By Mark Spring, CSP, CRIS, AGC Safety Management Consultant
With 22 years as a safety professional in the construction industry, I’ve seen my share of accidents, injuries, near misses, and close calls. Each of them has a lesson to take away. Using the lessons I learned from these incidents, I’ve developed a list of 10 safety rules.
These 10 safety rules are simple and generic; they may seem vague or even redundant, but they work! I have presented this list of 10 Safety Rules at new-employee orientations and at numerous safety meetings discussing accidents, injuries, near misses, and close calls. Nearly every incident I’ve investigated can be traced back to one or more of these rules being overlooked or ignored.
Take my list and build it for your company. Come up with examples for each rule that apply to your industry. Develop it into your orientation process, share it with your crews, and reinforce it regularly.
1. Everyone Is Responsible for Safety
Safety is a team effort. Don’t just focus on yourself and your safety: think about everyone’s safety, your coworkers, other trades, and the general public.
2. Never Take Shortcuts
Tasks are performed in a specific order for a reason. Skipping steps may save time in the moment, but it often leads to mistakes, injuries, or worse. Confined Space and Lockout/Tagout are two great examples of this.
3. Plan Ahead – Think Ahead
Before starting any task, big or small, think it through, plan it out, and decide what tools and materials you will need. What could go wrong? A little preparation might save you from having to take a shortcut.
4. Slow Down: Take a moment to think about what you are doing and what could happen.
We all have goals and deadlines we need to meet. We hustle to get things done quickly. Some days everything goes great; other days, nothing goes right. When things aren’t going right, you feel more pressure and scramble to get things done even quicker. That’s when incidents happen. When you start feeling the pressure, slow down, take a moment, reset, and refocus on the task at hand. Take the time to get the proper tool, undo the shoddy work, and start over. It is best to do it right the first time.
5. Do the Little Things Right
Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. Keep your van clean, sweep up the job site, roll up that extension cord, move that trip hazard. Address small hazards before they become bigger problems.
6. Be Aware of Your Surroundings
Construction sites are constantly moving and changing. Pay attention to what’s moving around you. What is above, below, in front of, and behind you? Be aware of the hazards you are creating and how they affect those around you.
7. Ask Questions
Nobody knows it all. Different industries use different terms for tools, materials, and equipment. Not all equipment starts and operates the same. If someone asks you to do a task you are not familiar with, don’t be afraid to ask a question. It’s better to get clarification than to assume you can “figure it out” and risk damaging property, equipment, or injuring someone.
8. Correct or Report all Safety Concerns.
Don’t walk past unsafe situations. (See rule #1). If you see an unsafe condition or unsafe act, correct it or report it. Fix that caution tape that got knocked down. Remove the 2X4 with nails sticking up. Offer earplugs to the person about to fire up a saw. If you cannot correct the situation, report it to someone who can. If you see it, you own it.
9. Pay Attention
Have your head in the Game. Everyone has things going on in their personal lives, good or bad. When at work, you need to focus on your task. Daydreaming about your vacation next week and not thinking about work can make things go wrong fast. I have heard “I just wasn’t paying attention” during far too many accident investigations. Stay focused on the task at hand.
10. Don’t Get Complacent
Confidence is good. Complacency is not. Just because you’ve done something a hundred times doesn’t mean nothing can go wrong. Construction has inherent risk; when proper safety policies and procedures are followed, there should be no danger. When you get complacent, you start skipping steps, taking shortcuts, and bypassing safety rules, and things can go bad quickly. Don’t get in the comfort zone.
These rules are simple but effective. When consistently applied, they prevent incidents and keep people safe. The key is not just knowing them but living them every day on the job.