Poor health and safety on site can have a massive impact on a business, not only can it damage a site and cost thousands of pounds but it can severely injure workers.
According to HSE, construction remains a high-risk industry and accounts for a high percentage of fatal and major injuries. In fact, millions of working days are lost due to work-related illness and injury.
Bradley Markham, director at Bull Products, shares the top questions to ask to protect workers and your site whilst ensuring injuries are kept to a minimum.
When was the last time you carried out a risk assessment?
Whenever a new job is carried out on a site, it’s vital to carry out a thorough risk assessment. Carrying out a risk assessment will ensure that any hazards involved will be flagged ahead of work being carried out, and more importantly, appropriate measures can be put in place to deal with the risks going forward.
Are your staff trained?
When it comes to health and safety on site, it’s crucial that workers are fully trained so that they are aware of any potential hazards. It’s also important that staff know how to act in an emergency and are aware of the steps they need to take to protect themselves and others. Remember, staff should always be properly supervised when training. With rules and regulations constantly changing, it’s important that all staff are up-to-date on current legislations.
Do you have the right equipment on site?
With the amount of safety equipment available on the market, it can be confusing on what equipment you need and what is right for your business. Following your risk assessment, it will be clear on what equipment you need to protect your site and workforce. From fire extinguishers to first aid and spill kits, having the right products will ensure you are protected, no matter what the emergency.
There’s been an accident on site, how do I prevent it from happening again?
Even though there are several ways to prevent an accident, sometimes it cannot be avoided. One of the best things to do is to put a management system in place to ensure everyone is on the same page. Work with your employees to identify potential hazards and ensure areas of risk are being managed properly. This will ensure everyone is prepared and knows how to respond in an emergency.
