Construction Site Safety Guide - GB
Construction Site Safety Guide - GB
SITE SAFETY
Your practical guide to 2020
construction site safety
INTRODUCTION
Every year in the UK and across Northern Europe, construction site workers suffer from injuries,
ill-health or fatal accidents as a result of their work. In the UK alone last year, the Health and Safety
Executive revealed that there were over 550,000 non-fatal injuries, according to self-reports.
To ensure safety compliance on construction sites in In this guide, we cover everything from the regulations
2020, compliance managers are required to undertake you need to follow, to the tools and systems that can
considerable due diligence and planning. This doesn’t significantly improve site safety, providing all the
just include the company’s legal responsibilities and information required to create a better, safer and more
obligations, but the practical issues associated with profitable construction business.
day-to-day construction work as well.
CONTENTS
Construction site safety and the law 3 Promoting safety off-site 10
What causes these Health and Safety risks 5 • Certification and training
2
CONSTRUCTION
SITE SAFETY AND
THE LAW
3
MOST COMMON
ACCIDENTS AND
SAFETY CONCERNS
When looking at Northern Europe, across the UK Falls from height are the most common fatal
alone in 2018, there were over 550,000 non-fatal accident on construction sites
injuries reported on construction sites according to The UK and Northern Europe has a good safety
the HSE’s Kinds of Accident 2018 report, as well as record compared to other EU member states
144 fatal accidents. These figures, however, are lower
than the majority of EU member states, according to
the Health and Safety statistics in the United Kingdom
2019, with only Finland having had a lower rate of fatal
injuries at work:
4
(per 100,000 employees)
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Finland
UK
Sweden
Netherlands
Germany
Denmark
Italy
Cyprus
Poland
Estonia
Slovakia
Austria
EU
Ireland
Belgium
Hungary
Croatia
Greece
Spain
Malta
Czech Rep.
Slovenia
Luxembourg
Portugal
Bulgaria
Latvia
Lithuania
France
Romania
4
WHAT CAUSES
THESE HEALTH AND
SAFETY RISKS?
Construction sites are busy and untidy places to work, and even the most careful compliance
manager cannot entirely stop accidents from taking place. While it’s impossible to stop accidents
from happening, it is possible to reduce the risk of accidents and other health hazards occurring by
understanding the root causes of common health and safety issues and putting practical measures
in place to manage the risk.
FALLS SLIPS
FROM HEIGHT AND TRIPS
Falls from height can occur both in and outside Slips and trips happen on construction sites for a
of buildings, and often involve the use of moving number of reasons, but one of the main risks comes
platforms. While many working at height scenarios from the use of corded tools. Long cables running
require a platform, other tasks can be completed by across construction sites are a huge trip hazard and
using longer tools instead, such as installing cables a major contributor to non-fatal injuries. Tripping over
in ceilings. This can help increase productivity, cables can also cause cable breakages, leading to
by reducing the amount of set-up time required further electrical hazards, as well as potential
for platforms. downtime and unnecessary repair costs.
By using specifically-designed longer tools, workers Corded tools also require cable reels, which are
can fasten cables into ceilings while standing on the another potential tripping hazard - particularly when
ground, removing the risk of falling from a platform. using curly cables, which often wrap themselves
The risk of accidents can be significantly reduced by around workers’ feet. Slips and trips from cables can
exploring different solutions to jobs, and utilising also lead to other accidents such as workers falling
specialist tools where possible. from height and tools being dropped on to people.
Working from height tasks outdoors will require the Using cordless tools is the best way to mitigate this
use of harnesses, which need to be tested regularly risk. Removing the need for cables helps to create
to check they are safe and fit for purpose. It can be a tidier site and reduces the time that workers are
difficult to keep track of which harnesses have been exposed to risks by increasing productivity. Despite
tested and when - particularly if you are using a the safety and productivity benefits associated with
manual spreadsheet to track equipment testing. cordless tools, many construction companies still
An automated asset management system is a great opt for corded tools because of the up-front cost of
way to organise this information for you, allowing you procurement and the belief that batteries will not last
to easily ensure harnesses are fully tested and safe long enough to complete the job.
to use, with alerts to warn you when new testing
certificates are due. With the improvement in battery technology in recent
years, however, high-quality cordless tools have the
capability to match and even outperform corded
tools, resulting in long-term cost savings as well as
considerable health and safety benefits.
