Nearly any human activity entails some risk. However, people in the construction trades run higher risks of life-changing injuries, and knowing how to prevent construction hazards is better than addressing them once they occur.
What should those in the trades know to keep themselves safe? Here are the most common hazards in construction and how to avoid them.
1. Slips and Falls
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, falls are the leading cause of construction deaths, causing over 350 fatalities in 2020 alone. These injuries can occur on nearly any job site, not only on skyscrapers where workers take lunch sitting on steel beams. For example, spilled oil, water or chemicals can pose falling hazards. OSHA warns that even falls from short ladders can cause death or brain damage if workers don’t wear protective headgear.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend proper planning and training before construction commences. Furthermore, the CDC advises all worksites to provide adequate equipment for working at heights, such as scaffolds, hard helmets and safety harnesses.
2. Electrocution
Electrocution is another common hazard in construction. Correct lock-out/tag-out procedures are essential to keep power out of circuits when servicing equipment. Furthermore, job sites must maintain a safe distance of ten feet or more from overhead power lines and ensure all temporary power sources utilize ground-fault circuit interrupters.
Furthermore, supervisors should regularly inspect equipment for signs of damage and frayed wires. These also pose fire hazards. All equipment should be properly grounded and double-insulated, and chiefs should train their crew to unplug power tools before servicing them and keep metal objects away from live circuits.
3. Chemical Exposure
Construction work also increases your risk of hazardous chemical exposure. For example, many people now recognize the dangers of asbestos exposure. Considerably fewer know that the diisocyanates can cause occupational asthma, chronic bronchitis and pneumonitis and mucus membrane inflammation.