How do you ensure safety on a construction site?

Given the number of people involved and the activities carried out, there can be many risks on a construction site. It is therefore essential to minimize the risks for workers and even outsiders. Risks involved, regulatory documents, employer and employee obligations, mandatory equipment: find out all you need to know to ensure safety on a construction site.

Ensuring safety on a construction site is of paramount importance, as it is an environment where workplace accidents can be frequent. There's nothing surprising about this: a construction site is home to a large number of people working at the same time, as well as machines and construction equipment. In addition, work can sometimes be carried out at heights or on uneven ground.

On a construction site, risks can therefore be of several kinds :

• falls while moving ;
• falling objects ;
• operating site machinery ;
• work-related injuries or illnesses ;
• handling sometimes dangerous materials ;
• difficult weather conditions ;
• noise-related sensory risks, etc.

The introduction of safety rules on a building site is designed to limit risks for both workers and outsiders who may find themselves on the site.

In order to ensure safety on a construction site, it is it is mandatory to draw up certain documents to reduce the risks associated with various activities and interventions.

Visit worksite prevention plan is designed to prevent risks when an outside company works on the premises or on the site of a user company.

This document, drawn up jointly by the two companies prior to the start of work, helps to clearly identify potential hazards and define the scope of work to be carried out by the outside company.

Several elements must appear on the worksite prevention plan, including :

• hazardous activities and their prevention ;
• the suitability of equipment, devices and installations for the operations to be carried out, as well as their maintenance conditions;
• organization of first aid ;
• workers' working conditions ;
• the various instructions to be given to employees.

The safety data sheet - also known as the SDS - is also a mandatory document if hazardous substances are to be used on site.

The SDS aims to limit all chemical risks and must be communicated to employees who handle these products.

To ensure safety on a construction site, both employer and employee must comply with certain obligations.

Safety on a construction site is largely the responsibility of the employer. It is the employer's to put in place the necessary means to ensure for the safe practice of workers' activities.

Employers must therefore meet several obligations :

• Inform workers - whether permanent, fixed-term or temporary employees, or even trainees - about the various safety rules in force. This can be done, for example, by providing new employees with a welcome booklet, or by organizing safety training courses.
• Provide workers with an occupational risk assessment document.
• Post safety instructions on the various sites where the company operates.
• Provide workers with appropriate safety equipment (see below).
• Frequently check and ensure that installations and machinery used on the site are kept up to standard.

In addition to individual and collective safety, the employer must also ensure :

• planning schedules to avoid employees having to work during heat peaks or the coldest hours;
• good site cleanliness;
• good team rotation;
• the provision of changing rooms, washbasins, toilets and refectories for workers;
• setting up a site monitoring system;
• fencing around the site.

To help with these tasks, the employer can appoint an employee to be responsible for safety or, in the case of larger structures, assign this task to a Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) manager.

Also, for perfect management of worksite activities and interventions, it may be worthwhile to use worksite management software such as Techtime.

Thanks to a web application or a mobile applicationyou can track work in real time, and organize your operations more easily.

The employer remains primarily responsible for collective safety on the worksite, employees also bear their share of responsibility in terms of personal safety and that of their colleagues.

Employees are required to to use the protective equipment provided and to comply with the safety instructions if the employer has properly provided information and training.

Workers must also wear and tear or obsolescence of their safety equipment. equipment. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action. Worse still, in the event of an accident resulting from non-compliance with these instructions, the employee's criminal liability may be called into question for endangering himself or others.

Whether individual or collective, several types of protective equipment are mandatory on a worksite.

To ensure the safety of workers, employers must provide them with personal protective equipment (PPE)including :

• tear- and wear-resistant coveralls;
• a safety helmet ;
• protective eyewear ;
• gloves suitable for the task in hand: cutting, product handling, etc. ;
• safety shoes ;
• hearing protection ;
• protective masks effective against aerosols, solid particles, noxious gases, etc. ;
• High-visibility vests: fluorescent and/or with retroreflective strips;
• fall-prevention devices: ropes, harnesses, etc.

At the same time collective protective equipment (CPE) are also mandatory to ensure worksite safety. This may involve elements that delimit specific zones, for example, for the use of specific equipment or machinery:

• studs;
• safety belts ;
• traffic signs.

In terms of collective equipment, in order to reduce all risks, the employer must also provide the following on the worksite:

• fire extinguishers ;
• safety nets ;
• scaffolding ;
• railings.

Last but not least, EPCs include all the components needed to reduce emissions of all kinds, from hoods and suction systems to soundproofing boxes.