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.

Stages To Fire Awareness of A Construction Site

We have previously discussed the problems with fire and damage it can cause on a building or construction site. Fortunately there are processes in place to make sure damage is limited and any personal injury claims are reduced. The key stages to general fire safety are as follows;

• Risk Assessment- this involves identifying hazards, people at risk and review processes
• Means of escape – ensuring that all employees know how nearest exits and can safely leave the area
• A means or way to give warning – this is especially important within noisy environments like a warehouse, factory or construction site
• Fighting fires – any potential ways of extinguishing fires where it is safe to do so.

Everyone knows the potential harm a fire can do to buildings and humans. In all cases fire escapes and processes are disclosed to the employee or visitor but these need regular reviews to reduce panic and confusion, should a fire really happen.

Connected Services and Demolition

All buildings that are in use will have utilities and other connected services. In order to ensure a safe demolition, these need to isolated or disconnected. A gas leak can cause untold damage and problems that might result in construction workers or members of the public getting hurt and making a personal injury claim.

In situations where utilities cannot be cut off, they need to be labelled clearly to make sure the pipes are not disturbed. This also applies to cables to make sure these are not cut through either. When workers start knocking walls down and creating dust these cables need to be labelled so that they can be seen.

This is the reason only competent people and employees should be working on a demolition project.

Some More Construction Signs Worth Knowing

Here are a few more to keep you guessing on your construction signs....look after yourself and avoid a potential personal injury claim.

Clue - Look in every direction

Clue - That's not a diving board

Answers to follow shortly...

Construction Site Signs - Did You Guess Right

The previous sign is indeed a warning to public sign and needs to be displayed on the outside of the construction site to avoid accidents and the potentially a personal injury claim.

This is a sign to restrict access to a site and to make sure school children are not tempted inside aswell. This would fall under protecting the public aspect of construction site maintenance, but is generally displayed on every construction site.

Construction Site Signs - Do You Know Them?

As we are a good way through the construction site health and safety we thought this might be a good time to throw a few signs here. All workers on a construction site need to know these signs to make sure they are following processes and reduce the risk of an accident that might result in a personal injury claim.

Can you identify all of them and where they would be located?

Sign 1.

Clue - Everyone can see this sign?

Answer to follow....

Warehouse Accidents and Slips and Trips

Any work environment has challenges and a potential for accidents within the workplace. Anyone working within the construction, warehouse, factory or office based industry needs to follow health and safety guidelines. Some of these basic guidelines are included within this range of accidents at work posters.

Construction, warehouse and factory workers are situated within noisy environments for the majority of the working day. These people need to be extra careful as they will be wearing ear defenders and they will not be able to hear a truck reversing or something breaking. They will not even hear a colleague shouting out a potential warning. Therefore processes are put in place so that everyone knows where they can and cannot stand or where they need to be careful due to machinery operating.

Construction sites have machinery and devices that can cause serious damage if not handled by authorised persons. A crane swinging around can cause just as much damage as a truck reversing if the operative presses the wrong pedal or button as they are not experienced.

Accidents at work can cause an employee loss of earnings and they may also need additional care that they didn't need before an accident. The legal process can also be expensive and costly so it might be an idea for someone to look at no win no fee options available if they are thinking of making a claim against an employer.

Claim For Personal Injury With No Win No Fee

There are many instances where accidents can occur and we have looked at these previously within this blog. Regardless of the industry you are working in, accidents can happen and if a person wishes to claim compensation for that accident they will need a solicitor in the first instance.

Often court fees and legal fees can mount up and if you have to pay fees upfront this can work out expensive. One option that is looked at is the no win no fee claim where a solicitor will act on your behalf and you only incur expenses if you win the case and not if you lose. There is of course the small print and it is definately worth going through all the options, costs and expenses with your solicitor so you know what you are entitled to, any fees that will have to be paid and what is the outcome if your case is lost or dropped.

Whiplash Claim Articles

It was in the news last week about how David Cameron is looking to work with car insurers to reduce the number of claims for whiplash personal injury which will in turn reduce insurance costs, with these savings to be passed onto customers.

Workplace Health and Safety Guidelines

The workplace can be a great place to work, but every environment has potential dangers and hazards that employees need to be aware of. If you are aware of them you can look out for them. Some hazards are more obvious than others.

