Safety on Site: How COVID-19 Reinforces Old Trends in Construction

construction worker wearing PPE

Safety on Site: How COVID-19 Reinforces Old Trends in Construction

The construction industry is continuously evolving and modifying its techniques to keep workers safe. To prevent needless harm or death, several regulations are established by legislation. But new laws must be put in place before any injuries or fatalities occurring, rather than after.

Tech in Safety

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, construction industry technology has emerged as one of the most frequent safety trends. Because many commercial construction firms have learned to utilize technology on worksites, they’ve developed new ways to use it. As a result, there are now drones and bots that can do jobs formerly completed by people.

Technology reduces the number of employees needed on the working site at once while also keeping workers out of harm’s way while doing hazardous jobs. As a result, employees can maintain safe distances from one another. At this point, virtual reality (VR) is already well-known. You may already know a lot about it, but there’s a lot more to it than just playing games or entertaining yourself.

It is beginning to get traction with virtual reality building training. A new virtual reality training package from Bechtel Construction was just introduced. Trainees are given the option to study the fundamentals of construction site safety in a risk-free setting through a virtual construction site.

You can create virtual simulations that replicate dangers and stressful circumstances, making it impossible to do so in the actual world. Virtual reality simulations can provide your employees life-saving experiences.

It’s been shown that VR training reduces the frequency of occurrences. This implies that it can be self-supporting in the long term.

VR training is not only very effective but also enjoyable. Getting individuals to participate in this sort of training won’t be hard. All construction sites have many dangers, some of which are not immediately apparent. As an example, there may be poisons on the site, such as asbestos. To minimize these types of hazards, using smart sensors is a fantastic idea.

Smart sensors will respond immediately if a hazardous poison is present in the air. In this case, the employees can remove themselves from the site before any significant damage is done. As smart sensors can also detect fires, they are called fire sensors. Additionally, they can tell the humidity levels in the air to the point of seeing a water leak. Time is of importance when anything goes wrong on a building site. With smart sensors, you can detect a problem before it becomes severe.

They may also perform a longitudinal risk analysis on the data they’ve gathered. Thus, building site security issues can be resolved before they occur.

woman wearing a mask

Wider Use of PPEs

Since the construction business began, personal protective equipment (PPE) has always been essential in daily operations. Another requirement for PPE and pre-existing dangers has been introduced by the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You will likely encounter fabric face masks as well as OSHA-required equipment like respirators in more general usage.

Personal protection equipment (PPE) is one of the employees’ main lines of defense while working on a construction site. Each item is created to keep you safe from the potential dangers of harm or sickness, as well as the costs that come with encountering these hazards during an incident.

No matter how little, all jobs and projects should be examined for potential risks, and special safety equipment should be used when needed. Construction sites can reduce risks with the use of proper personal protective equipment (PPE). The risks include electrical hazards, fall hazards, chemical hazards, harmful dust, struck-by injuries, penetration, and caught-in or caught-between incidents. Workers should also have hearing PPE to protect their ears and help them focus on their work.

Proper PPE fit is essential for employees to utilize PPE correctly. Clothing and other things should not be unfastened to reduce the risk of injury or entanglement.

With technological changes on the horizon, it appears the construction sector is near a revolution. Workplace accidents may soon be a thing of the past, as innovations in safe technology eliminate significant risks; the fewer risks we have to take, the better. There’s no risk in sending a drone to examine a hazardous roof when you can do without an on-site inspection. Technology implementation can be expensive at first, but it can save you money in the long term. For instance, sensors that are worn may automatically count the number of people. This can save up a significant amount of time each week. Given this technology, it is self-financing in the long term. The COVID-19 pandemic has made us all re-examine our safety procedures and has turned construction firms’ approach to business on its head. Because of social distancing and with the aid of new, creative technologies, we’ve reorganized how we run our day-to-day operations. Which post-pandemic construction safety trends do you expect to see?

Scroll to Top