Construction Site Fire Alarms

A fire cannot immediately be seen by everyone. If you are working in an office, the sound of an alarm is normally all that is needed to alert everyone to exit the building quickly. Unfortunately, a construction site is slightly different. 

At any point within the construction site the noise of machinery and vehicles would drown out the sound of a regular alarm. The fact that a lot of employees can be spread across the whole of the site means that one alarm would not be sufficient. 

The alarms for any construction site must be regularly tested to ensure they are working. This applies for any building site, office, warehouse or home. The more time employees have to escape the better as this avoids last minute panic, rushing and the potential for an accident that might lead to a personal injury claim.

Often large sites benefit from a Klaxon that is sounded. This can sometimes be used to indicate rest times aswell, so the klaxon will have a different sound or sounds to indicate the alarm.  Sometimes an air horn or a whistle is also used depending on the size of the construction site. 

A warehouse would have the same warning as a construction site as there are a lot of support functions and people working over noise and vehicles. The need to reduce personal injury, which might result in a personal injury claim is important, but the main purpose of an alarm is to get all employees out of the building quicker as possible.

Assessing Risks on Construction Site Fire Safety

Risk assessment is something that needs to be taken seriously as it sets out the fire procedures and potential risks. This could cover the simple thoughts about how a fire could start in the office or construction site and what materials are around or close by that could ignite and catch fire quickly.

Staff and visitors are an obvious priority as no-one wants to be dealing with people’s injuries, compensation claims or a situation far worse. This is why those people who might be at risk such as visitors who might not know the area or layout and vulnerable people like those who will need disabled access or assistance to leave quickly need to be planned and prepared for.

One way to ensure employees know the risks is to hold regular training and fire exit exercises. It seems like a hassle sometimes to have to leave a meeting or something half way through construction but a fire will not wait while employees try and remember the nearest exit. Planning and training to get everyone out quickly is vital.

Once training has happened, the process of doing this needs to be reviewed and to look for areas of improvement. Can the times to get out of the building be reduced, is there another safe route that no-one will have thought of. Is there a quicker way to review and document any changes on a building site that everyone needs to be aware of, which might speed up an emergency exit?

Falling Materials During Demoliton

Aswell as working at height, there is the potential for workers and pedestrians being injured by premature and uncontrolled collapse of structures as well as flying debris as a result of the collapse.

The risk of any demolition work is that is can cause a premature collapse of the structure. This is why the safe way of working to reduce the risks of accidents and any compensation claims from the public

• Exclusion zones and hard hat areas are essential to protect the public and workers. The exclusion zones need to be clearly signposted and marked.
• Any walkways need to be covered?
• Ensuring the use of high-tech machines
• And finally…making sure that all employees are trained and supervised to reduce the risk of an injury, which might lead to a personal injury claim.

Excavations and Personal Injury Claim

When a structure collapses or starts to crack this is when excavations are vital. They can identify the reasons behind the collapse or suggest what can be done to improve the building. In some cases where demolition is required the excavation will show 'behind the scenes' points that need to be taken into consideration.

Excavations do not just require a hole to be dug though. There are so many precautions and processes to follow to make sure the work is carried out safely to avoid any injury or personal injury claim. It does not matter if the building is on a business park, city centre or retail park the premises need to be safe for the public and those working around the area.

Any contracting company need to know a few things before excavation starts such as ground conditions of the surrounding areas and any water courses or other services which will need to be identified beforehand.

Dispose of Waste On A Construction Site

There are plenty of obstacles that are present on a construction site from deliveries and of course waste. Many industries have deliveries and a certain amount of waste goes with the delivery. The key to a successful working environment is to make sure the waste is disposed of appropriately and quickly.

No-one likes to see left over paper, wire binding or plastic sheets left on the floor after a delivery as it looks untidy. The more important reason is of course the health and safety aspect of waste disposal. Left over sheets can blow in the wind, wire binding can cause people to trip over and paper can also become slippy if it becomes wet.

Slip, trip and fall accidents can cause untold problems and injury is someone slips and those incidents may also lead to potential compensation claims.