According to AdvisorSmith, half of the most dangerous jobs in the United States are in construction. While every job carries risks, workplace conditions in the construction industry are a matter of life and death. So, as a leader in the construction industry, What can you do to keep your team safe? Construction ergonomics plays a critical role in preventing workplace deaths or injuries.
Best practices for a commercial roofing job are different from flooring work. And the risks vary from job to job, so many aspects of ergonomics in construction remain constant. As you develop policies and evaluate conditions for your work crew, here are some things to consider.
Ergonomics in Construction Safety: Quick Tips
As you begin to evaluate ergonomics in construction industry workplace settings, start by doing these two things:
- Review Injury Records: Before you do anything else, review your injury records to spot recurring problems and safety issues. Worker injury reports, insurance claims, and workers compensation records are a great place to start.
- Investigate Job Site Conditions: Take a walk through your job sites and make notes. Pay attention to the temperature, the tools your employees are using, and how they’re using them. Make a note of posture, repetitive tasks, noises, and vibrations.
Do you need help determining what to investigate?
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How to Develop a Construction Ergonomics Checklist
After reviewing injury records and walking through your worksites, you’ll be better prepared to develop a standard checklist for managers to use. The goal of an ergonomics checklist is to help your employees and leaders develop an eye for best practices. In addition, using a standard list can help prevent injuries or accidents from happening.
Here are a few items to consider including on your construction ergonomics checklist…
Materials Handling
Assess the weight of commonly used objects, the position of items, etc. Here are some sample questions for this portion of the checklist:
- Do any workers have to lift more than 50 pounds at one time without help?
- Are there handles for heavy materials?
- How often must workers lift overhead?
- Do workers have to bend to lift items?
Tools
Use this portion of the checklist to make sure jobsite tools are in tip-top shape. Here are a few questions to ask:
- Are tools sharpened?
- Which tools need sharpening?
- Are there any tools vibrating excessively?
Repetitive Work
Note any tasks that include repetitive motions more than a dozen times per hour. Here are some questions to ask:
- What are the hand movements required?
- Are employees performing these repetitive tasks getting enough breaks?
- Is there a way to reduce repetitions?
Posture
Evaluate how your crew is standing, sitting, bending, or crouching on the job. Here are some questions to ask:
- Are there any jobs that require workers to stay in one position for a long time?
- Is there equipment that could reduce bending?
- Could extra equipment cut down on the need to work overhead?
Musculoskeletal Symptoms
Because of the high rate of on-the-job injuries in construction, this is one of the most critical things to assess regularly. Here are some questions to ask:
- Have any workers been reporting muscle pain, tingling, numbness, loss of strength, or a loss of joint movement?
- Where are they reporting pain? (Neck, back, wrist, shoulder, etc.)
- In which jobs do most workers report these symptoms?
With this checklist in place, encourage your team leads to walk through worksites and evaluate conditions weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Regular inspections are the best way to stop problems before they ever start.