10 Tips for Safer Jobsites

The residential construction industry can be hazardous. According to The Occupational Safety and Health Administration 90 percent of the injuries and fatalities on construction jobsite involve falls, electrocution, contact with falling or moving objects and trench collapses.

Whether you subcontract all of your field work or you handle most construction with in-house staff, it is the responsibility of the general contractor to keep jobsites safe. In recent years, OSHA has been more vigilant about issuing citations in the wake of injuries and accidents. And the fines can be costly. Other costs include lost time on the job and higher workman’s compensation premiums after claims are made. But at its core, the issue of jobsite safety is about caring for employees and those of trade contractors who work on your jobsites.

After a decision has been made to make safety a top priority, a comprehensive employee training program should be implemented, including weekly 15-minute tailgate or toolbox lessons that require attendance by staff and trades. For OSHA and insurance purposes, it is also important that these meetings be documented. Sign-in sheets should be filed. Lastly, an employee safety manual should be compiled and distributed.

Out of hundreds of construction safety lessons on the shelf at Safety Services Company, we selected the 10 that stand to have the greatest safety improvement impact, based on the prevalence of certain common injuries and accidents.

1. Fall Prevention: Ladder and Scaffold Practices
Ladders: Always inspect any ladder for damage or defect prior to use. Inspect for broken or missing rungs or steps, broken or split side rails, defective or missing safety feet, corrosion, securely fitting components between steps and side rails, rungs that are free of grease and oil, and no splinters or sharp points that may snag clothing. Never use metal ladders near electrical lines, equipment, or switch gear. Electric Arc welding must not be done from a metal ladder. Always set up a ladder on stable, solid surfaces. Never place ladders on boxes, blocks, or crates to extend reach. Never stand on the four top rungs of a straight or extension ladder, or on the top two steps of a step ladder. Hoist tools and other material up after reaching the top of the ladder. Use of tool belts helps to manage tools while working from a ladder. Ladder side rails must extend 3-ft. above the top landing. If this is not feasible due to the ladder’s length, then the ladder must be securely tied off at the top to a non-moveable support and grab rails must be provided for access. Extension ladders must be set at a four to one angle, with the base one foot out from the wall for every four feet of height. Extension Ladders must not be shifted, repositioned or extended while being used.

Scaffolds: Components can break, collapse, or give way. Planks, boards, decks, or handrails can fail. In some cases, entire structures have collapsed. Even on sound scaffolds, workers can slip or lose their balance, and without appropriate protection, they don’t have to fall far to get hurt. More often than not, scaffold accidents can be traced to untrained or improperly trained workers. Too often, untrained workers use makeshift staging, overload platforms, fail to inspect supports, or use scaffolds for the wrong tasks.

Ladder jack scaffolds, as well as step, platform, and trestle ladder scaffolds, though generally used as temporary elevated work platforms, must meet the general requirements for scaffolds. Employees using ladder jack scaffolds also must follow the requirements for employee fall protection which apply to all scaffolding. The ladder jack must be so designed and constructed that it will bear on the side rails and ladder rungs or on the ladder rungs alone. If the ladder jack bears on the rungs only, the bearing area must include a width of at least 10 in. (25.4 cm) on each rung. Ladders used to support ladder jacks must be placed, fastened, or equipped with devices to prevent slipping. Scaffold platforms may not be bridged to each other.