There’s no doubt that worker safety should always be a company’s top priority when establishing a construction site – especially since there are roughly 11 million people in the U.S. who work in construction. Fortunately, site managers have a plethora of resources provided by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) on how, for example, to prevent scaffold, ladder, and lift injuries; steel and concrete injuries; and improve commercial roof safety.
But businesses should also remember another important, often overlooked element integral to running a safe construction site: the thoughtful deployment, maintenance, and use of construction equipment. After all, injuries are less likely to happen if the tools and vehicles on-site personnel use are well maintained, tracked and monitored.
By keeping three simple tips in mind, site managers can not only help keep their workers safe but also keep up the health of their equipment.
Tip #1: Ensure Employees are Trained Before They Operate Equipment
While the construction industry is expected to continue growing, finding skilled laborers is extraordinarily difficult for some companies. Fortunately, operators don’t need to set foot inside their vehicles to begin learning how to safely and correctly use them. While many construction workers are now trained in heavy equipment use before they are hired, there’s still a difference between the generalized lessons taught in schools or classes, and the more specialized resources available on manufacturers’ websites.
Managers should consider working with their vendors to develop specific curriculum focused on the tools they manufacture. Whether through instructional videos or in-person demonstrations, it’s important to walk through the instructions or directions from a manufacturer before an operator begins using their tools. If that isn’t possible, having a formal or informal mentorship between skilled personnel and less experienced workers will help ensure that no one is trying to both learn and use heavy machinery at the same time. While most people skip the Ikea instructions, the equipment at a construction site is far more complicated and potentially life-threatening if not used correctly so education for workers should be a priority.
Tip #2: Practice Preventative Maintenance
Site managers have a lot of elements to track at any given moment – from dealing with
the challenges of procuring and maintaining construction equipment to ensuring the safety of anyone in or around the site. Successful site managers aim for avoiding or preventing repairs or the risk of injuries before they happen. Fortunately, there are solutions that can make it easy for site managers to record and collect inspection, compliance and maintenance data – without having to manage or conduct tedious manual inspections.
Consider this: by shifting from paper-based inspections to an electronically verifiable one, fleet and equipment managers can dramatically reduce the processing time for inspections by more than 50 percent. Tools like Zonar’s EVIR (Electronic Verified Inspection Reporting) automates what used to be completed by hand – everything from service repair scheduling to submitting reports. Plus, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s International Roadcheck enforcement program has found that fleets using Zonar’s EVIR system are seven times less likely to be placed out of service. This means managers who make this investment in technology are passing inspections while proactively taking steps to avoid potentially dangerous defects on their trucks – while staying in use for longer because they know what’s going on with a piece of equipment before it breaks down. An investment in this technology helps improve and simplify the inspection process so site managers have more time to focus on more important things – like ensuring their sites are safe, and in compliance with all federal and state codes and ordinances.
Tip # 3: Use Tracking to Reduce Foot and Vehicle Congestion (and Equipment Theft!)
Speaking of equipment-related investments, tracking solutions are another sound investment to make. Regardless of your site’s geographical location, the ruggedness of the terrain, or the surrounding traffic, there are solutions that can help you track and find the real-time location of tools and equipment with pinpoint accuracy.
Fences aren’t enough to deter thieves from stealing expensive equipment from a site. In fact, the National Equipment Register (NER) estimates the value of construction equipment stolen each year is somewhere between $300 million to $1 billion and the majority of that equipment is never recovered. Having reliable tracking tools that can withstand inclement weather and conditions is a simple yet effective way to protect equipment investments!
More sophisticated tracking tools can also be incorporated into a variety of traffic control solutions that managers can use to strategically direct workers and vehicles from a computer, tablet, or smartphone. The most useful solutions allow managers to keep track of driver performance, business objectives, and produce exception-based reports. In fact, telematics-enabled asset tracking locates in real-time where every asset is at all times—both vehicles in motion, or on-site equipment and supplies.
The result of having all this information at the tips of your fingers: reduced foot and vehicle congestion, a lower risk of equipment-related accidents or collisions, and the ability to locate a missing vehicle loaded with valuable materials quickly so that it can be put back in service (or notify the authorities, if stolen). While many telematics systems only ping for location on a set schedule, managers should look for solutions that can monitor every start, stop, turn, and brake.
Personnel safety will always be paramount when implementing safety precautions at a construction site – but site managers shouldn’t underestimate the value of equipment safety and maintenance. After all, no matter its function, any machinery is safer to use when it’s regularly monitored, strategically deployed, and employees are trained in its proper use.
