Protect your construction site from falling items

Over a five-year period, there was an average of 2,000 lost-time injuries caused by falling objects in the sectors served by IHSA. This safety talk can help start the discussion around eliminating this hazard in your workplace.

Safety: Protecting workers, the public and clients from falling objects

Safety is a premium on construction sites. Safety is so important in construction that it is more important to work safely than anything else that must be completed on a construction site.

Falling objects have injured an average of 2000 people in the last 5 years in Ontario.

Falling objects can come from workers working on scaffolding, roofers working on a roof, workers in an aerial lift, workers on ladders and cranes and lifts moving material.

The objects can be from as small as a hammer to as large as skids of natural stone. The range of injuries can be from minor wounds to life threatening situations.

There should be steps taken on construction sites when there are workers that are working off the ground while using any of the above mentioned items;

• A safety talk should be given at the beginning of the day before anyone starts working, the safety talk will explain what workers should do to stay safe on the site and also to help give them the information to work safely.

• Areas with workers that are working off the ground should be avoided by most employees, the less people around the area the less likely anyone will be struck.

• Put up safety tape to stop people from walking under areas of concern. Safety or physical barriers like snow fences can stop the public or your clients from walking into an area that might be dangerous to them.

• Depending on how high you are working or the size of the area your working on you can install catch nets that will stop anything from hitting the ground or people below.

• Warning signs will inform people about the dangers that are posed if you are near the area.

The greatest form of safety on a construction site is information. The more information that are given to the workers on the site the more they will know what to do and not to do.

Remember stay safe.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.

Safety: Improper operations of vehicles and equipment on residential construction sites

Safety: Improper operations of vehicles and equipment on residential construction sites

In today’s world of building custom homes safety has become the highest thing that is worried about to the point that it is more important than quality, scheduling and cost.  The rules and regulations regarding construction site safety have changed so much that everyone on construction sites must think safety first, the health and welfare of the construction employee is the most important thing today.

There is a lot of focus at working at heights and guardrails on residential construction sites but not a lot of attention paid to the proper operation of vehicles and equipment on these sites. This can potentially be a larger and more dangerous threat to construction workers then an improper guard rail.

There are several key factors that make residential construction sites dangerous when it comes to the operation of vehicles and equipment;

• Residential construction sites are usually smaller then commercial sites. There are more vehicles, workers and equipment packed into a smaller space.

• Residential construction sites do not have the luxury of parking enforcement, security guards, parking lots or shuttle buses. This means that it is left up to the individual to find a place to park that will not be in the way of others and construction equipment.

• Most goods that are delivered are off loaded by hand by workers.

• Residential construction sites usually are very muddy, rut covered and is usually difficult to do snow removal.

• Homeowner involvement. Residential construction is one of the few industries where the client routinely shows up unannounced and tours the site, walking wherever they want and parking where they please.

There is an up shift in the amount of heavy equipment that is being used on residential construction sites. Small excavators, forklifts, skid steers and zoom booms are all being used more often to move equipment and material around worksites. In the past these jobs where done by labour but with the rising cost of labour it has become easier to use equipment.

Man lifts such as knuckle booms and scissor lifts are replacing the need and use of scaffolding. This is a direct response to the heightened safety requirements for working at heights. These machines are large and can require a lot of room to move around and reposition.

With all of this going on if the site does not have good policies on when and where people should be parking and what supplies are arriving someone could easily get hurt. This equipment is so large and heavy that one mistake could be life changing.

All heavy equipment where it is a man lift or a machine to move supplies should have a spotter, this will allow the machine operator to concentrate on the operation of the machine and not worry as much about the workers and vehicles that are around them. These machines have large blind spots and almost always require help backing up and turning around.

The best thing to do is to designate one person to be in charge of the site traffic, they do not have to do it all the time, but they need to be able to answer questions for other trades and help out when an extra pair of eyes are required.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.