and increase ROI for the organization.

Implementing robust safety policies and procedures, aligned with regulations and standards, is crucial for mitigating identified hazards. Drawing from my experience, such measures, including clear communication, comprehensive training, and consistent documentation, ensure a proactive approach to safety at construction sites. My involvement in projects like the ANOH Gas Plant underscores the importance of site-specific safety plans to guide roles, expectations, and ongoing safety performance evaluations as we achieved the completion of the construction of our Gas Plant LTI free .

FIRST ACTION ALWAYS: Get the employees out there and physically show them the likely hazards. Sick of people always stating poicies first. Did you know most staff dont know what a policy is. Keep safety bloody simple. Please.!!!

Effective training and education, tailored to the specific needs of workers and contractors, play a pivotal role in enhancing safety. My experience, particularly at ANOH Gas, emphasizes the importance of regular orientation, refresher courses, and targeted training for high-risk tasks. Our proactive approach, with a structured training matrix and quarterly sessions, aligns with evolving safety trends and ensures continuous improvement based on thorough evaluations of training effectiveness.

Training and education are two of the most important aspects of maintaining a safe work site. You can assess and audit all day long but if you fail to communicate those dangers and how to mitigate them to your crew/team, then it’s simply paperwork and your team is still in danger. By having your team trained in the aspects is risk assessment and hazard identification your worksite becomes safer, because you cannot be everywhere all the time watching everyone. Teamwork requires communication, training and education in the dangers to be effective give and to maintain a safe work environment.

Prioritize ongoing training and education to enhance awareness and skills among workers. Develop tailored training programs addressing site-specific hazards and safety protocols. Emphasize the correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and emergency procedures. Regularly assess and update training modules to align with evolving industry standards. By fostering a culture of continuous learning, you empower workers to make informed safety decisions, reducing the risk of accidents and creating a safer work environment.

Promoting a culture of active participation and feedback is integral to a robust safety framework. Drawing from my experience, particularly at ANOH Gas, we emphasize open communication, encouraging workers to report hazards and near misses. Establishing a safety committee fosters collaboration between the workforce and management, ensuring a holistic approach to safety and creating a positive culture that values good practices while discouraging complacency.

Communication: There should be clear communication on-site, and all workers must know and follow the rules and regulations of the site, this can be made possible through Toolbox talks, Training, Use of signages, induction, etc. Note: Engagement with workers should be given high priority, scheduling of committee meetings and following through on the concerns raised, as they are important in ensuring continuous improvement (Clause 10 of ISO 45001), the senior management must be involved in the consultation exercise. Board level visibility: The top management must follow the rules and regulations on site as they are important in driving an incident-free site, the workers see them as role models, hence the need for compliance at all times.

It has been my experience, that some minor incidents are rarely reported due to the negative repercussions on the workers. I remember one time we received a call from a railroad company that a snap hook from a SRD was attached to a railcar. The snap hook had our inspection tag and number on it but it was from a facility 1200kms away. No one reported the incident because it would have been a fire able offence so no one said anything. Meanwhile the fall arrest system had been compromised the entire time.

Promote active engagement by encouraging construction site workers to actively participate in safety initiatives. Create an open communication environment where workers feel empowered to share insights, report concerns, and provide feedback on safety measures. Regularly seek input during safety meetings or through anonymous reporting systems. By involving workers in the safety dialogue, you not only enhance their commitment to a safe work environment but also gain valuable frontline perspectives that can contribute to continuous improvement in site safety and health.

A highly effective safety policy will have a large number of near misses and first aids. Construction sites are inherently dangerous and hazardous. If the workers are not involved in safety, there will be no participation and the near misses and first aids will be unreported or under reported.

The most important and easiest way to keep a construction site safe is to keep it clean. According to the BBC "Construction creates an estimated third of the world's overall waste". Managing and mitigation of this waste is the easiest way to maintain a safe worksite.

Ensure hygiene and sanitation on the construction site by implementing a robust cleanliness protocol. Regularly clean common areas, provide adequate sanitation facilities, and promote personal hygiene practices among workers. Emphasize the proper disposal of waste to prevent environmental contamination. A clean and sanitary site not only enhances the overall health and well-being of workers but also contributes to a safer and more productive work environment

Audits and inspections are great. They are an opportunity for learning and discussion at the job site. For Leaders, use the opportunity to talk with the teams and understand their “work as work is done” rather than “work as work is perceived". If safety procedures need to be improved, this is where you can gather the intel from the work force and gain their input and buy in. Lastly, it is vital that gaps and corrective actions are solved quickly but also in a practical sense. Adding more safety “clutter” to work procedures opens up the possibility that the actions will just be ignored. Be practical.

Construction projects usually involve many different contractors in different crafts with different deliverables. To me, the selection of a contractor based on their ability to deliver services to a recognised standard of safety and health, is paramount. Therefore, strong Contractor Safety Management Programs and selection processes are a key to successful construction project. A qualified safety expert must be involved in the selection process to review, audit, interview and score contractors based on their ability to deliver a project without safety incidents. Focus BIG on Supervision at the job site. Supervisors/Foremen are the ideal Safety Officers so make sure they have a strong culture of safety.