Workplace safety should be top of mind at every level at every construction company. Regardless of your construction company’s size or scope, you need to provide a safe work environment for your most valuable asset—your people. Hiring managers and HR professionals also know that great tradesmen and women won’t work for companies with horrible workplace safety reputations.
This post will discuss the most common causes of workplace accidents. But more importantly, we’re going to offer some straightforward suggestions to help create a safer workplace.
The safety advocates over at The National Safety Council compiled the numbers. The Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations by OSHA for FY 2021 are:
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 5,295 violations
- Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,527
- Ladders (1926.1053): 2,026
- Scaffolding (1926.451): 1,948
- Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 1,947
- Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 1,698
- Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,666
- Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,452
- Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 1,420
- Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,113
And with over two million-plus Workers’ Compensation claims filed every year, there are just too many workplace violations and accidents.
So what can construction and manufacturing companies do to maintain a safer workplace?
The life skills experts at Lifehack offer some simple but highly relevant suggestions.
These suggestions can form the foundation of a comprehensive safety plan.
- Know the Risks
- Reduce Stress in the Workplace
- Take Breaks
- Be Careful When Lifting
- Use Mechanical Aids
- Check out Safety Resources
- Know Your Surroundings
- Keep Good Posture
- Have Accessible Emergency Exits
- Report Unsafe Conditions to Management
These are some excellent foundational safety principles for sure. But it never hurts to get some professional assistance to help compile your official safety policies. Some excellent consulting companies specialize in construction workplace safety and OSHA compliance.
You can’t go wrong by finding a specialized safety company with which you’re comfortable and crafting some formal workplace safety policies, best practices, and procedures. You and your employees will be glad you did!
Great tradesmen and women want to work for top-shelf companies that value their safety in the workplace and on the job.
Get the skilled construction workers you need from the expert recruitment team at Skilled Trades Partners. Whether you need temporary, specialized talent for a project or want to add skilled tradespeople to your permanent workforce, we can provide employees who are skilled, vetted, and ready to work.
When you partner with Skilled Trades Partners, you can expect our team to help you:
- Access the skilled, specialized tradespeople you need—quickly!
- Control labor costs
- Increase productivity
- Complete projects on time
Are you a construction hiring manager or hiring specialist with a skilled trades job search, or searches, underway?
Call us today at one of our four New England office locations:
Maine: 207-888-2683, New Hampshire: 603-237-1880, Connecticut: 860-200-1374, Massachusetts: 508-689-9728
Or get in touch online. Our expert skilled trades recruiters are waiting for your call.
