In this month’s issue, we take a look at construction safety as project season begins, we discuss fatigue management in the workplace and dive into the role of workers’ beliefs in accident prevention.
Every spring, as the days get warmer and the weather gets consistently drier, the construction industry ramps up their projects and construction season officially begins. And it is the time of year that workers and safety managers alike should be refreshed on proper safety protocols while on the job.
Circumventing disasters such as injury and illness begins with trying to control a hazard to protect employees, and control of safety hazards begins with proactive measures.
Preventable injuries culminate from a series of sequential events, as represented by five dominos. The first represents the task or situation, followed by some faulty worker decision, resulting in the unsafe action, which leads to an accident and the inevitable injury. By tipping the first domino all tend to fall, and by removing some of the intervening domino the accident can be eliminated. Hence the belief that workers decisions or actions are the primary cause of accidents.
Heat stress occurs when employees are exposed to high heat and high humidity environments, indoors or outdoors. Though preventable, heat stress signs and symptoms can go unrecognized until the full exposure to the heat presents itself.