Health and Safety on Construction Sites

Construction sites have strict health and safety regulations to protect workers while they do their job.

According to HSE, there are around 54,000 non-fatal injuries to construction workers every year. This leads to employee absence and therefore many construction sites have to work with reduced manpower, which can prolong project completion. 

Economically speaking, workplace injuries and work-related illnesses cost the construction industry approximately £1.2 billion in 2017/18 alone.

Improving site safety and reducing risks will not only protect your employees, but also helps your company avoid costly fines for health and safety breaches. So what digital processes can you implement to keep your construction site compliant?

Mobile Forms for Construction

Moving away from paper processes and adopting mobile forms software can help to improve site safety. 

Mobile forms allow you to unlock a plethora of useful information at the click of a button. Simply distribute forms to your workforce’s mobile devices and receive real-time updates from their location to monitor incidents, risks and more.

How can Mobile Forms Improve Site Safety?

Incident Reports

Create digital incident reports using mobile forms software. When an accident happens on-site it’s important to react quickly. With paper forms the reporting process is significantly slower than the digital equivalent. Staff have to visit the office to find the report, human error can lead to mistakes that can be hard to interpret, and finally, the report may not get transcribed or filed for sometime after the incident. 

With a mobile form, the incident report is quickly accessible on an employee’s mobile device. Rich data, such as photographs, time stamps and GPS locations, can be attached for additional detail and accuracy. And, the incident is instantly reported to the back-office when the user synchronises the app. 

The data from mobile forms can be used to identify information, such as the most common types of accident, which can then be used to implement new on-site procedures. Therefore, lowering the possibility of future accidents. 

Risk Assessments

Conducting risk assessments on-site lets employees and managers identify, evaluate and prepare for potential hazards. For workers using pen and paper, there is often a delay in the risk assessment forms reaching the office, which can result in dangers being missed or overlooked. 

Using mobile forms software provides real-time access to risk assessments. This encourages fast responses to hazards and site managers can quickly enforce the necessary safety measures. Digital forms can also be stored easily and are instantly available for inspection by construction site authorities. 

When creating the form, use features like dynamic fields to capture additional data based on the initial information the user provides. You can also ensure that the employee fills out all of the required details by adding mandatory fields. 

Machinery Checklists

According to HSE, machines and tools present the top safety risk on construction sites. Therefore, it’s incredibly important that all equipment is fit for use.

If you currently use paper checklists to monitor your machinery, you’ll be familiar with illegible or lost forms. Transitioning to cloud-based mobile forms facilitates the collection of accurate information that can be stored securely. 

Use mobile forms software to create checklists and keep on top of machinery safety. Simply distribute the checklists to your workforce when the inspection is due. The user can add images of any defects for extra clarity and use an electronic signature to sign-off the form once it’s completed. The forms can be analysed using the back-office app to identify machinery faults that need to be repaired. 

Digital Transformation in Construction

The construction industry is commonly known to be behind the curve of digital transformation, but it is starting to see growth. 

McKinsey & Company state that moving to paperless processes to enable digital collaboration between the office and the workforce is one of the top trends for current and future construction projects. 

We have listed everything you need to know about mobile forms software in our FAQ blog post. To discuss your transition to paperless processes, contact us today at gareth.pritchard@trianglesoftware.co.uk