From tripping over cabling through to spilt water in the kitchen potential hazards are everywhere. However, the secret is knowing the safety measures to prevent these accidents and also how to make sure you highlight a spillage on the floor to avoid an accident happening.

Fire exit signs, fire doors and the fire extinguishers should all be cleary highlighted and employees must know which fire extinguisher to use in which circumstance if there is safe way to do this and not putting themselves at risk. Companies often designate a fre warden or a person responsible for getting everyone out of the building safely and know which fire extinguisher to use if appropriate.

The same process is adopted for first aid. Companies should have appropriate first aid kits suitable on the type of industry and potential accidents. There should also be a first aider that can administer basic first aid if required and know what to do in an emergency.

In the event anyone is injured in the workplace and they were not at fault make sure you have all the relevant information in case you need to, or are required to make a personal injury claim.

Personal Injury Claim Can Be From A Work Related Illness

As we have discussed in previous blog posts there are several examples of how you can cause an injury within the workplace - either to yourself or others. It can be something that is easily prevented with the right signage or notifications such as highlighting a slippery floor or uneven surface as these can result in a personal injury claim.

However, illness at work, is often something more long-term and not instantly diagnosed, for example a fall can result in a broken or sprained leg but working with asbestos products can leave employees at risk of breathing problems, which isn't instantly diagnosed or even spotted as a health problem.

There are several examples of work related illness in which professional compensation claims advice might be needed, especially if it may result in a personal injury claim. Here are some of the most common types of work related illness:

Asbestosis - illness which is a result of high exposure or long-term exposure to asbestos. This can be from handling, removing or even manufacturing products that contain asbestos. The damage is done to the lungs and can result in a shortness of breath.

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) - As the same suggests, this can be a result of repetitive tasks, vibrations or working in sustained or uncomfortable positions, although our lifestyle away from work can also result in RSI from holding a phone between your neck and shoulder, carrying heavy items or even sitting in the same position for too long. This is easily done if you are watching a TV programme or in a meeting without a break.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - The carpal tunnel is situated in your wrist and damage to the wrists can often be associated with typing without supports. There is also research to say that this is more associated with genetics rather than just typing.

Vibration white finger - This is triggered by continuous use of vibrating hand-held machinery. However, this term tends to be called hand-arm vibration syndrome of HAVS more so than vibration white finger. Good practice in industrial health and safety management has the workers vibration exposure asssessed and monitored

These are only a few examples of illness in the workplace that may result in a personal injury claim. If professional advice is needed make sure you have information on all the places you have worked and even seek medical advice if needed.

Injured on Holiday?

Millions of people in the UK save up and look forward to going on holiday every year but unfortunately a number of these holidays are ruined by accidents and illness. If you have an accident whilst abroad on holiday you may be able to make a personal injury claim.

Some accidents that may occur whilst abroad that you could make a claim for are trips and slips due to a defective surface or liquids or debris on the floor of your hotel, electrocution from faulty hotel equipment or food poisoning from eating in a hotel restaurant.

These are all things that you wouldn’t expect to happen on holiday and you are likely to be able to claim for. If you are involved in one of these things make sure you gather as much evidence as possible to give you the best chance of a successful claim.

Report the accident to your holiday representative as soon as possible so that there is a record of the accident. If it is something like a fall from a bad floor in the hotel be sure to take photographs of where the incident occurred as soon as possible so there is no time for them to do anything about it and claim that there was never a problem. Seek medical advice to be sure you are okay and put on record the injuries you have suffered.

If you do all of these things then you will have a good chance of winning your personal injury claim. You deserve some sort of compensation if hotel negligence ruins your hard earned holiday.

Ward & Rider Compensation Claims

Welcome to the Ward & Rider blogspot site.

Ward & Rider Solicitors in Coventry, UK are a professional firm that are heavily client focused firm to provide legal services across the Midlands including:

Personal Injury (including accident at work)

Employment Law

Divorce & Family

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This blog will focus on all aspects of compensation claims, everything from how we work, different types of compensation and help and information on pursuing a no win no fee claim. If you are on Twitter, come and follow and tweet Ward & Rider as we'd love to hear from you. 

Check back soon for our first proper blog.