The construction industry comes with its fair share of potential safety risks and dangers. Incidents involving falling materials, people, or equipment accidents can be quite deadly.
Working on a construction project often involves scaling several stories above the ground to build large structures, which of course includes risks of dropping construction materials or falling workers.
Due to the increased risk in the job site, construction professionals need to wear safety gear to reduce the chances of accidents. Safety equipment can even stop these mishaps from happening at all.
On top of keeping construction workers safe, every piece of equipment like construction hoists also needs to be checked and maintained to avoid accidents involving heavy pieces of machinery.
Common Construction Mistakes to Avoid
Staying alert and on guard is necessary to ensure safety. Here are some of the common construction equipment mistake to avoid for a safe job site:
Letting workers use machinery without proper training.
Improper training or no training is one of the common reasons for heavy equipment accidents. An employee should not be allowed to handle any machinery without receiving hands-on training.
Proper training ensures that employees understand how the machinery works and how to operate it safely.
There are also instances wherein construction employees need to obtain a license or certificate before they can operate a piece of heavy machinery.
Not wearing complete safety gear.
Safety gears are made to protect employees, lessen the impact of an accident, or reduce the chances of mishaps altogether.
Heavy types of machinery like construction hoists have risks and they can cause injuries to their operator or an even more serious injury around the site. That is why construction employees must utilize all the recommended and approved safety gear when heavy types of machinery are involved.
Safety gears typically include steel-toed work boots, gloves, goggles, earplugs, and hard hats.
Having no plan in case of malfunctioning equipment.
Any heavy equipment requires proper maintenance so that it can keep working correctly. However, even well-maintained machines can malfunction and cause damage.
Having no plan or protocol in case of malfunctioning equipment can result in a bigger problem. Any issues involving heavy machinery should be reported immediately so that the necessary actions are taken.
Communication is not clear.
If heavy construction equipment is on the job site, construction employees need to be aware of the whereabouts of the machinery. Everyone on the site should also understand how to communicate with heavy equipment operators to avoid tragic accidents.
Generally, people only need to avoid being in the path of heavy equipment to avoid injuries or accidents.
People do not know where the blind spots are around the construction equipment.
Some construction equipment is large which means the operator may not be able to see some areas around the machinery. These blind spots are risky– they can cause injuries and even death.
Educating other employees to avoid blind spot accidents can help avoid blind spot accidents.
Using heavy equipment in tasks beyond its intended purpose.
Construction hoists, cranes, lifts, etc. have their own intended use. They are designed to do specific things. Accidents can occur when these pieces of heavy equipment are used for work other than their intended design can handle.
Not taking heavy machine maintenance seriously.
Even though your heavy equipment is working nicely, it should be routinely inspected and maintained to avoid any issues that could cause an accident.
Both employers and employees should follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for inspection and maintenance schedules.
Bottomline
Mistakes in a construction site can be costly, dangerous, and even deadly– especially when heavy equipment is involved. It is important to set up a protocol to address current errors and develop policies to avoid future mistakes to lower risks in the construction site.