The Ultimate Guide to Construction Safety

Many people have made their careers in the construction industry, or have worked in it at some point in their life. Currently, over 11 million Americans are employed by a construction company. Although construction has been an essential industry for thousands of years, construction safety is a relatively new and evolving concept. It wasn’t until 1913 when the National Safety Council was first formed to help enforce safer workplaces for construction workers. However, construction safety rules have been implemented fairly slowly.

The reality is that most construction job sites are extremely dangerous and workplace safety needs to be a top priority. To give you an idea, in 2018 it was reported that 21.1% of all workforce fatalities were in construction.

In this guide, we’re going to give you a basic understanding of construction workplace safety and how to train a smarter organization to increase safe production.

As the name implies, construction safety involves implementing rules, regulations, and safeguards at construction sites to keep workers safe from injury and harm. There are countless hazards that could cause serious injury or death unless the proper precautions are taken.

According to a recent study from the Health and Safety Executive, the majority of fatal and non-fatal injuries occurring in the workplace were related to slips and falls, collisions with objects or vehicles, or improperly moving or lifting heavy objects. Most of these injuries and fatal accidents occur in construction operations.

Implementing construction safety rules and utilizing workplace safety training helps to significantly reduce these types of injuries. These rules not only prevent dangerous accidents from occurring in the first place, but they also teach workers how to avoid dangerous situations and how to react to them.

The entire scope of workplace safety is governed by OSHA. This organization sets the rules, enforces them, and provides resources to be compliant.

OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed in 1970 and was created within the Department of Labor to set safety guidelines for all businesses – not just construction.

All businesses in the construction industry are subjected to OSHA compliance requirements. In order to make this possible, OSHA has issued certain regulations and directives outlining various practices for employers to create safer working environments. You can find a number of published articles on specific topics, including:

OSHA has also passed quite a bit of legislation and put many safety standards in place for the construction industry.

OSHA suggests that all employers follow their four-point safety program to instill a safer workplace. The points are as follows:

OSHA recommends that employees receive “refresher” courses on a regular basis. Moreover, employees are taught the proper procedures for reporting any potential violations.

It is highly recommended that both leaders and managers (as well as the entire crew) enroll in a construction safety training program to pursue certification in specialized areas to create safer working environments.

OSHA has created workplace safety training certification courses for numerous types of topics related to construction, including:

This allows workers – and particularly team leaders and managers – to specialize in areas where they need more experience or knowledge on topics relevant to what they do. Additionally, there are also 10-hour and 30-hour OSHA construction safety courses available covering the essentials.

Once a person completes workplace safety training, they can receive construction safety certifications. This is a certificate proving they have completed the course to the satisfaction of the instructor and are compliant with OSHA regulations.

It is important that whatever course your employees take meets OSHA’s standards for certification – otherwise, the training may not be comprehensive or accurate.

Workplace safety training teaches workers and managers how to create safer working environments. Additionally, it educates them on ways to avoid situations which could put them and others at risk of injury or even death. Construction safety training also holds managers accountable for maintaining a safe environment – as well as enforcing rules and policies which are designed to keep workers protected.

Since the implementation of OSHA in the workplace (more on that later), the number of on-site daily fatalities has decreased from an average of 38 to 14 and injuries have been reduced from 11 accidents per day to just under 3.

During employee safety training courses, workers are taught the proper precautions to take when operating heavy machinery, how to lift or move heavy objects correctly, and what to do if a situation is creating an unsafe working environment.

According to OSHA, workplace safety training should cover:

Workplace training sets the precedent for the proper protocols for safety measures that must be implemented at every job site, such as reinforcements, safety railings, and protective gear that must be provided to every worker.

For bigger jobs, we recommend having safety and health professionals on staff to ensure you meet all requirements and nothing gets missed.

Although construction work has been around for about as long as human life, the concept of construction safety has only been around for the last few hundred years. Here is the general timeline for how it has evolved in the United States.

It is certainly not surprising to note that construction sites are full of safety hazards – and it unfortunately leads to around 150,000 worker injuries every year. Some of the most common safety hazards on construction sites include:

OSHA compliance regulations require construction safety rules to be enforced and provide leaders with checklists to create safer working environments that can eliminate these risks significantly. Some of the most common OSHA violations on job sites include unsafe:

Establishing a company safety training program is quite a grand undertaking, especially since there are so many available topics which need to be covered. Ultimately, your safety training program needs to meet two goals:

During an OSHA inspection, an inspector may walk around the entire workplace looking for potential hazards or violations. They may also conduct employee interviews regarding any concerns they have or asking questions to see how safety regulations are being implemented and followed.

