10 Common Construction Hazards And How To Avoid Them
Every spring, many safety organizations in the United States sponsor a week-long voluntary campaign to raise awareness of construction accidents, the leading cause of death for construction workers. This event offers employers the opportunity to discuss and prevent security risks such as cheating. Even if a company does not have employees exposed to fall risks, the safety awareness campaign can still be used to discuss other occupational risks, prevention methods, and company safety policies. Falls are the leading cause of injury in the construction industry, especially for older, untrained construction workers. Other countries have regulations and guidelines for fall protection to prevent injury and death.
The law requires employers to conduct and document a comprehensive risk assessment and ensure that the correct PPE is issued: a pair of ear plugs simply does not provide adequate protection. The TDSP risk assessment generator can be used to perform the correct risk assessments and can be found here. Many chemicals are used at construction sites and many of them are toxic or irritating to the respiratory tract. Personal protective equipment and knowledge about the substances used can reduce the risk of accidents.
Employees in road work areas are exposed to various hazards and are at risk of injury and death from passing construction equipment and motor vehicles. On foot workers are exposed to passing traffic, often at high speeds, while workers driving construction vehicles are at risk of damage due to overturning, collisions, or being caught in race equipment. Regardless of assigned task, construction workers asbestos survey work with poor lighting, poor visibility, bad weather, busy work areas, high traffic, and speeds. In 2010, 37,476 were injured in work areas; around 20,000 of these were for construction workers. Causes of workplace injuries include objects, trucks, or mobile devices (35%), falls or slips (20%), overload (15%), transportation incidents (12%), and exposure to harmful substances or environments ( 5%).
They can be avoided primarily by ensuring that the ladders remain free and by providing treadmill linings that cover the entire step and overflow. Materials such as silica powder and chemicals can present additional risks during work. Correcting personal protective equipment and training to some extent can help protect workers from these dangers. OSHA mentions that the decline causes the most deaths in the construction industry each year. These falls can occur as a result of unstable work surfaces, abuse or non-use of fall protection equipment and human error.
Another common danger workers may face is excessive exposure to heat and moisture in the environment. Excessive exertion in this climate can lead to serious heat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and heat cramps. Other hazards at the construction site include asbestos, solvents, noise, and manual handling activities. The main safety risks at construction sites are traps captured between objects, electrocutions, and hit by objects. These dangers have caused injuries and deaths worldwide at construction sites.