Why Are Risk Assessments So Crucial In The Construction Industry?
Risk assessments are important in any industry. They are particularly important in the construction industry because construction sites often have the potential to be very dangerous environments. With that in mind, here is a quick guide to what you need to know about risk assessments in construction.
What Are Risk Assessments In Construction?
Risk assessments in construction aim to determine how to prevent risk in construction. They do this by following a standard five-step process.
Identify hazards: Actively look for issues that could pose a problem, even a minor one.
Assess the risks: Assess the extent of the problem that the issue could pose (err on the side of caution.
Control the risks: If possible, eliminate the risk. If that is not possible, minimise employees’ exposure to it and ensure that they have suitable protection while they are exposed to it.
Record your findings: Never rely on people’s memories. Always record all findings in writing and make sure they are properly backed up.
Review the controls: Make a commitment to reviewing the controls regularly as the environment can change and better options may become available.
A risk assessment must be carried out at the start of any new construction operation. This allows the site operator to assess the risks, and ensure that suitable and sufficient safety precautions and control measures are provided to keep staff and visitors safe.
It’s advisable for risk assessments in construction to be carried out periodically and also in response to any significant event. This ensures that your safety protocols and equipment always reflect current best practices.
The Advantages Of Risk Assessments In Construction
Here are just five advantages of a risk assessment in construction:
Promoting Safety
The main advantage of risk assessments in construction is that they promote safety in the workplace. Not only do they promote safety in themselves, but the fact of being seen to be conducting risk assessments helps to create a culture of health and safety awareness. In particular, it can encourage staff to report potential issues that you may have missed or that have developed since the last risk assessment.
Ensuring Compliance with Laws and Regulations
Employers have a legal and regulatory obligation to provide a healthy and safe working environment for their employees. To do this, they need to know how to prevent risk in construction. This means undertaking a risk assessment.
Improving Operational Efficiency
There are two ways that risk assessments in construction improve operational efficiency. The first is that they minimise the likelihood of workplace accidents with their consequent downtime and disruption (which can be long-term). The second is that undertaking a risk assessment can often highlight operational issues thus allowing them to be addressed.
Improving Profitability
Again, there are two ways that risk assessments in construction improve profitability. The first is by improving operational efficiency. This helps to keep projects on schedule even when project managers have to deal with unexpected issues such as extreme weather. The second is by removing the costs associated with inefficiency. These can range from extra labour and materials to higher insurance premiums.
Enhancing Brand Image
Construction businesses that regularly have incidents that lead to injury, damage or other losses tend to find their brands tainted by the fact. Even if they are not actively sanctioned by regulators and/or lawmakers, customers may be wary of doing business with them.
Modern purchasers are often very well aware that any issues caused by one of their suppliers could result in damage to their own brand.
It is increasingly common for businesses to have goals that relate to corporate social responsibility (for example, the ethical treatment of workers). These goals may prohibit them from working with suppliers that have questionable track records when it comes to safety.
To find out more about how you can prevent your employees from risk and danger whilst they work please get in touch with SHEARFORCE today!
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