For many decades, construction supervisors have deliberately inculcated safety training in their projects because of the risks involved. Sometimes, liquidated damages and project delays often slow down the training modules. Upon the constant mentions in the industry about the importance of construction site safety course, some managers have flawed beliefs that avoiding safety training affords them more hours of work enough to meet project deadlines. More than a bad idea, skimping on these courses puts both property owner and contractor at risk.
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Accidents in construction sites are prevalent
Especially in the construction and manufacturing industries, work is often dangerous. The Bureau of Labour, in 2015, mentioned that a large number of construction workers were involved in the estimated 4,800 worker fatalities recorded in the same year. More so, the percentage was higher amongst workers that hadn’t taken the construction site safety course. The types of injuries range from electrocution to falls, and severe traps amongst workers, namely – plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and fitters.
Worker safety requirements
The safety of the worksite is the primary responsibility of the contractor. Indeed, professional contractors do not shirt the duty of care. By OSHA standards, every contractor is compelled to set working standards within the confines of a well-maintained worksite. This also infers to the subtle point that the working condition of the site, along with the workers’ safety, must never be compromised. In rare cases, some contract agreements feebly mention the contractor must bear the liability of site and worker safety while passing along the obligations to deputies. But where the form of work is subcontracted, both the prime contractor and subcontractors will bear joint responsibility. Although it markedly pushes some responsibilities onto the subcontractors, the prime contractor is to be blamed for construction site mishaps. Because of that, smart contractors require site workers to take one or two professional construction site safety course.
Potential hazards on the construction site
The construction industry is a big place with numerous hazards options. It isn’t surprising to see contractors with different safety gears such as helmets, gloves, heavy boots, and more.
However, some of the hazards on construction sites include – inhalation of dust, heavy loads, falls from heights, injuries from machinery, falling objects, motor vehicle accidents, exposure to dangerous substances, and working in confined spaces.
Proper safety training has a lot of benefits
With appropriate construction site safety course, workers can mitigate risks associated with construction industries. A safe workplace, apart from ensuring workers are reliable, reduces relative costs of construction. A construction project, for example, can incur numerous risks, litigation, and administrative fines. With certified construction site safety course, you can minimize losses and risks.
No matter the deadlines and impending delays, you should never dispose of safety training. For this reason, some companies set up training, meetings, and seminars where seasoned veterans in the field share their views and experience about safety courses. Regular meetings like this can instill the subject matter into trainees and contractors, detailing the importance of taking at least one construction site safety course.
Also, supervisors and managers should invest time and money in signing up their employees for proper training courses. As long as safety is a priority, deaths, and injuries on a worksite can be minimized.