Various construction sites across the country are either being forced to close or suffering huge fines due to breaches of safety compliance measures. This is happening because some construction site managers don’t fully understand all that goes into making their site legally safe. They handle the obvious things – like imposing hard safety hats and utilising clear hazard signage – but a few things keep getting overlooked.
The reason these elements are overlooked is simple: they’re not viewed as “major” safety concerns, so they’re easy to forget about. Nevertheless it’s hard to create a profitable business if your construction site keeps getting shut down to address safety concerns, or you’re hit with constant fines. In this post we’ll explore some of these unknown site safety measures, why they’re important, and how to ensure you pass the right checks.
Cold Water Storage Tank Standards
Believe it or not, but the cold water storage tanks on your construction site must adhere to various standards and regulations. This includes The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 and more. The former relates to the construction of your water tanks to ensure they’re made using the right materials and are designed to be efficient. The latter focuses on ensuring your construction site provides access to shower or toilet facilities for staff.
What damages a lot of companies is that they use old cold water storage tanks that have degraded over time and are no longer compliant. You can fix this with water tank relining services, though you must ensure that the new lining adheres to the regulations as well. Of course, there’s also the issue of not having a cold water storage tank to supply shower or bathroom facilities. Sometimes all you need is one of these tanks to avoid problems.
Temporary Structures
Every construction site will have countless temporary structures, such as:
- Scaffolding.
- Hoardings.
- Temporary office buildings.
While it’s commonly known that all of these temporary structures must be designed to withstand reasonable loads, many construction sites forget to appoint a Temporary Works Coordinator to be in charge of these structures. They’re the person who must inspect these works regularly and be qualified to assume this role. Neglecting this appointment can mean your site gets hit with health and safety violations.
Controlling Noise
Under The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, all construction sites are required to perform due diligence in managing noise levels and protecting individuals from exposure to loud noises. One of the more well-known aspects of this involves providing hearing protection to workers when they use loud tools.
However, too many construction sites forget about things like scheduling and noise silencers to protect the general public. Depending on what tools you use, you may only be allowed to use them between certain periods in a day. Moreover, depending on where your site is located, you may be forced to implement silencing devices to reduce the decibel levels. Again, if you don’t do these things, then it’s easy for health & safety to shut down your site or give you a significant fine.
While some aspects of construction site health & safety are obvious, others are unknown and can be forgotten. This is happening to dozens of construction sites up and down the country, so make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
