Nearly 6.5 million people work at more than 250,000 construction sites across the country each day. Unfortunately, the fatal injury rate for the construction industry is higher than the national average for all industries.
Potential hazards for construction workers include:
However, by taking steps to prevent injuries on the job, you’re helping to safeguard your employees and your business. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs provides general guidance for implementing a health and safety program. These programs help businesses:
For every dollar spent on a workers’ comp claim, $5 is spent on indirect costs, like lost productivity, hiring and retraining staff, and replacing or repairing damaged equipment.
Whether your employees are carpenters, roofers, drywall installers, electricians, excavators, deck builders, siding installers, or pavers, by developing a safety plan and following construction safety best practices, you’ll help ensure that your construction workers have a safe work environment. Additionally, with safety apps and other new technologies now available, small construction businesses have more resources than ever to help keep their team members safe.
By implementing proper safety techniques, you can help reduce the number of workers’ comp claims made by your employees—and even reduce your overall costs. Be sure that all employees, even part-time help and trainees, are well trained in safety procedures.
Here are some tips to keep your workers safe:
Perhaps most importantly, require that all employee injuries—no matter how small—are reported immediately.
Require your workers to read and indicate their understanding of OSHA’s Pocket Guide on construction worker safety. This guide provides hundreds of tips, best practices, and resources to make each job site safe for all employees.
While you can’t plan for every type of emergency, every workplace should at least have a plan for handling injuries. The plan should explicitly detail how workers should report injuries and how to get help promptly by:
Accidents can happen anywhere—especially in the construction industry. Remind employees why safety training is important and provide continual reminders and retraining.
To help encourage your workers to make safety a priority at work, consider offering prizes or awards for those who follow the safety program or hit time milestones while remaining injury-free. Prizes like lottery scratch-offs, coffee gift cards, or 30 minutes of extra paid-time-off can help motivate your team.
Thanks for reading! Please note that this content is intended for educational purposes only. As best practices change regularly, you should refer to your trusted advisor for specific counsel. If you’re a small business owner, learn more about workplace safety or check your workers’ comp rate in 3 minutes.
