SAFETY PROGRAMS – KEY ELEMENTS 

Construction work is one of the most dangerous jobs, taking a close third behind logging and mining for the number of jobsite injuries.  Remaining competitive in the construction business means keeping jobsite accidents from pricing you out of the market due to increases in your liability insurance and workers comp. premiums. 

Although the elements of a complete jobsite safety program are beyond the scope of this article, a few recurring accident scenarios are worth mentioning.

§         Floor penetrations – No one walks looking straight down, and everyone forgets at least momentarily about their surroundings when hard at work.  The result is a high likelihood or accidents if you allow unbarricaded floor penetrations to exist on your job site.

§         Ladders – It’s the rare construction worker who hasn’t fallen off a ladder, making ladders by far the most frequent cause of jobsite injuries.  Damaged ladders, tripod ladders, and extension ladders without spreader bars at the top, are the worst offenders.  Get these off your site and you’ve gone a long way toward reducing your risk of ladder injury claims.   

§         Plastic Tarps – There are few things more slippery than a wet sheet of visquene, its one more likely cause of injury if left on the floor in an unbarricaded area.

§         Concrete pours – You could chip a concrete foundation to the ground with a pick axe for much less than the price of a single jobsite injury.  Yet the specter of curing concrete always brings out the worst in jobsite safety conduct.    Using sufficient preparation and manpower to handle the pour in an orderly fashion will prevent worker injuries and owner lawsuits that all too common from undermanned crews having trouble keeping up with the pour.  The use of retardants to slow concrete curing times can also help concrete work proceed in a safer and more orderly fashion.