Guide to staying safe on-site

Big or small, construction sites can be a dangerous place to work. 

From the volume of different tradespeople and variety of work being carried out to the heavy-duty plant equipment and machinery being used – you need to be aware at all times of your surroundings and your safety. 

We don’t intend to scare anyone off, but when it comes to working on construction sites you can be faced with hazards around every corner. 

At Addplant, we’re one of the few plant hire companies that help to support employees when it comes to an understanding the equipment in use on-sites — delivering training and advice, (if needed), as well as providing complete peace of mind that all of our tool hire complies with all regulations. 

To coincide with this, in this post we want to provide you with some additional tips regarding how you can stay safe on sites, starting with… 

…wear your PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) at all times!  When on-site things like high-vis, hard hats, safety boots and more are not just part of the uniform, they’re a must in helping to keep you safe.  PPE will usually be provided to you by your employer, and it’s up to you to make the best use of it. The job of PPE is to ultimately protect you from hazards while letting you carry on with the job at hand. 

It’s also important to make sure you have, and fully partake in, an on-site induction.  You need to be aware of what’s going on around you, what trades are working at what stages, what plant equipment is being used and where this is being used around the site, etc.   

Falling is one of the biggest risks on construction sites, so it’s essential that you familiarise yourself with every situation, making sure that you’re not walking into unknown and hazardous settings. 

Being fully aware of your surroundings reduces the chances of accidents from happening. 

Keep things tidy.  Easier said than done, but if workspaces can be tidied appropriately where entrance and exit ways aren’t blocked with rubbish, scaffold platforms are cleared at all times, machinery and tools are securely put away – then risk and potential hazards can all be minimised. 

Please follow safety protocol.  Using your own judgement and at times common sense, as well as company and site regulations, putting your safety training into practice as well as following the signs on-site can all help to keep you and others safe. 

Which leads on, to behaviour.  It’s vital that you display proper and appropriate behaviour at all times.  Your behaviour speaks volumes and how you act and your attitude towards safety will and can, influence others. 

Make sure to report any problems or hazards as soon as you see them.  Any issues that you may spot with equipment, any defects in scaffolding, etc. should all be reported asap.  It’s not just your safety but that of others that you must consider. 

Don’t play around on plant equipment, plant hire companies really don’t like it, mainly because it’s really dangerous to do so, but also because it can also cause further damage.  For example, don’t remove guards or shields, scaffold ties definitely shouldn’t be removed, and for all it might be tempting, don’t play around with fixing defective equipment (unless you are fully trained, and you have permission to do so). 

Operate machinery and tools safely and competently.  It’s important that you use the right tools for the job, you have the right PPE in place and that you know how to operate such equipment safely.  Being fully trained as well as authorised to use certain types of machinery is key, as well as operating and using larger pieces of plant equipment according to the manufacturer’s directions/instructions – never testing the limits to see how far equipment can be pushed. 

At Addplant, we take safety very seriously.  That’s why all of our team are fully trained when it comes to all plant and tool hire provided by ourselves, and we make ourselves available to you, answering any questions or queries you might have when it comes to the wide range of plant equipment we have available. 

If you’re looking for plant hire in Hull, look no further than Addplant, providing a solution to meet all of your requirements. 

Call today on 01482 867 227 or click the button below to find our more.

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