A Quick Site Inspection Cheat Sheet
When we start working with a new client, one of the first things we talk about is the idea of hiring a site inspection expert. We understand the expense involved, which is why we are always prepared to discuss the financial return on that sort of investment.
Even with a safety expert on staff, it can be difficult for our construction clients to make sure that every job site gets a full inspection each week and that the expert gives input to each site supervisor. That is why we also give our clients a bit of a site inspection cheat sheet that site supervisors can use to make sure they are doing everything they can to keep workers safe and their job sites in compliance with company rules, and federal safety laws.
Safety Equipment
It is a good idea to assign safety equipment inspection to a couple of qualified workers on your site, and have those workers complete an inspection report that can be used by the safety expert. As the site supervisor, you should be making sure that the report is done every morning, and you should also be checking the accuracy of the reports from time to time. If a worker is slacking in their equipment inspection responsibilities, then that is something the site supervisor should be able to catch and correct immediately.
Equipment and Vehicles
A site supervisor cannot be expected to inspect every piece of equipment and every vehicle on the site, but there are ways the supervisor can check on these items to keep the site safe. The site supervisor should check on the maintenance reports each day to make sure that maintenance is being done. As the site supervisor attends to different aspects of the site, they should be listening and watching for any equipment issues.
Safety Rules and Regulations
Many of our customers have safety inspectors for every site who are responsible for pointing out safety issues and offering suggestions for fixing those issues. These are not fully-trained safety engineers, but rather experienced employees who understand site safety.
As a supervisor, you can help out your site safety inspectors by not ignoring safety violations when you see them. It is important for a construction company to enforce every safety rule equally, and to make safety a work site habit. Site supervisors should constantly be looking for safety violations, and then take the proper steps to correct the problem and report the incident.
Safety Signage
Signs placed around the job site that remind workers to wear hard hats in certain areas or point out emergency phone numbers can sometimes seem like procedural nuisances. But these signs help to reinforce the idea that safety is important to the company, and they can also act as reminders that could save a worker’s life some day. As a supervisor, your job is to make sure the company directed safety signs are always in place, and they are easy for all workers to read.
A site supervisor is one of the busier construction professionals on any job site. But a company that takes safety seriously will make sure that all of their site supervisors take time out of their days to monitor safety, and to take any action necessary to ensure the safety of every worker.