Construction is always ongoing. Therefore, the issues of preventing accidents are relevant. Safety measures at the construction site help in this matter. What are they? What are the safety requirements? By what principle is everything organized?
Introductory information
Safety measures play a significant role in the modern construction industry. It should be present at any site, regardless of the scale of the facility being built. After all, any construction is a place of increased danger. Numerous mechanisms and equipment are put into operation here, many of which weigh whole tons. Systems, aggregates and many other devices and operating moments require that the safety rules on the part of all participants in the process are clearly observed. What should be done by responsible specialists? First of all, the question is about the proper organization of the process. It is especially worth noting the issues of ensuring safe working conditions, which can prevent the onset of industrial injuries, as well as occupational diseases of employees.
What can be done to make this a reality? Unscheduled safety briefing at the construction site, employee training and systematic inspections will allow us to pull the situation to the proper level.
About the documentary aspect
To streamline the situation, it is necessary to work out the basis for behavior and decision-making. For example, safety instructions at a construction site can be created. But this is not the only thing.
Perhaps the most important document on which all others depend is the project for the organization of work. It should include all the important aspects to ensure trouble-free operation. Thus, the project should take into account all measures related to safety engineering, specify the means of mechanization, as well as pay attention to hard and labor-intensive work, especially those that involve horizontal and vertical transportation of building materials. In addition, in this document it is necessary to describe the types and types of building materials used, as well as to consider the possibility of their placement at the construction site.
It will not be amiss to mention the use of scaffolds and inventory forests. Still must be observed SNiP. Safety at the construction site is not a new business, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel here.
What needs attention?
Let's talk about the main activities, as well as the rules of conduct at construction sites. To date, it is recommended to pay attention to the following:
- Organization of the construction process, as well as planned work.
- Proper storage of used materials, parts and accessories.
- Organization of the construction site itself and the development of convenient walkways for employees working on it.
- Creation of professional technical supervision, which will monitor the state of the applied mechanisms, devices, equipment and crane tracks.
- Comprehensive provision of convenient and sufficient emergency and working lighting. It should be equipped throughout the entire area.
- It is imperative to conduct a systematic briefing of all personnel serving and working on site.
- It is necessary to qualitatively protect the entire territory of the construction site, as well as stairs, the rotating and moving parts of the crane.
- It is necessary to ensure the availability of constant and quality control over the serviceability of all used mechanisms, their complete set and suitability for the use of tools.
- The operating rules of all used devices and equipment must be strictly observed.
- A set of measures is required to ensure electrical safety for maintenance personnel.
- It is necessary to use an alarm in accordance with the current rules of the State Technical Supervision.
All these actions must be carried out by the organization’s management. But the chief engineer is usually directly responsible for their implementation.
What other activities can be implemented?
In addition to mandatory actions, mention should be made of others. In most cases, in addition to them, a number of measures have to be taken, which provide additional security. And not only for the personnel serving the construction site, but also for those people who are staying on it temporarily. For example, safety requirements at a construction site require that safety helmets be used, and besides them, workwear that has reflective elements. If there is a street, a pedestrian walkway or a car passage near the building, you must take care of the presence of solid fences. In cases of close proximity, you should additionally take care of a special protective visor that allows you to cover people well. It is also necessary to take care of the availability of sanitary-hygienic and domestic premises. Moreover, they should be installed in such a way as to minimize the number of transitions between them and the place of work. As an example, there are latrines, showers, dining rooms, walk-in closets, places to relax and so on. The number, area and nature of the premises must be indicated in the construction organization project.
About bureaucratic moments
It is best that no accidents occur. But this, alas, is impossible. Therefore, the question arises of an action plan for first aid, as well as the registration of all accidents. It is also important to note that all authorized persons are familiar with the current regulations. In this case, a safety magazine at the construction site comes to the rescue. It should be signed by everyone who works. The presence of a signature indicates that the person has undergone safety training at the construction site and agrees to act according to it. In addition, you need to know what to do in case of emergency.
For example, if a brick fell on someone’s head and he lost consciousness, what to do in this case, whether to move a person, what position should be given to the body. There should be clear safety instructions at the construction site so that in case of which the personnel know what they need to do. This can help to win precious time, which will be crucial for human health or even life. It should always be remembered that safety regulations at the construction site are written in the blood of those who ignored them. Therefore, even drafting the best manual will not be able to help if no one monitors its implementation.
What does it look like in practice?
In order not to walk around and around, as well as not limited to general words, the safety instructions for the construction site issued by the workers as part of the solution of general labor protection issues will be considered. It is divided into several parts:
- Who has access to independent work? Safety at the construction site for workers provides that it is accessible to those who have all the necessary professional skills and have undergone a medical examination, introductory and initial training, training and knowledge testing (and received the appropriate certificate).
