Health and safety on a work site is absolutely crucial, not only to your employees but to you as an employer, and the continued success of your business as a whole. Ensuring the adequate protection of workers and visitors on-site is a legal requirement, to protect employees from avoidable injuries – but following health and safety law on work sites can save money as well as lives, keeping projects on schedule, on budget and unburdened by insurance claims.
Responsibility On-Site
Up until March 2021, health and safety concerns and processes fell to a dedicated Health and Safety Manager on your workforce – but the introduction of new assessment standards certificate ISO 45001 has re-addressed the relationship of employer and employee alike to health and safety risks. Employers, whether business owners or executive management, are legally responsible for the management of health and safety on-site, including carrying out risk assessments, introducing procedures based on the results of those assessments and ensuring employee compliance with said procedures. Employees also have a legal responsibility to uphold the health and safety of the workplace, by following all health and safety recommendations and reporting any lapses.
Addressing On-Site Risks and Hazards
Manual Handling
Manual handling can present a number of health risks to unsafe workers; lifting goods improperly can result in spinal injury, as can lifting past their personal weight limit. As such, workers should be instructed to use lifting equipment where possible, to avoid strain and injury.
Falling/Moving Objects
The most common risk associated with moving objects is the falling risk of stacked materials, or goods stored at height. Any racking and storage solutions need to have a risk assessment carried out, and workers need to be trained on correct storage etiquette to minimise the likelihood of goods becoming dislodged. Workers at height can also be at risk of dropping tools and objects in the course of their work; requiring workers to utilise retractable tool lanyards when at height can prevent the risk of injury from falling tools, as well as cordoning off any areas where construction at height is taking place.
Working at Height
Speaking of working from height: according to HSE, falling from height was the single greatest cause of workplace fatalities in the UK. Employers should ensure that workers have access to the correct safety equipment in order to work from height – whether training on safe usage of ladders, or the provision of elevating work platforms with handrails.
Slip and Trip Hazards
Slips and trips are a common kind of worksite injury, especially in construction – but this does not mean they aren’t potentially dangerous, and shouldn’t be addressed appropriately. Ensure your employees know to signpost any spills or slip hazards with the appropriate warnings – a wet floor sign for a water spill, or a hazard sign for contaminants – and take steps to remove the spill as quickly and safely as possible. Trip hazards are caused by poorly telegraphed steps and improperly stored tools and equipment; any unexpected steps should be marked with hazard tape, and employees should be instructed to safely store any and all materials to prevent trips in active work sites.
Above and Beyond
Health and safety guidelines are just that – guidelines. They provide a framework on which you can build a robust worksite safety program, a set of minimum safety requirements from which you can ensure your site safe as possible for workers and visitors alike. Going the extra mile for worksite safety requires minimal investment after initial systems are in place – a cost efficiency which can ultimately save you money in the long term.