10 Safety Tips for General Contractors
October 09, 2018 —
Eric Weisbrot – JW Surety BondsThe construction industry continues to grow each year, paving the way for general contractors to make a profitable, sustainable living when the job is done right. However, to do so effectively, safety standards need to be met with consistency and focus on each worksite. General
contractors who are licensed and bonded must take proactive steps to avoid potentially fatal injuries among their subcontractors and employees, even though this may be easier said than done. To create and maintain a safe worksite each and every time, general contractors should consider how to implement the following best practices and safety tips on the job.
1 – Know the Risks
The most crucial step toward maintaining a safe construction site is to first be aware of the risks involved. Each year, thousands of
construction workers experience injuries on the job, and some ultimately lose their life because of safety missteps at work. As a general contractor, it is your responsibility to know that construction risks run rampant given the nature of the work. Being tuned into the potential for falls, slips, and other common safety-related incidents is a necessary part of operating a safe worksite for you and your employees.
2 – Require Protective Gear
An often overlooked safety precaution on construction sites is the use of up-to-date and well-maintained protective gear. For many subcontractors and employees, it is easy to skip this necessary step in safeguarding themselves from potential safety issues. However, general contractors can take steps to make protective gear a requirement on the job. This may include mandating hardhats and steel-toed shoes, gloves, and eyewear when appropriate. All visitors and workers on a construction site should follow protective gear instructions to avoid unnecessary safety risks.
3 – Educate on Ladder Safety
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ladder injuries account for a significant number of construction worker incidents each year, making up more than 200,000 accidents on average. Ladders have continuously ranked high on OSHA’s list of violations at construction sites because the prevalence of injuries is so high. General contractors can help thwart ladder-related injuries among workers by promoting ladder safety training, including reminders about the right ladder to use for each task. Workers should also be well aware of the importance of inspection before use, and they should always follow the three points of contact rule when going up or down a ladder.
4 – Recognize Equipment Pitfalls
Many construction workers experience injuries relating to equipment used on the job. This could be tied to getting on or off equipment, or loading and unloading materials from machinery. In any case, general contractors can encourage simple tactics to improve equipment safety measures. Paying close attention to secure footing while getting on or off a machine, having more than one person assist with loading and unloading, and ensuring everyone feels comfortable asking for help with these tasks reduces safety risks.
5 – Document Potential Hazards
A general contractor’s main responsibility is to manage the construction site efficiently from start to finish. Part of this duty is recognizing the possible issues on a worksite that may lead to accidents or injuries if not addressed at the beginning of a project. It is necessary to take the time to identify safety risks such as unstable working surfaces, dangerous trenches, or weather-related concerns that may impact the safety of subcontractors, suppliers, or other site visitors. Potential hazards should be documented and shared with site workers, and they should be updated as the project progresses.
6 – Maintain Equipment and Tools
Poorly maintained equipment and tools also cause issues on construction sites. The Infrastructure Health and Safety Association suggests that general contractors
remind workers to inspect tools, machines, handheld equipment, and vehicles before each use to ensure they are properly maintained. Additionally, understanding the maintenance standards for certain tools or equipment and following those guidelines is crucial to reducing injury on the job.
7 – Minimize Crowds
Crowded work areas can be a serious safety issue for general contractors, subcontractors, and vendors and suppliers on site. It is common for crowds to gather during the use of heavy equipment or when a significant task is being completed. However, general contractors should discourage crowd-forming for spectating purposes. This can be done by limiting the number of people allowed to be in an area when certain activities are taking place, and enforcing these rules at every possible opportunity.
8 – Hire Licensed Subcontractors
General contractors may have full- or part-time employees as part of their business model, or there may be a heavy presence of subcontractors not directly tied to the main business. In either case, it is essential to have faith in the capabilities of workers, including their willingness and commitment to follow safety standards. General contractors can help ensure each worker is more likely to take safety seriously when they hire licensed contractors who follow through with
licensing requirements as mandated by the state or city.
