Why Appointing the Right People Leads to Safer Sites

By | August 12, 2011

Safety

Although construction work increasingly uses a range of powerful and sophisticated equipment to get the job done efficiently, it is still down to people to do the actual work. The human element is still responsible for doing the manual work as well as operating all the machinery. And it’s human beings who plan, manage and control the whole project so it’s vital that the best ones are in place to make sure everything goes to plan. That way, projects are more likely to be completed on time, within budget and safely.

Right People at All Stages

Appointing the right people applies all the way across a project and at every stage of it. That means getting talented architects and surveyors in at the outset so the project is designed, planned and scoped correctly. Good planning is vital because jobs that start badly very rarely run smoothly.

If a contract is of a reasonable size, there’s a requirement to appoint a CDM co-ordinator to ensure compliance with all aspects of the Construction, Design and Management Regulations. A knowledgeable and experienced principal contractor is also essential because the project is likely to have plenty of direct employees as well as sub-contractors, with materials arriving on site and lots of activities all going on at the same time, which all have to be organised and co-ordinated to ensure chaos doesn’t ensue.

Right Mix of Workers

At the bottom of the tree are the people who actually do the work and getting the right ones here is arguably the most important aspect of all. Every project needs a mixture of engineers, technicians, skilled workers and labourers who all must have the necessary qualifications to do their own jobs efficiently and safely. But saying that they can do it often isn’t good enough because we all, at some time, claim something that isn’t exactly true.

Proving qualifications individually can be a fraught and time-consuming task. However, having a CSCS card can overcome these problems because each one states clearly the holder’s role, qualifications and skill levels. It also indicates that the person has passed a health, safety & environment test so can be trusted to work safely on the site.