First Housing Development Corporation of Florida

As every contractor knows, safety is of the utmost importance on the jobsite, and without safety features in place, too many things can go wrong.  According to the most recent article in ConstructConnection.com, 937 deaths occurred in 2016 due to construction injuries as a result of safety violations. 

“OSHA requires that an employer do everything reasonable within its power to ensure that its personnel do not violate safety standards. However, if an employer lives up to that standard and an employee nonetheless fails to use proper equipment or otherwise ignores firmly established safety measures, it seems unfair to hold the employer liable.  To address this dilemma, both the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission and courts have recognized the availability of the ‘unforeseeable employee misconduct defense’.”
 

Contractors must have a safety plan and workplace rules in place, and these should include instructions and rules relative to the jobs being performed.  Monthly compliance inspections should be conducted to support the contractors’ efforts to discover safety violations and correct them before something goes wrong.  A proactive approach to this would be to conduct inspections every morning before employees show up at a job site, throughout the regular work day, and after employees have left for the day.  

Contractors should not wait for an official inspection before taking action, or, worse yet,  for a serious accident to happen to one of their workers. Safeguarding the workplace and works means ensuring that you and your employees are trained, inspection reports are retained, reviewed, and if necessary, disciplinary action should be taken when there are violations or infractions. 

Workplace safety is important for everyone involved.  Construction jobs progress much more smoothly and efficiently when everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, when equipment is in good working order, and no one is getting hurt.  

Training is imperative, not only for the employee, but also the employer; just think about how far a safety class can go in saving a life, as this is protection for all parties involved.  

First Housing offers online OSHA classes starting at only $20 per course.  Don’t let workplace safety be a problem for you or your staff…sign up today!

References:
www.osha.com
www.constructionconnect.com/blog