9 – Focus on Training
Even after vetting subcontractors and employees based on their licensing status, general contractors also need to ensure training and education are a priority. Several online and in-person courses focus on construction safety training which workers should be encouraged to attend. Safety
education programs from OSHA and other reputable sources are crucial to decreasing accidents on the job.
10 – Be Present
Finally, general contractors can only have an impact on the safety of the job site when they are purposefully present. It is common for some GCs to stop by a project when they are needed or to check on progress periodically. However, new safety hazards, lacking worker training, and other risks are not easily fixed when the general contractor is not consistently on site. Reducing the potential for falls, slips, trips, and fatalities on the job requires communication with workers, and that takes place most effectively when general contractors are in person.
Eric Weisbrot is the Chief Marketing Officer of JW Surety Bonds. With years of experience in the surety industry under several different roles within the company, he is also a contributing author to the surety bond blog.
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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (9/4/24) – DOJ Sues RealPage, Housing Sales Increase and U.S. Can’t Build Homes Fast Enough
October 07, 2024 —
Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogIn our latest roundup, environmental regulations tighten for commercial properties, Wells Fargo sells most of its commercial mortgage services business, first-time home buyers struggle with housing affordability, and more!
- The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it is suing the real estate company RealPage, saying it engaged in a price-fixing scheme to drive up rents. (Jennifer Ludden, NPR)
- As environmental regulations for commercial buildings and properties tighten across the U.S., green leases and technologies offer owners and operators opportunities to reduce their portfolios’ carbon footprints, generate cost savings and further align with ESG goals. (Nish Amarnath, Construction Dive)
- Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to sell most of its commercial mortgage servicing business to Trimont LLC, ceding the title of biggest US commercial and multifamily mortgage servicer to the Atlanta-based firm. (Hannah Levitt and Scott Carpenter, Yahoo)
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Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams. Unlicensed Contractor Takes the Cake
August 31, 2020 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogBefore the Kardashians, before Empire, before Crazy Rich Asians there was Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. The next case, Moore v. Teed, Case No. A153523 (April 24, 2020), 1st District Court of Appeals, is about the unfulfilled wishes and dashed dreams of the $13 million dollar “fixer upper.”
Moore v. Teed
The $13 Million Dollar “Fixer Upper”
Justin Moore just wanted to buy a house in San Francisco. But he couldn’t afford one in the neighborhoods he preferred. But in 2011, luck struck, when Moore met Richard Teed, a real estate agent with “over 25 years of experience as a building contractor,” “an extensive background in historic restorations” and a “deep understanding of quality construction.” Teed told Moore that he could locate a “lower-priced fixer-upper in a choice neighborhood and then renovate it.” Moore was sold.
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Garret Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
Sioux City Building Owners Sue Architect over Renovation Costs
December 04, 2013 —
CDJ STAFFAccording to the architects, it should have cost a few hundred thousand dollars to strengthen the floors of Sioux City’s Badgerow Building. Instead, the upgrades cost somewhere between $3 and $5 million, which Mako One, the builder’s owners, said would have dissuaded them from starting had they known. Mako is suing M Plus Architects, for this and for its recommendation that the building’s windows be changed. That change ran foul of historic preservation guidelines, and the windows will have to be replaced.
M Plus is, in return, suing Mako One over $150,000 in unpaid bills. Meanwhile, a data center is moving in on the fourth floor.
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President Trump Issued Two New EOs on Energy Infrastructure and Federal Energy Policy
May 20, 2019 —
Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel1. The first EO is very comprehensive, affecting many federal agencies and departments, and is entitled “Promoting Federal Infrastructure and Economic Growth.” The EO emphasizes its concern with the need for infrastructure that “ is capable of safely and efficiently transporting these plentiful resources to end users.” To that end, the EO:
- (A) states the general policy that the U.S. Government is to promote private investment in the Nation’s infrastructure by establishing efficient permitting processes and procedures that avoid duplication and result in increased regulatory certainty;
- (B) reviews and revises existing federal guidance and regulations regarding Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), with particular emphasis on EPA’s guidance document, CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification, and actions will be taken in accordance with a regulatory schedule set forth in the EO which has as its objective a notice of proposed rulemaking on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Section 401 regulations to be published in 12 months, with the final rules to be issued by May 2020;
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Anthony B. Cavender, PillsburyMr. Cavender may be contacted at
anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com
ASCE Statement on Hurricane Milton and Environmental Threats
October 15, 2024 —
Feniosky Peña-Mora, P.E., President - American Society of Civil EngineersWASHINGTON, DC. – On the heels of the tragic damage caused by Hurricane Helene throughout the Southeast, Floridians were struck by another major hurricane, Milton, less than two weeks later. Our hearts go out to those impacted again by this storm through property damage, lack of water access, power outages, or worse, loss of life, all before getting a chance to recover from Helene. Civil engineers are dedicated to protecting the public with projects that can lessen the impacts of these storms, and we are eager to help communities rebuild as quickly as possible following events like Milton and Helene.
