A Sustainable Workforce Starts With You

Safety

Safety is paramount in construction. It must be top of mind at all times. The construction industry has taken great steps to create safe worksites and it is paying off. As Construction Citizen has reported, the injury rate on construction sites in Texas over the last decade has fallen 50 percent. That progress can only be maintained through vigilance on every job site every minute of every day.

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Top Ten Safety Violations of 2014

Ethical operators in construction do all they can to ensure their craftsmen and women are extremely safe on their jobsites. Many companies go as far as maintaining an ongoing relationship with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, so that the industry and the government can be proactive, instead of reactive, when it comes to the safety of people on jobsites across America. While some companies are skeptical that kind of arrangement, other firms have found it is a positive way to stay ahead of potential problems that increase liability and make them less attractive employment options.    [node:read-more:link]


Working Without Rest Puts Lives in Danger

Last month marked the end of summer.  For most of us, that means no more trips to the beach or outdoor BBQs, but for many of our neighbors working construction in Texas, the falling temperatures offer desperately needed relief from brutal, and often life threatening, working conditions.

Billy Tirado is a foundation repairman from Dallas.  For the past 12 years, he’s worked hard to provide for his wife and three daughters, but he risks his health every time he works in the hot Texas sun.  Last summer, Billy was working for a foundation repair company that forbade him from stopping for water or rest.  As a result, he nearly fainted from heat exhaustion.  “Your body feels like it is suffocating...I felt dizzy.  My eyes got blurry.  I felt nauseous.”

Sadly, Billy’s experience is typical in the Texas construction industry.  Because there is no state or federal law ensuring rest breaks for construction workers, many employers fail to do the right thing; nearly 40% of Texas construction workers do not receive rest breaks on the job.  Workers who are denied rest breaks face higher risks of heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and even death.  This summer in Dallas, an average of two workers were hospitalized due to heat-related illnesses every day.   [node:read-more:link]


Why Safety is Important in the Roofing Industry

Editor’s note: The following was originally published by BRI Commercial Roofing.  Reprinted with permission.

Focusing on safety is important in any industry, but in the roofing industry it’s imperative.  A company can do everything right in terms of production for their customers, but if safety isn’t a top priority, there can be serious repercussions.

Here are a few ways that a focus on safety is a benefit to not only the employees, but the clients as well:

  • Fewer work-related accidents means less work interruptions
     
  • Lower risk of liability

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Safety: Every day. All the time. No excuses. [VIDEO]

The Chamberlin Man here.

The most important work we do at Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing is keeping our team safe.  We foster this culture through training, processes, certifications, and real life discussions we call “Safe Performance Self-Assessments.”  Ours is not a policy written down and put in a book on a shelf.  Safety is a living and breathing function of how we approach every. single. thing. we do.

Take a look at this 1½-minute clip of a few fellow Chamberlin Men telling us why safety matters to them.

Without a healthy team we cannot do our work.  Without a diligent focus on safety, the health of our team would be put at risk.  Risk just isn't in our vocabulary.    [node:read-more:link]


Top 5 Tips for Roof Safety

This article was written by our newest blogger, Adam Snape, on behalf of Myredlandroof, a roofing firm based out of the United Kingdom with over 90 years’ experience in the trade.

Any DIY (Do It Yourself) project within the home should be done safely and efficiently, and this is no truer than with a roofing project.  This is an extremely hazardous aspect of home or building renovation and the correct health and safety practices should be adhered to.  Here are some useful tips to ensure you stay safe when performing any roof based projects.

Look at the weather and check the surface

Roofs are dangerous places and are constantly exposed to the elements.  Always take into account the weather conditions before you decide to go up, and remember that it will be extremely slippery during wet or icy weather. [node:read-more:link]


Who is on My Jobsite?

One of the biggest safety issues on the complex jobsite is to know where the workforce is at any time without walking the site and visually identifying each individual.  Technology can solve that issue, and it is not somewhere out in the future.

The future is here according to an article in Constructech that talks about using radio-frequency identification chips, or RFID chips, in the nametags for workers on any jobsite.  Companies like ADR Software are providing that service for over 15,000 workers on jobsites around the country.  Then, according to the article, if an accident occurs on a jobsite, the superintendent can immediately see where everyone is located on the site, and can make [node:read-more:link]