At Triax, every week is Safety Week, and in recognition of the industry coming together to reaffirm its commitment to worker safety, we asked #TeamTriax to share their safety best practices. Below, former EHS Manager and current Triax Client Engagement Specialist, Julia Brenker, shares her thoughts with the blog.
A new construction site is a growing life form; what starts in its infancy stage as a hole in the ground transpires into a fully functioning, self-operating structure. Before groundbreak is when project owners have the opportunity to set the path for productivity, safety, and success by selecting the right general contractor. In particular, when it comes to safety, there are considerable differences between GCs meeting the bare minimum of compliance (doing just what is required and nothing more) versus those optimizing workflow and worksite safety performance.
The construction industry is comprised of nearly six million contractors, subcontractors, and laborers. Making safety a priority starts with top management and trickles down to the workforce – the most essential part of any project. When workers are provided the tools and training they deserve, and have the on-going coaching and support they need from site leaders, project teams are set up for better safety success. Construction workers must be empowered to identify hazards, report dangerous working conditions, and practice safe working behavior – that is when they can become true safety “champions” for an organization.
In the intermediate stages of the project, as production ramps up, construction sites are changing each day, which means that construction site risks are changing each day as well. With countless trades and heavy machinery and other equipment on the move in and around the job site, project leaders and teams need to stay vigilant, communicate constantly, and adopt and refine safety best practices (such as using three points of contact when entering and exiting the machine). One common risky behavior found on a jobsite is the act of jumping down from a higher elevation. Jumping from the ground level into a trench, from the third step on a ladder to the floor, from the driver seat of a powered industrial machine to the ground, or even just the back of a truck bed to the ground can result in serious injuries and accidents – especially when done multiple times throughout the day. What may seem like a harmless behavior has the ability to cause an incident, interrupt workflows, result in lost worker time and productivity, and increase insurance claims.
This is where contractors who are utilizing the advancements in jobsite technologies and analytics are seeing the biggest rewards. The Spot-r system, for example, is comprised of a 900 MHz mesh network, which connects nearly any jobsite as well as the hundreds (or thousands) of workers and machines. The mesh network provides site leaders with real-time visibility into their workforce and equipment, which is imperative when talking about emergency response on multi-story buildings. For example, after only three minutes, an individual suffering from cardiac arrest can begin to experience progressively worsening brain damage, but wearing the Spot-r Clip can expedite response times by up to 91% – all with the push of a button. Run your site safer with Spot-r today. Reach out to me for more.
Julia Brenker is a Client Engagement Specialist at Triax Technologies. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.