At MSC Safety Solutions, we help companies set up their safety training program to be in line with OSHA requirements, as well as develop an exhaustive plan to make sure you pass the inspection, as well as develop a comprehensive plan that meets or exceeds your clients requirements.

First, to create a safety training program covering everything that will be addressed in the inspection, it is important to follow the Construction Safety Checklist published by OSHA. This lays out all of the hazards you must avoid and precautions that need to be followed.

If your worksite is missing any of these components, you could receive a violation.

OSHA’s checklist includes:

Creating a company safety program covering the entire checklist to be OSHA compliant is a big job. We strongly recommend that construction firms hire a qualified on-site safety expert or use an online course system for OSHA construction safety training. While experts don’t come cheap, one of the biggest benefits to hiring a a construction safety consultant is nothing will slip through the cracks. Ultimately, this will save you time, stress, and money in the long run.

MSC Safety Solutions provides all of these resources to construction companies. We’ll set up your entire safety program, create checklists, policies, new hire orientation protocols, and provide a qualified expert to make sure you meet every demand of your checklist. To get the ball rolling, please review the seven ways to avoid hazards using a construction safety checklist.

Construction risk management is an approach which helps leaders to plan, monitor, and control the measures that must be taken to prevent risks in the workplace. This involves first identifying potential hazards, coming up with ways to control the risk, and managing any residual hazards that result.

This does not necessarily include just health and safety risks.

Construction safety risk management takes related risks into account, such as:

Management teams must address these potential risks during the planning stages to find solutions and strategies to mitigate any of these situations during the building process. Your company safety program must go over all of these topics and explain why they are important to follow.

Now, it’s not always enough to just teach company safety programs, you need to enforce the lessons to avoid risk. Here are some practical ways to do this in your safety training.

In order to ensure that you pass the OSHA construction safety inspection, you must be as prepared as possible and remove anything that could potentially be hazardous.

First, you must have all of your records and documentation in order. OSHA inspectors will double check that you have the proper permits, certifications, and a well-documented safety program in place. MSC Safety Solutions builds out all of these for construction companies and makes sure everyone is fully prepared for the inspection.

If any past injuries have occurred on the job site, it is important that you have records for all of these incidents, as well as:

Once an inspector arrives and gathers these materials, they will hold an opening conference to explain the purpose of the visit. They may also provide documentation if your company has received any complaints which triggered the investigation.

A manager should guide the inspector in a walkthrough of the facility. The inspector will likely be taking notes and photos or videos throughout, particularly if they notice any potential violations. The inspector may also ask employees questions during this time.

After the walkthrough, the OSHA inspector will meet with managers and company representatives to discuss any issues or violations they discovered. Some of these hazards may be resolved during this meeting. Others might require more time, so a follow-up inspection will be scheduled.

Remember that an OSHA inspection could occur at any time. It can often be a result of a complaint that has been filed. You should always be prepared for this type of inspection by creating a safe, hazard-free environment from the beginning.

To best facilitate a company-wide construction safety training course, there are some strategies to help everyone retain the information more effectively.

Selecting the right construction safety training program is a key aspect in running a successful, protected operation – and consistently passing inspections. MSC Safety Solutions offers a wide variety of safety courses, including:

In addition to the above courses, we also provide NCCER training and certification. This program is designed for structural ironworkers, rigging professionals, signal persons, safety professionals, crew leaders, and project supervisors.

Check out our safety training calendar to find a program that fits your needs. For more information, feel free to get in contact with us – we are happy to guide you in selecting the training programs you need. MSC Safety Solutions offers training courses in both English and Spanish.

It is imperative that every employee works in an environment that is safe and hazard-free. Construction workers should also be able to access proper safety training to keep themselves and others protected – as well as know what to do in the case of an emergency.

MSC Safety Solutions is dedicated to providing thorough construction safety training covering a wide range of applicable topics. We specialize in teaching these courses in a way that is easy to understand.

If you have any further questions regarding the courses we offer or want to register, please reach out to our staff at MSC Safety Solutions for more information.