Construction Safety
Construction Safety is a key component of health and safety for you and your business. ProActive Health and Safety provide you with Construction Safety guidance, products, systems and training. Call us now on 0161 935 8282 to see how we can help protect your business and employees.
Scaffolding Regulations for a Construction Site
Thu, 09/18/2008 - 16:41 — ProActive Healt...Scaffolding is often used on construction sites due to the need to get higher in the ground with stability. Ladders work well for specific areas, but they can’t reach the entire length of the home. For example brick layers or employees putting siding on a home will need scaffolding to reach the higher areas of the home or building.
Under the Health and Safety Executive, there have been several regulations regarding scaffolding. The HSE and health safety regulations state that all boards on the scaffolding must be tied down. Next under the health and safety regulations all scaffolding in use must be inspected every seven days and after severe weather conditions by a competent person. A competent person is one who has been trained to do the inspections and understands the health and safety regulations. Typically a construction company will employ a person for the health and safety department and risk assessment needs of the business.
You have a couple of options when employing the health and safety personnel. You can have a full time employee that works directly from your company. You other option is to hire a health and safety consultant, like the employees at ProActive. The health and safety consultant will be well versed in all health and safety regulations regarding construction sites. The consultants will work either full or on an as needed basis for your construction business. Their job is to make sure all safety regulations are being adhered to for the prevention of accidents, injuries, or other incidents. They will either train your employees or do the scaffolding inspections required by the health and safety policies. When consulting they ensure that all risks are accounted for and that there is a risk management plan in place. There are a few links offered below for further information directly from the HSE regarding health and safety regulations.
These links combined with the information from ProActive will guarantee that all safety inspections will be according to the health safety regulations your company must follow.
Construction Health and Safety Regulations
Mon, 09/15/2008 - 19:53 — ProActive Healt...A construction site is considered to be one of the more dangerous places to have a job. There are more accidents every year at a construction site, and therefore claims with a construction company than most other businesses. Part of the reason for the massive amount of claims is the tools, ladders, and other hazards you must deal with on a daily basis. Dust can be a hazard if the proper protection is not worn.
Corporate construction businesses are going to offer more accidents than a house or general construction business. In this case we mean a building company that will build office buildings, hotels, and other large structures have more dangers than their counterparts in the business.
The health and safety acts of 1974 and 1992 have offered the health and safety guidelines and legislation that must be followed. In order to offer the best protection and prevention on a construction site the health safety issues must be known. Every construction business needs to have a health and safety consultant to assure the inspectors all risk assessment is being cared for and that the health and safety regulations are being observed.
To make the point more important there are health and safety inspectors that will inspect a construction site. These inspections can be planned or surprises. It pays to have a construction company within all limits of the health safety regulations.
As a business you can hire people two ways. You can have a consultancy like ProActive that supplies full time employees with the proper training on construction sites. Your other option is to hire a person that answers an ad for the risk management position.
To take the risk out of hiring a complete stranger it is better to hire a company that you know has checked credentials and that the consultant has proper training. To lower your risk and to save on claims being turned in every year it is to your benefit to have a health and safety consultant that is well versed in construction risk assessment. By protecting your employees to your top ability you are able to assure all health and safety personnel involved that the regulations are being taken seriously. A health and safety consultant through ProActive will always be available for questions and to help you at every new construction site.
Ladder Safety Tips for Construction and other Job Sites
Thu, 09/11/2008 - 16:07 — ProActive Healt...Ladders can be dangerous. They account for most of the falls from height reported each year by companies to their insurance and HSE. The Health and Safety Executive has health safety regulations that must be followed. However, these health and safety guidelines do not specify how ladders should be used beyond the instructions that are offered when purchased. There are not even training courses offered through trade schools or universities regarding ladders.
For this very reason there have been companies like ProActive who have set up ladder safety tips to ensure your business will be safe when using ladders. You will find health and safety tips for ladders below.
Ladders should be assessed for risk before use. In other words ladders should be pre-checked for the correct height, proper place to put the ladder, and to make sure there is no improper stress. Ladders do wear out, especially those made of wood. Wood ladders tend to break under stress and long use. They can also cause splinters. For this very reason the pre check before using ladders is important no matter what material it is made out of. Health and safety at work is imperative for all employees.
Securing ladders can be difficult on construction sites. However, it should be done before an individual will climb up the ladder for use. Rope or other objects can be used to tie the ladder in place.
The ground under the ladder should be firm and level. Leaning ladders or extension ladders as they are known have feet on the bottom. If working in the dirt the feet should be sunk into the earth for more stability and the levelness you need.
The ladder should also be on a safe slope while in use. While the HSE doesn’t have specific health safety guidelines avoiding hazardous slopes can mean the difference between an accident and prevention. The safe slop is 16 degrees for most ladders.
Any time a ladder is used on a construction site or other business site the resting point must be strong. In other words plastic gutters, one stud, or other objects that could break or cause an imbalance are considered improper. The strong resting point is a prevention technique for the health and safety policies you must follow.
For more health safety tips on ladders ProActive has a toolbox talk and consultants on hand to answer your questions. Safety regulations on the job site are imperative to avoiding accidents, hefty insurance claims, and failed inspection.
Ladder Safety on a Construction Site
Thu, 09/11/2008 - 15:57 — ProActive Healt...There are many times in a construction business that ladders or other safety products will be needed for the health and safety of employees. There are health and safety regulations in any company that require the owner or manager to establish a risk assessment plan. In the construction business accidents occur with more frequency because the sites being worked on require a great deal of different equipment like ladders.
Health and safety consultants, such as those that work at ProActive can help you solve your health safety needs. As a consultancy they work to ensure your employees will be safe by offering inspections and risk assessments for your employees to view.
Despite the health and safety precautions that are in place there are still accidents. These accidents normally occur because employees have not been trained or have not had a refresher training course in certain areas of health and safety. Proactive can offer health and safety consultants to help guarantee the proper training have been offered at your construction business.
The health and safety regulations do not state specific uses or laws regarding ladders. They do offer precautionary uses that may help you prevent some of the incidents and injuries that may occur. ProActive can also offer you some of these health and safety tips for the construction site. By understanding what you as the owner or manager must adhere to you can be sure to qualify for any inspection that may occur and be prepared for accidents on the job.
For more on the health and safety regulations regarding construction ladders in use, see our article on the ladder safety tips. We want to make sure that your health and safety issues are covered and acting now can guarantee that you have the proper training for your employees.
