A Civil Contractor’s Look at Safety
Safety is a key element of any job site; OSHA and other agencies have strict guidelines and requirements designed to keep construction sites safe for workers.
At Park Enterprise Construction, our commitment to safety extends far beyond simply meeting the legal requirements. Our policy “safety is a way of life at Park” is consistently reinforced each week.
We feel that creating and maintaining a safe working environment and site is a critical moral component to keep our employees safe at work each day.
HCSS Software is Keeping Civil Contractors Safe
The HCSS software is something that has been integrated into every member of the team’s daily lives.
Additionally, at our weekly safety meetings, we review the importance of safety and how the HCSS innovative software can be used to help maintain the ideal working environment for a team.
Every Monday, the Safety Coordinator, Project Manager, President, and Vice President of Operations lead a meeting to keep safety at the top of every person in the company’s mind. When team members leave the meeting, they are firmly secure in a safety mindset throughout the week, through the encouragement of safety right at the start of the week.
Here’s how it enhances safety:
Improves Interconnectedness Among Team Members
Unique applications and in-field iPad devices ensure that every member of the team can contribute. By empowering employees to be involved with enforcement and with meeting our strict in-house safety guidelines, the likelihood of an injury or incident is significantly reduced.
In addition to allowing the team to report issues, these devices make it easy to alert everyone to a potential hazard in real time, preventing injury and enhancing safety.
An expansion of the number and type of incidents or conditions that can be seen and corrected ensures that nothing goes unnoticed and that any potential hazards are promptly reported, shared, and action taken to remedy the noted danger.
By creating a more comprehensive list of unsafe conditions and empowering all team members to spot and identify issues, the overall safety of the site is significantly enhanced.
Links Personal and Group Safety
Crew members are also encouraged to download the Safety Observation app to their own devices so that they can engage with the identification and reporting of safety observations, and interact with both other workers and the system.
The HCSS software allows crew members to:
- Post videos
- Post photos
- Record observations
Real time alerts and notes ensure that every member of the team has the most recent details and can plan to use the correct information.
Helps Mitigate Language Barriers
Recent studies reveal that Spanish speaking workers may be at greater risk of injury on job sites; a portal which details safety issues and takes a proactive approach can help these at-risk Latino workers reduce injury rates.
The increased risk is primarily due to the way instructions and updates are relayed; when these are shared verbally, the worker could miss something or have incomplete information if English is not their first language.
By moving instructions and communications to a tablet, the information can be consumed and understood at a better pace, increasing safety for all workers.
Prioritizing a Preventative Approach
HCSS software has provided a robust solution for Park Enterprise Construction to maintain a preventative approach, allowing teams to have Daily Huddle style meetings, communicate via personal device (BYOD) or iPad to be sure everyone is on the same page and receives a strong safety and awareness message daily.
The foreman can record this meeting and the topic in the management system, making it simple to stay organized and remember what was previously discussed.
The topics of these “toolbox talks” vary widely, but common topics that are covered include:
- Working in extreme temperatures / weather
- Instructions regarding hazardous materials
- Ensuring personal protective equipment is in place and working properly
- Changes in OSHA regulations
- Trench and trench box safety
- Hazardous material labeling
This meeting format serves as both a preventative and a daily reminder for the team before they head out to work.
Safety Software Helps Construction Clients, Too!
When there is a workplace accident, everything comes to a halt. The normal progression of a job stops, and changes are made to ensure the team and site is safe to work on again. By preventing these accidents, jobs move along smoothly — benefiting both the safety of the civil contractor and the timeline of the clients.
The last thing any civil contractor or client wants to worry about is workman’s compensation, liability issues, or negative press — especially when the accident could have been prevented.
Safety continues to be a huge issue for construction zones and projects – an issue with both legal and moral repercussions. By committing to prevention, enhancing the communication toolbox and ensuring that all team members can contribute and access information, Park continues its well known and enduring commitment to safety.