Safety Strategy

A better safety strategy will pay good dividends on site, the objective of an effective health and safety strategy is to protect staff from the day to day risks associated with working on a building site.  However, the added benefit of strong health and safety procedures, are a smart, efficient and productive working environment.

Putting health and safety measures in place can reduce the number of accidents and equipment faults on site which will, in turn, reduce delays and improve efficiency. There are several simple steps that contractors can take to ensure optimum working conditions. Firstly, the use of off-site manufacturing, wherever possible, moves many tasks to a highly controlled factory environment and simplifies on site activities, which lead to less accidents and a safer workforce. Any on site accident which involves an injury to staff not only affects those immediately involved but can lower morale within the team and, in turn, lower levels of productivity.

Fully briefed staff

Secondly, it is vital to make sure that staff are fully briefed on the correct use of equipment, as the ineffective use of machinery can lead to costly and time consuming repairs and in extreme cases, injury to the operator.  For example, if a hand-operated, electric powered fork lift is considered to be the most effective way of lifting M&E modules into place, then instructions on its use should be relayed on site in the form of mock-up exercises to reduce risks and increase efficiency.

Routine inspection of machinery should also take place every week, or preferably every day, to ensure that tools are correctly maintained. These techniques reduce downtime through accidents and increase site productivity. Equally as important is the training of your workforce, ensuring that all staff are fully briefed on health and safety procedures. One way of ensuring that everybody is fully briefed on health and safety issues is by making sure that all on site staff hold a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card and attend a thorough induction.

Safety meetings

The health and safety team should also run regular safety meetings, employee consultations, weekly ‘toolbox talks’ with site-based staff and briefing on risk assessments and issues.