5 Tips to improve safety and communications in construction sites

Prepare Your Home For A Remodel

Having an active construction site in your home, office, store, or restaurant in Virginia brings some unique risks for injury, not just of the construction workers but also of your household, employees, or customers. The best way to ensure safety on the construction site of a remodel or renovation in Arlington or Fairfax is to improve safety and communications at every level.

This means that you must have clear communication with everyone who will have contact with the construction site, even if that site is restricted. Here are the top 5 things that can be done to improve safety and communications in construction sites in Virginia.

1. Make sure crews are wearing appropriate safety gear and equipment.
   Every person working or visiting at a construction site needs to have appropriate safety gear and equipment. Every person. No exceptions. While some construction managers are lax in their enforcement of safety rules and PPE use, Cosmo Builders exceeds OSHA standards, providing the best safety gear and equipment available for our crews. We also have safety equipment for our clients visiting construction sites.
   Crews should be well aware of the safety rules and guidelines for being on the construction site. Having well trained crews is vital to having a safe and successful remodel or renovation project in Northern Virginia. Even though some on-the-job training does take place in the construction industry, basic knowledge of safety and construction is required before Cosmo Builders allows any employee or subcontractor on the site.
2. Have a documented chain of command in place.
   The general chain of command is the customer, whether it be residential or commercial, the construction manager, the site supervisor or lead, and on down the list. This should be tailored to your specific needs, the specific job site, and the project. Sometimes the chain of command might be a mixture of contractors and the customer’s organization or household.
   Whatever the chain of command may be, make sure that everyone agrees and that it is posted, with contact information, in an accessible place that is easy to find by all on or near the construction site. You should also have the chain of command posted outside the site so that anyone not working on the construction can also have the information without entering the site.
3. Choose the right communication method for the right message.
   One of the best ways to improve communication on a construction site is to start each day with a project and safety meeting. The meeting allows management to give updated instructions. They can also provide information about new safety concerns and how they will be solved by management and all employees and subcontractors on the site.
   But not everything can or should be covered in construction meetings. There should be safety reminders and notices throughout and outside of the construction site to ensure that everyone is on the same page and plays by the rules. These should be short and to the point and any safety or restricted areas should be clearly marked with a few short words and colorful sign.
   You should take the same approach when communicating safety rules with those who do not actively work on the construction site. Posting these safety rules and notices clearly, in large, eye-catching fonts and colors will ensure that everyone is safe on and around the construction site.
   Cosmo Builders clearly marks all construction sites, not just renovations and remodels. We make sure that everyone near the site is on the same page and follows safety guidelines. Unlike some of our competition, we are very safety conscious.
4. Be clear and concise to avoid confusion.
   The best safety messages are short and sweet. Things don’t need to be overly complicated to be effective. In fact, everyone on the construction site should know enough about safety and personal protection on the site to only need short reminders or updates. Some postings are required by OSHA and other regulatory bodies.
   You also need to keep communications brief when you are communicating between the construction site and the rest of the household or business. When such are operating while the construction is going on, it is important to impart important safety information to the people who are coexisting with it.
   Because it is so important for bystanders to stay safe around construction sites they are unfamiliar with, keeping messages short, loud, and eye-catching is important. When remodeling a home with children in the household, keeping messages short and with a picture or illustration is most effective.
5. Restrict access to the construction site.
   This is perhaps the most important tip on this list. Restricting access to the construction site is of the utmost importance when doing a remodel or renovation in an occupied building. Construction sites should be cordoned off and clearly marked, and they should be locked down as much as possible when crews are not present.
   What solutions can be used to restrict access to the construction site will depend on what type of site it is and what is being done. Cosmo Builders works with you to ensure that construction areas are safe and restricted as much as is within our power. Sometimes temporary walls may need to be erected to prevent people from wandering into the construction site.
   At Cosmo Builders, we keep all of these things in mind when we plan and discuss your residential or commercial remodeling project in Virginia or Washington DC. Before work commences, you will feel confident that our teams will be safe, not just for themselves, but for our clients as well. Contact us today for more information.