Although we do not yet know the full scope of destruction caused by Hurricane Milton, severe weather, including compound flooding events, are increasing regularly and pose a great risk to our safety and economic vitality. While so many eyes are fixated on hurricanes impacting the Southeast, wildfires are burning across several western states, including the Elk Fire in Wyoming, the largest wildfire the Bighorn National Forest has experienced in more than a century, now spanning over 75,000 acres as the region is experiencing unusually hot and dry weather and strong winds that are helping this fire to spread rapidly. The climate impacts we are accustomed to – wildfires in the West and hurricanes in the Southeast – are getting stronger, and now environmental challenges are occurring in areas we wouldn't suspect, such as Hurricane Helene striking mountain communities in Western North Carolina that have been labeled as "climate safe-havens," and Texas dealing with annual winter storms.
ASCE is a leader in codes and standards development and has created an
easy-to-understand toolkit for legislators and the public to learn the benefits of these up-to-date standards and determine when and how to adopt them, making our built environment more resilient to natural catastrophes. ASCE's flagship standard,
ASCE/SEI 7-22, recently underwent the most significant update to its
flooding chapter to ensure structures following this standard are prepared for 500-year flood events.
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What Are The Most Commonly Claimed Issues In Construction Defect Litigation?
April 22, 2019 —
David M. McLain - Colorado Construction Litigation BlogAs a lawyer that has spent his career defending against construction defect claims, one of the most common questions I get when counseling clients regarding risk management is: “What are the most commonly claimed issues in construction defect litigation?” Until very recently, my answer to this question has been based on my own experience and knowledge on the subject, and only vaguely reliant on empirical data.
Recently, two engineers, Elizabeth Brogan and William McConnell, along with Caroline Clevenger, an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Denver, wrote a paper entitled “Emerging Patterns in Construction Defect Litigation: A Survey of Construction Cases.” The authors analyzed 41 multifamily construction defect cases litigated in 2015, 2016 and 2017, mostly in the Denver metro area.
The authors classified the 55 most prevalent alleged defects into the following categories: structural issues; civil issues; building envelope issues; roof issues; deck, balcony and porch issues; fire protection issues; and miscellaneous issues. The authors then identified the 10 most commonly claimed construction defects, which occurred in over half of all of the cases analyzed.
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David M. McLain, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLCMr. McLain may be contacted at
mclain@hhmrlaw.com
Heat Exposure Safety and Risk Factors
July 04, 2023 —
The Hartford Staff - The Hartford InsightsSummer is here and being outside in the heat can take a toll on your body if you’re not properly prepared. It’s important to regulate your body temperature by both hydrating and gradually acclimating your body to withstand the increasingly hot conditions. Your body has “heat control mechanisms” which get overworked in hot, humid and poorly ventilated areas. When you’re exercising or doing physical labor, your muscles generate heat as a metabolic by-product.
Sweating can dissipate heat when the air is dry or a breeze is blowing. But when humidity rises and the air becomes denser, sweat doesn’t evaporate from the skin as readily. When this occurs, your core body temperature becomes too high and you can suffer from heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heat stroke. This heat stress can occur suddenly and be very dangerous, that’s why it’s important to be able to recognize the warning signals. This chart will help you identify your body’s heat stress signals and apply the appropriate action to prevent heat-related problems.
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The Hartford Staff, The Hartford Insights
