In the last five decades, we have seen a big shift in the construction industry—one that has developed a culture around safety. Long gone are the days of dozens of men hanging off the top of the empire state building, nary a hard hat to be seen.
Hard hats didn’t become mandatory on most jobsites until the 1970s. The numbers from OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health) tell an interesting story too. We see worker deaths in America are down from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to only 15 a day in 2019. That is certainly progress, but it is still too many if you ask me.
How can we continue to improve safety in the construction industry—especially in the summer? Let’s brainstorm some ideas together.
Beat the Heat
Excessive heat and sun exposure can be difficult for any worker outside. How can we protect against the summer heat in the construction industry? Western Specialty Contractors manages a heat illness training program and a safety hotline for its workers. Here are seven tips it would offer to others in construction.
- Drink water frequently so you never become thirsty. Adding a lemon slice can make plain water taste more drinkable.
- Wear light-colored, loose-fitting, breathable clothing. Avoid synthetic clothing. Wear safety glasses with UV protection, sunscreen, and brimmed hard hats.
- Build up to the heavy work. Do the hardest work during the coolest time of the day.
- Take more breaks in the shade or a cooling area.
- Choose your food carefully. Food high in fat and preservatives will put a high load on the digestive system. Try a big breakfast so you aren’t hungry at lunch and eat light lunches with fruits and vegetables.
- Help your coworkers. Be aware of the signs of heat exhaustion. Some symptoms include lethargy, disorientation, stumbling, dropping tools, slurred speech, and unresponsiveness.
- Check your urine frequency and color. Water intake is good when urine is a clear or light-yellow color. Dark yellow urine means you may be dehydrated.
While these are just a few strategies, the key here is awareness. Workers must be aware when they are working in the heat and take steps to ensure proper precautions. I live in South Carolina now and I am still getting used to the heat versus the days of living in Chicago and some of these tips came in very handy for me working outside.
Site Safety
Creating a safe jobsite environment is key to ensuring the safety of all workers. There are many ways to do this, but it almost always starts with training. This is key to ensure a culture of safety and innovation. Also, this culture of safety must start from the top-down. One way to do this is through toolbox talks, which can reduce incident rates.
Next, ensure your team has good technology and PPE (personal protective equipment) to make the jobsite a little bit safety. While there are so many examples, one is wearing a safety helmet that provides additional benefits beyond standard hard hats.
As an example, both Clayco and Miron Construction are using STUDSON, which has numerous innovations to keep workers safe. On the shell, the embedded Twiceme technology digitally integrates a wearer’s health data. In the event of an emergency, that data is accessible via a smartphone NFC (near-field communication) chip reader viewable through an SMS text message or the TwiceMe app available for iOS or Android devices.
Be Aware in Work Zones
Drivers are more distracted than ever before when they are behind the wheel of a vehicle and driving on the road. Raising awareness of driver distraction is particularly important for those working in work zones. There are a handful of things we can do to improve safety in our work zones.
- Education: Here in South Carolina, we have seen the beginning of mandates for work zone safety education for the new drivers. Training for construction workers in work zones can also be beneficial.
- Enforcement: As we started this blog exploring, once hard hats became mandatory, deaths began to drop. Certainly, it is only one part of the equation, but enforcement for distracted drivers can potentially reduce the number of distracted drivers. Anyone remember, click it or ticket?
- Rebuild our infrastructure: We can rebuild our roads and our work zones to be safer. A 2022 report from National Academies of Sciences suggests infrastructure elements have an impact on distraction. Examples include aesthetic bridges or confusing signs.
- Leverage technology: Technology can help in so many ways. Automated vehicles can help on the driver’s journey. And technology can help at the jobsite to make the workers a little bit safer as well.
What steps are you taking to improve safety on the construction jobsite? What needs to be done to minimize the number of worker deaths in America to zero next year? Because that is ultimately the goal—to get everyone home safely to their families every night.
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