subject: Workers And Observers Consider Construction Dangers Are Serious [print this page] There are a lot of dangers on a new build site. There are the high elevations that must be traversed within minutes of them being attached and the holes that are everywhere. It might interest you to know that many injuries happen to people who are not involved in the building trades. These are people that are just watching the activities. The construction dangers are in and around the site in many ways.
The many horrible accidents that result from the walking around on the high steel that is part of many workers' responsibilities is a black mark on every company's record. Most of these, depending on the height, result in fatalities and several result in lifetime medical and pain management plans. The safety and precautions that are in place have kept many workers safe, however, the dangers are still present.
People being able to avoid the safety fences erected to keep them out is another source of injuries. These people need to see, up close and personal, what is happening. They are not aware of the harm they are subjecting themselves to until it is too late. They do not see it coming and they are incapable of avoiding that danger when it does come.
Being involved in a tripping incident over something that can be hidden because of inattention is always a source of injury. Heavy equipment that should have the right of way is not given the proper respect by these onlookers. Holes that have a very definite place in the scheme of things are fallen into and could result in broken legs and other, more serious, injuries.
Electrical dangers are something that everyone has to deal with. The high voltage being laid into the facility and the electrical connections for the equipment being used can, oftentimes, be exposed for short periods of time. This is a dangerous situation for anyone on the site, authorized or not.
Trenches dug for the water mains or waste water return are dangerous if not accounted for. They may be left exposed for a little while. This is long enough, apparently, for some people to fall into. Although these should not present a problem to people who are aware of their surroundings, others will not be as careful as they should.
Being aware of what is happening should be the order of the day on site, every day. Trucks moving on or off site will not be able to maneuver around you so be prepared. Heavy equipment moving large loads will also not have a lot of options as to where they can go. The attention to detail should not only be directed at the construction tasks they have, it should also be directed to how they move around to get to them.
The many dangers all around a construction site must be the subject of constant vigilance. The total elimination of these can not be achieved unless you eliminate all of the construction going on. Sites are much safer than they were, however, the construction dangers that are the worst ones are the ones that you do not see until it is too late. And beef up the security fences around all sites.