- The worker must comply with existing requirements when handling machinery and machines. It is necessary to use the received clothing, as well as other personal protective equipment, for its intended purpose. Doing work without using them is prohibited. It is also necessary to engage exclusively in those activities for which you are trained, instructed and which you can perform. Priority should be given to orders received from the immediate supervisor - the foreman or foreman. When at a construction site and other hazardous locations, always use a safety helmet, as well as other personal protective equipment. And you should always remember the personal responsibility of the worker for observing the established safety rules.
- People should not be allowed to work if their overalls are doused with combustible or lubricating materials. Also in such a situation it is forbidden to approach an open fire and smoke. Clothing must certainly be leased.
Other requirements
Safety when organizing a construction site puts forward a number of conditions:
- It is forbidden to drink alcohol and be at one’s workplace, the territory of the managing organization or, in the performance of duties, in a state of toxic, drug or alcohol intoxication. Smoking is allowed only in specially designated places.
- It is forbidden to arbitrarily change your place of work without the knowledge of the foreman or foreman. It is also not recommended to move around the territory of the construction site without the presence of industrial need for this. Also, the worker should not follow orders in cases where they contradict established safety rules.
- Where there is a high probability of the occurrence of harmful gases (pits, wells), a person can begin to fulfill his duties only if there is a work permit from the master (foreman). The immediate boss must carefully check the place of work and make sure that it is safe to stay in it. Such work should be performed by a team of at least three people. In this case, one works in dangerous conditions (the same well), and two are on the surface. If harmful gases have appeared, then you should immediately stop working and leave the danger zone. Workers should also have gas masks with them.
Important additions
What else is required? Here is the continuation of the previous list:
- Before starting work with cradles, scaffolds and forests, you must obtain the permission of the responsible master or foreman. It is forbidden to work on them if malfunctions are detected. The same applies to the flooring, if they are laid on random supports, such as bricks, barrels and the like.
- If work is performed at a height of more than five meters above ground level (floor, floor), as well as in cases when it is impractical or impossible to arrange flooring, workers should be provided with safety belts, as well as shoes with non-slip soles. All devices must be tested and have a designation in the form of a number and date of verification (carried out every six months).
- If a thunderstorm is approaching, then it is necessary to take refuge in a closed room. During bad weather it is forbidden to be near poles, tall trees, as well as other objects towering above the height of the earth.
- If labor is carried out outdoors or in unheated rooms in the cold season, then, depending on the strength of the wind and air temperature, it is necessary to organize breaks for heating. Otherwise, work should be curtailed. Accurate readings are established by local authorities.
- It is forbidden to carry out installation work if the wind speed exceeds 15 meters per second. Similarly, with sleet, heavy snow, rain, thunder and fog. Work floorings, walkways and driveways must be systematically cleaned of snow, ice, and sprinkled with sand.
We complete the list
It should be noted that the safety precautions under consideration when visiting the construction site and conducting activities on it are not exhaustive, but allow us to cover many important points for our latitudes:
- If materials and equipment are stored at workplaces, it must be ensured that they do not interfere with passage. You should also take measures against spontaneous displacement, shedding, subsidence and rolling.
- It is forbidden to use a hand tool if there are chips and potholes on it, burrs are observed at the places of hand clamping, and cracks are observed on the occipital part.
- Before using pneumatic and electric machines, make sure that they are working.
- Any actions with electronics (replacing lamps, connecting to a network) must be carried out by specialists.
- For fire safety, it is necessary to clean combustible construction waste daily and be provided with fire extinguishing means.
- It is necessary to monitor the values of the maximum permissible concentration of harmful substances and in case of a dangerous situation take the necessary measures.
- Control should be provided for illumination, limit values for noise and vibration, temperature standards, relative air velocity and humidity. For this, construction laboratories are involved.
- It is necessary to cover pits, wells and other excavations in the ground with covers, fences or strong shields. At night, they should be indicated by electric warning lights, the voltage of which does not exceed 42 V.
- The entrances to buildings under construction should be protected by a canopy from the possible fall of something from above.
- Submit materials, structures and assemblies should be strictly in the technical sequence to ensure the safety of work.
- Finishing, insulating and paints and varnishes that are harmful or explosive are allowed to be stored at the places of activity in quantities that do not exceed the shift demand.
Conclusion
So we examined what constitutes safety equipment at construction sites. Of course, if you create a regulatory document, then the laid out information will not be enough, because numerous GOSTs and requirements from the side of those who inspect the object were not mentioned. But in order to understand how this works, in which direction the idea of ensuring security is going, the above information should be more than enough. And when creating regulatory documentation, you must remember that it should be useful. And at the same time no one reads a large amount of information. Therefore, the general rulebook should be small, a few pages maximum, but useful!