The Best Construction Startups Minimize Worker Injuries

As you develop a construction startup, you have an advantage over those who run established companies. You can establish best practices from the start in every area that prevent and eliminate many of the problems that other businesses have. From office procedures to billing and from safety to payroll, your company can excel where others fail, because you get to start an ideal foundation and zero days of workplace injuries. Let’s explore how to do that.

Develop a Comprehensive Workplace Safety Plan

Hire a professional safety consultant to work with you to develop the safety plan. Make a list of every conceivable situation you might work on and address the issues of safety and potential injury using the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance requirements as a minimum standard. Most businesses must review existing procedures and conduct a workplace safety analysis.
Your new business can address situations in the ideal because you have yet to finalize your work plans and business processes. For example, if your construction firm will conduct projects requiring the use of scaffolding, create mitigation and prevention measures to prevent scaffolding injuries, some of the most common construction industry injuries. Annually, U.S. employers pay nearly $90 million in lost workdays from this type of accident alone. Make regular job site inspections a focal part of your safety plan.

Properly Screen Potential Employees

Make a pre-employment physical a part of your interview process. This physical exam identifies problems that would cause a person to not be able to do the job for which they’re hired. Instituting this safeguard ensures that a person’s physical abilities match the job for which you hire them.

Provide Comprehensive Safety Training to All Employees

Because inevitably, an employee will miss work and someone will need to fill in for them, you need to train every individual using a comprehensive safety training program that prepares them all at once for every situation, so they know how to appropriately approach each situation. Also, cover each potential scenario regarding a work task. For instance, a buried septic tank, the watertight container that holds feces and urine in areas without municipal waste treatment, comes in three forms: concrete, fiberglass, and polyethylene. Your safety training would need to cover how to work with a tank made of each of these materials.

Provide Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

According to current projections, the global construction equipment market will experience a compound annual growth rate of 4.7 percent between 2020 and 2025. But while you buy bulldozers, backhoes, and cranes, you should also sink a significant amount of your budget into personal protection equipment (PPE). Purchase the PPE before you offer training to your employees and train them in the proper use of it.

Maintain Adequate Staff

Maintaining an adequate number of employees to complete each job helps prevent accidents. When a construction firm tries to tackle a project without enough workers, it creates danger. The same situation occurs when people try to take shortcuts at work. Always ensure that you hire enough workers to finish a job, and you have well-trained backups available if someone calls in sick.

Maintain Workplace Vehicles and Heavy Equipment

Make proper maintenance of workplace vehicles and heavy equipment part of the safety program at your startup. Regular inspections of each motor vehicle ensure you catch problems before they cause an accident. From oil leaks to worn hoses, finding and repairing vehicular issues quickly prevents accidents.

Creating a Safer Construction Startup

The growing construction industry needs new talent to help build the homes that will address the U.S. housing shortage. When you found your construction firm, make workplace safety a top priority, as much for compliance as for mutual respect of those you employ. Workplace safety measures help your business save money, too, since your workers’ compensation insurance premiums won’t increase if you don’t have workplace accidents, and you won’t need to train temporary employees to replace injured ones.