The safety of you and your team is the most important part of running a construction business. You are all constantly putting yourself into positions that could be dangerous, and it’s important to make sure that the procedures that you’re following are within safety guidelines so that neither you or anyone else harms themselves. However, safety comes at a price and even though it’s essential and can’t have corners cut, you can save yourself a pretty penny on the safety of everyone involved. Here’s how to save money on safety in your construction business so that you can continue to grow and develop your enterprise into a successful business.
Buy in bulk
Safety equipment is essential for everyone that’s going to be entering and working on the building site. As you may already know, safety equipment can be expensive if you’re buying individually (and good quality equipment too). Did you know that buying in bulk online can save you an incredible amount of money in the long run? Websites like discount safety gear offer wholesale prices and discounted safety equipment, and even offer free deliveries when you spend a certain amount online.
While you may not currently need a large quantity of safety equipment, it’s always handy to have things like safety gloves and hard hats spare so that if anyone’s becomes damaged, you can quickly replace it and get on with work knowing that everyone is still safe. Wouldn’t you rather have some spare and be able to replace broken safety gear rather than lose a member of staff for the day or even risk them being harmed? Accordingly, you can head to the Unigloves Website to discover a wide range of safety gloves that can be purchased in bulk.
If you’re looking for equipment that can represent you as a company, discount safety gear even offer an imprinting service so that you can print your business name and logo onto your hard hats and high vis vests. While this part might not be saving you money as such, it will be a great form of advertising and make your company look and feel more professional.
Protect yourself from all angles
It’s a sad fact that some of the machinery you use to help you and your workers reach higher levels of construction don’t have many safety features. This is why it’s important to invest in safety and warning signs to try and keep your employees as safe and as far from danger as possible. Did you know that a fall from a mere 4 stories could kill someone? Some people aren’t lucky with falls under that height too. Make sure you’re covering yourselves from all angles and buy yourself safety swing gates to attach to machinery that doesn’t have the best safety measures. They can prevent people and materials from falling onto the ground and subsequently; someone getting hurt.
Another good idea to prevent injuries or even death from accidental falls would be to use harnessing equipment. Not only will it allow your staff to work knowing that they aren’t going to fall, but it can boost confidence in working because the fear of being higher up will be eliminated. It will save you money because you won’t have any injury claims coming your way as you’ve been smart and covered yourself.
Take out insurance
Talking of covering yourself, it’s a clever idea to take out some sort of insurance on your company so that if the inevitable does happen, you’re prepared and covered to pay the costs associated with it. You can easily get builders insurance on websites like construct a quote. You will be able to browse a range of different quotes and choose the best cover for your business and for the sake of you and your staff members. Don’t forget to take a look at the terms and conditions to see if there’s any accidents that are excluded from your cover. It’s always best to go for full coverage so that you don’t end up having to fork out money from your own pocket.
While you may feel like the extra payment of insurance each month might not be saving you money, it actually is in the long run. If someone falls and it turns out to be your fault, you stand to be sued for a lot of money. Protect yourself and your business not just money wise, but reputation wise too.
Have rules and procedures in place
It’s a simple fact that you can’t expect people to simply conform and work without rules and procedures. This is the same rule for every business, and your guidelines need to be laid out clearly so that every single member of staff is aware of what you expect from them. Here are some examples of rules that should be laid out:
- Do not attempt any work that you’ve not been fully trained for, especially if there’s equipment involved.
- Always work in pairs of two so that if something happens, there’s someone around to help out if needed.
- Make sure that the work you’re carrying out is at a comfortable reach, if you’re having to stretch you are putting yourself in danger and at risk of harm.
- Wear safety gear at all times.
- Follow the training you’ve been given every time you’re using equipment.
- If you don’t feel safe carrying out a task, then speak to a manager or supervisor. Never put yourself in a dangerous position.
Every job that you do will be different, and there’s probably many more guidelines that should be added to your list, so make sure that you’ve got it available to see for your staff members at all times so that they aren’t accidentally running the risk of hurting themselves.
You already know that safety is an important aspect in your business not only for the safety of you and staff members, but also for the risk of loss of profits and reputation within your business. Use these clever and money savvy ideas in your business and make sure that everyone is safe!