How to Make a Construction Site Safe?

Site safety should be your number one priority when setting up a construction site. If you are starting a new project and need some guidance on how to make your site safety compliant, we have rounded up a quick guide to create a safety compliant construction site in line with the Health and Safety Executive’s regulations.

Site rules and induction

It is essential that all construction personnel are briefed and trained in the site-specific safety rules and partake in a site safety induction.

Site rules should be clear and easy to understand for all personnel. If you have employees on site whose mother tongue is not English, you must provide the site rules in other languages to make them clear for these employees.

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Every construction site employee must be given an appropriate site induction, including any tours of the site, training videos and practical training exercises applicable to your construction site.

Traffic management

For large sites that will have vehicles moving about them, it is absolutely vital that you have a traffic management system in place to ensure the safety of people on site.

This should include clearly demarcated routes for vehicles and for employees on foot. Warning systems for vehicles moving about on site and specific parking spaces for site vehicles.

Protective equipment

As a construction site employer, you must provide your employees with the correct personal protective equipment. This could include hard hats and high-visibility clothing to ensure they are noticeable on site.

You should also be providing first aid supplies, a registered first aider and other emergency equipment such as eye washes should an accident occur on site. Check out this article to know about safety tips when working with steel.

In addition, it is now important that you provide the proper personal protective equipment to mitigate the risks to your employees from airborne viruses. This could include masks, visors, and hand sanitizers or sanitizing sprays to kill germs.

Waste management

Undoubtedly, your construction site will generate waste and debris that will need to be managed properly. Domestic waste from site offices and staff areas should be separated for recycling and disposed of under the local council’s guidance.

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Chemical and industrial waste should be handled efficiently too. It is important that you have a waste management contract in place with a reputable provider before you start work on site.

For more information on how to keep your site safety compliant, visit the Health and Safety Executive website for the construction industry.