Our customers (Prime Contractors) call them their Safety Absolutes: they can range from really simple things like driving slowly and safely around other workers and ensuring that tools and machinery are locked at and de-energized before repairing or inspecting them. Pretty simple and logical stuff. Notice that I didn’t use the term “common sense”.
Within GDI, we could probably use the following safety absolutes: things that if attended to will certainly make things safe for you and those working around you.
- Conduct a Prejob Hazard Assessment
- Fall protection basics
- WHMIS basics
- Housekeeping
Conduct a Prejob Hazard Assessment:
This is going o be your most powerful safety tool. It needs to be written down as proof that you have actually thought about it. Using the form will give you a list of things, reminders, to assess.
It’s a construction site: there will always be a hazard!!!!!
Fall protection basics:
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- In Residential we rely on guard rails,
- In Commercial we use guardrails AND fall arrest harness systems,
- Failure to use these systems will increase the chance of experience a horrible injury and, if you survive that, get kicked off the site or fired.
WHMIS basics:
- Know something about the materials that you are using,
- Will it make you sick or start a fire?
If you don’t know what WHMIS is then you need to give me a call and I can help
Housekeeping:
Junk all over the place means you are going to trip and get injured. This actually happens, as in arms get broken. Keep your site clean!
The above items are important to address. They also speaks to how professional you are: our customers notice these things!
