Month: November 2014

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American workforce will include 31.9 million individuals over the age of 55 by 2015. This statistic should be of particular interest to construction employers who want to maintain safety on their jobsites. Aging not only causes decreases in strength, mobility, vision, hearing and cognition—all factors that can contribute to workplace injuries—it also increases the chances for co-morbidities (for example, a back injury combined with disc degeneration) that lengthen the time necessary for recovery before an employee can return to work.

Consider the following age-related dangers and ways to minimize their effects on your construction workforce’s safety:

Loss of Strength – As we age, our muscle mass tends to decrease. This leads to reduced strength and faster fatigue. Heavy lifting and lowering, tasks requiring grip force, and even simple repetitive movements all become more difficult as strength and endurance declines. Fortunately, you can assist your older workers by reducing the time they spend completing these tasks and providing them with mechanized equipment and tools to compensate. You should also try to keep their work in a neutral zone, eliminating the need to perform while bent over or with a twisted torso.

Diminished Vision – As we age, our eyes begin to lose their ability to adapt to light level changes. Studies have shown that a 60-year-old requires two to three times the amount of light as a 20-year-old. We also become extremely sensitive to glare, and our field of vision and depth perception can suffer as well. This can easily lead to trips, falls and other injuries caused by visual misinterpretation. Improve the safety of the workplace for your older workers by increasing the light available. Utilize task-specific lighting as well as indirect lighting whenever possible.

Reduced Cognitive Ability – As we age, our mental processing and reaction times slow. We may be just as intelligent as ever, but it takes us longer to perform mental tasks. Our motor function also decreases as a result, leading to a reduction in dexterity and coordination. While the degree of decline is generally small, and is unlikely to interfere with a construction worker’s day-to-day performance, it can make learning new tasks challenging. Fortunately, you can assist your older workers by providing them with adequate time to practice.  Hands-on learning opportunities are essential, as is accommodating for any vision or hearing loss within your aging workforce.

Did you consider the demographics of your workforce when creating your jobsite safety and risk management plans? If you’d like further assistance, contact your safety and risk management advisor.

You try to keep your jobsite safe, but even one construction accident can have serious financial consequences. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), they’re not limited to workers’ compensation claims or subsequent increases in workers’ compensation insurance premiums; there are indirect costs as well. These range from costs to train replacement workers and repair damaged property to scheduling delays, reduced morale and damaged client relationships.

You can use OSHA’s “$afety Pays” calculator to estimate the amount of construction revenue necessary to cover the direct and indirect costs of a workplace accident or injury. After a few quick keystrokes, it will be easy to see why you need to invest in the following safety “must haves.”

The Support of Management

Everyone in a position of authority—from the company owner to the jobsite supervisor—needs to put safety first and the project second. While most construction projects take place under tight deadlines, accidents are more likely to occur when workers are hurrying through their jobs, cutting safety corners along the way. The human and financial costs associated with the inevitable accident are significantly more expensive than the investment of time to follow protocol. Management must ensure that all workers understand this and perform their jobs accordingly.

Employee Education

Regardless of past experience, all new construction employees should be provided with appropriate training—from safety procedures to the equipment they will be using—before they’re turned loose on the jobsite. Supervisors should spend additional time supervising new employees as well. Seasoned workers can be valuable mentoring and teaching resources; use them wisely.

Tools and Equipment

Every tool and piece of equipment used on your jobsite should be in good condition, working properly and frequently checked for damages. Perform repairs immediately, and retire old equipment and tools when necessary. These rules apply to personal protective equipment (such as hardhats, harnesses, gloves, safety glasses and respirators) as well.

Work Zone Barriers

Whether your jobsite is in the middle of a city or the outskirts of the suburbs, utilize safety fencing or other barriers to keep unauthorized people out of the construction area. Additionally, use safety fencing to alert your construction workers to particularly dangerous areas within the jobsite (such as excavations and openings or locations where they may encounter falling objects).

Easy Access to Safety Materials

You can have the most elaborate jobsite safety plan in the world, the best-stocked first-aid kit, and oodles of equipment manuals and other documentation, but they won’t prevent even a single