5
The up-front expense of cordless tools can also be efficient at removing inhalable dust, and it’s important
mitigated through tool management services, such as to think about the system solution you need for the
Hilti’s Fleet Management. This allows all tools to be specific task being undertaken. Dust extraction
managed by an external company for a monthly fee - systems include different inserts and vacuums for
drastically reducing the up-front cost while still having different purposes, and Fleet Management services
access to the safest and most efficient tools. Utilising can help you identify the right tools and systems for
a fleet management service can help improve safety, your needs.
manage costs and reduce downtime without having to
invest in a large toolpark of unnecessary equipment. HAND-ARM
VIBRATION
DUST
INHALATION Health risks associated with hand-arm vibration
include pain, distress and sleep disturbance, an
As well as affecting the long-term health of inability to do intricate work or everyday tasks, and
construction workers, compliance managers will reduced grip strength. As with dust inhalation, it’s
need to be concerned with how dust can affect essential to calculate exposure levels and set clear
other people in the vicinity of the construction site - limits to reduce these long-term health risks.
particularly for work that is happening in crowded
inner city or urban areas. Using equipment that creates less vibration is one
way of reducing the risks associated with hand-arm
Intrusive jobs like drilling, breaking, slitting, sanding, vibration. It’s important to note, however, that just
sawing, or grinding carry a high risk of dust inhalation. because a tool has a higher vibration measurement,
Materials like brick and concrete are particularly this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the wrong choice
hazardous, as both contain a high concentration of to reduce hand-arm vibration exposure. Often a tool
silica, which is extremely carcinogenic. that vibrates more will perform the task much quicker,
meaning the worker is exposed to vibration for a
While more considerate construction companies shorter period of time. It’s important to look at the
plan for dust extraction, many people both inside and overall time it takes to complete a task and calculate
outside of the construction industry are not aware of exposure levels accordingly.
the full implications associated with dust inhalation.
Unfortunately, it’s common for workers to not use
any type of dust extraction or vacuum system when
working, and many workers do not even wear dust
masks because they are not aware of the damage KEY TAKEAWAYS
dust inhalation can cause.
Cables are a major risk on construction sites and
should be managed carefully
As a compliance manager, you can’t force workers
to wear dust masks, but it’s absolutely essential that Dust inhalation is a major health issue that many
fitted dust masks are provided to everyone who enters are not aware of
the site. You must also make sure that site rules are
Exposure times to dust and vibration should be
visible which clearly state that dust masks must be calculated and implemented before starting work
worn, and provide information on exposure hours.
Workers should take shifts so they are not exposed to Using optimised tools and equipment can have a
dust for prolonged periods of time. major impact on reducing these various health and
safety risks
6
PROMOTING
SAFETY ON-SITE
To create a safe working environment and ensure you are compliant with regulations, it’s
important to promote health and safety both on- and off-site. Using the HSE’s Health and
Safety in construction as a guideline, in the next two sections of this guide, we will look
at how you can promote positive health and safety on your construction sites, starting
with setting up the site.
7
Emergency procedures PREVENTING INJURIES ON-SITE
It’s important to plan emergency procedures before
work begins and put general precautions in place. Preventing injuries on-site requires more than just
Some emergencies may require evacuation of the site good housekeeping. It’s also vital to have clearly
or part of the site, and you may need to consider how delineated site rules and a fixed reporting protocol
someone injured in a fall within a confined space or in place. Here are the factors you should consider
within a restricted plant room can be reached by either to prevent injuries on your construction sites:
first aiders or emergency services.
Keep the site in good order and ensure
The STOP Principle workers put tools away safely
The STOP Principle provides practical strategies to As outlined already in this guide, keeping the
minimise the impact of health and safety challenges construction site as tidy as possible helps to
such as dust, vibration, cutting and kickback. Here is reduce the potential for slips and trips, as well as
how to manage health and safety through STOP: other accidents such as falls from height and
electrical hazards.
S
Substitution In addition to cables and materials, tools should also
be safely stored - particularly when leaving the site.
In addition to creating a safer working environment
on site, putting tools away also helps to prevent theft.
If a tool is stolen, and the person committing the crime
T
Technical is injured, the compliance manager is responsible for
protective
that person’s injury and would therefore be liable.
measures
O
Organizational
increased accountability on the status of each tool.
protective Using this system allows you to assign responsibility
measures
for a tool to the person who has possession of it,
meaning they are held accountable should a tool be
stolen on their watch.
P
Personal
protective
Mains and electricity
measures Electrical equipment is a large part of almost every
site, and preventing injuries requires careful selection
of systems and equipment. All electrical systems and
SUBSTITUTION is eliminating risk by using equipment must be properly selected, installed, used
alternatives so the root cause of hazards can and maintained, as many hazards can arise through
be avoided. faulty installations, lack of maintenance and abuse
of equipment.
TECHNICAL measures involve using the right
machinery, tools or technologies ti improve health
and safety by reducing risk.
9
PROMOTING
SAFETY OFF-SITE
Whatever the size and scale of a construction project, the key to achieving a safe
working environment is to ensure that health and safety issues are planned, organised,
controlled, monitored and reviewed away from the construction site itself.
10
ASSET MANAGEMENT
As well as keeping track of training and certification
KEY TAKEAWAYS
records, digital asset management systems can Before setting up a site, you need to gather as
help you monitor and store all of your compliance much information as possible to prepare the site.
11
NEXT
STEPS
In this guide we’ve considered everything you need
to know regarding construction site safety in 2019 -
from the various general and application-specific
regulations you need to be aware of, to setting up
a construction site.
12
Helpful reading
About Hilti
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