Identifying and preventing common construction hazards

The risks of working on construction sites

Whether you’re a long-time builder or thinking of becoming a building surveyor in the future, there are a lot of hazards to be aware of on construction sites.

From building new structures to demolishing old ones, there can be a lot happening at any one time. Not to mention all the other tradespeople working on-site to complete a project.

As a result, construction sites continue to be one of the more dangerous workplaces out there.

And this is no fault of the work itself. Instead, construction site hazards come about due to numerous overlapping reasons that can’t necessarily be avoided.

However, while you can’t eliminate these risks, there is plenty you can do to mitigate hazards on a construction site. After all, it’s important for both you and your employees to be safe on the job.

Below are our top tips on identifying construction site risks and how to prevent them from becoming a danger.

Major construction site risks to be aware of

While there are plenty of common risks you need to take note of, like those posed by your construction plant, it’s best to highlight major issues first. And for the construction industry, these come in three obvious, but often overlooked forms:

• Hazardous substances – present in many older buildings, these include things such as asbestos, dust, chemicals, fumes, vapours, and gases, etc…
• Physical injuries – due to the varied nature of construction work it’s very easy to injure practically every area of the body while working
• Long-term health conditions – working in risk environments without the correct PPE is one of the main reasons so many construction workers have to deal with serious health conditions later in life, such as hand-arm vibration syndrome

Now, these might seem obvious at first. But as the Health and Safety Executive points out, these areas continue to contribute to major construction injuries every year.

Whether this is because of a lack of understanding, risk assessment, or PPE is up for debate. Regardless, they need to be considered in depth before any work begins.

Other common construction site hazards

Alongside the major construction site risks we’ve just highlighted, building sites create numerous minor hazards on top of these.

This is thanks to the different aspects of construction that come together to complete a build or demolition. And as a result, many can get overlooked when assessing site safety.

Below are some of the more common hazards on a construction site to be aware of:

• Working at heights
• Falling objects
• Transporting objects
• Moving vehicles
• Trips, slips, and falls
• Excessive noise
• Electrical hazards
• Collapsing structures
• Excavations
• Site security

As you can see, there’s a lot to keep track of. So much so that it’s no real surprise that some of the main construction work-related health risks can get missed.

What causes construction site hazards?

With so many hazards present in common work areas, it’s worth asking why there are so many to account for. We’ve already highlighted the variety of work as one key factor, but there are several others to note as well:

• Varied work areas – construction happens around the world in almost every environment, each of which pose their own risks to be aware of when working
• Dynamic trades – many construction projects require the assistance of other trades to complete the work, which again present new risks that might not necessarily be accounted for
• Low long-term awareness – while it is required for construction site managers to educate other employees on on-site risks, many don’t consider the impact certain jobs might have on their health in the coming years. Risks that don’t pose an immediate threat simply aren’t covered
• Employment styles – many construction workers are often self-employed, work for small companies, or change employers regularly. This means they’re often working away from home and don’t have direct access to medical professionals to diagnose potential illnesses

Naturally, not all of these can be directly addressed by your team. However, they can all be mitigated to some degree by following correct safety protocols. For example, by becoming a construction manager, you can learn how to maintain site safety properly.

Site safety rules and best practice

The first thing to understand when monitoring the main construction work-related health risk is that everyone has a role. From clients to employees, everyone needs to be up to speed on on-site regulations and how to implement them.

Primarily, this will involve risk prevention and management, such as performing risk assessments. However, it also includes training, education, and providing adequate PPE – all so your team can stay safe on the job.

On top of this, it’s worth noting that employers have a legal obligation to discuss site safety with their employees.

Their feedback will be invaluable in assessing if your risk prevention strategy is working. And they’ll like spot specific risks that you initially missed.

We go into more detail on how to do this in our article on safe working practices. However, you can also follow HSE best practices to get started in this area.

HSE guidelines and practices

When it comes to workplace safety, the HSE recommends following a three-step system designed to assess any risk. This is known as the Assess, Control, and Review strategy, the details of which we’ve laid out below:

• Assess – start by planning your strategy, identifying health hazards, assessing the significance of each, and involving your workers in managing risks
• Control – next, try to prevent any identified risks before you start working, and lay out plans to mitigate any risks that you can’t eliminate. You should also aim to train workers in how to mitigate any risks that could arise as they work
• Review – finally, be sure to supervise your workers in their approach to health and safety, maintaining any controls that worked and adapting those that seem inefficient to ensure they’re effective. Most importantly, act promptly to rectify any problems that do arise

By following these guidelines, you should be able to implement effective site safety. However, we recommend doing further research in this area to ensure maximum site protection.

Stay safe with Checkatrade

Now you have a good idea of what common site hazards to look out for, and how to mitigate them. And if you choose to sign up with Checkatrade, through our ongoing vetting process and regulation checking, we can help your business stay safe.

Our members can speak with other experienced tradespeople, and when appropriate we send out information about new regulations and legal updates regarding construction site safety.

Speak with our team today to learn more about the sign-up process. And don’t forget that we have plenty of similar blogs on the Checkatrade website. Such as our guide to the HSE and five ways you can make your site more secure.