Why Bother? – 11/08/2021

Safety E-QuickTips

U.S. Compliance Systems, Inc.

Monday Nov 8, 2021

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Why Bother?

With everything else you have to do, why would you ever take the time to put together a Site Specific Safety Plan?

Two reasons come to mind, but before we get to those let’s see what it takes to put a Site Specific Safety Plan together.

If you’ve ever put together a Site Specific Safety Plan, I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s no easy task.

It can take a lot of time and research.It also requires a real understanding of the work being performed on your project and the hazards associated with each task.

In other words, you can’t push it off on someone in the office that does clerical work or the company bookkeeping.

The other thing to keep in mind is that a Site Specific Safety Plan is a fluid document and certain portions may have to be updated throughout the project to ensure it covers any new hazards that may arise from changes in the work.

As I said above – no easy task!

So, what are the minimum items that need to be included in your plan?

• ·Name of the project, site management and any emergency numbers and contacts.
• ·Your company’s general safety policies and procedures, including safety regulatory requirements. You can normally get these from your company safety program.
• ·A description of the work that is going to be performed. If you are doing contract work, this information can be found in the Scope of Work.
• ·A breakdown of the tasks required to complete the work, hazards associated with those tasks and how you can eliminate or minimize exposure to those hazards. This can be accomplished by completing a JHA (Job Hazard Analysis), JTHA, AHA, JSA, or any other Hazard Analysis template.These can be found easily on the Internet.

Here’s something that many employers forget to include when preparing their Site Specific Safety Plan.

OSHA requires employers to protect their employees from all hazards in the workplace, not just those created by the work your company performs.Which means you must make a reasonable effort to include information in your plan on how employees will be protected from hazards created by other contractors on the the site.

So, have you come up with any reasons why you might put together a Site Specific Safety Plan?

Here are my 2 reasons.

• 1.It’s in your contract that you must submit one prior to starting work on a project.
• 2.Your company has found that developing a Site Specific Safety Plan for each of your projects has reduced accidents in the workplace.

Employee QuickTip

If you’ve only been in construction for a few months, you’ll already understand that every job you do is a little different. That’s what many of us like about it.

But that also means the hazards on each job may be a little different and if you are not aware of the hazards and are not prepared to protect yourself from them – accidents happen!

So, if your company goes to the trouble of preparing a Site Specific Safety Plan and you are given access to it, take a moment to review the hazards and how you can protect yourself.

You just might learn something that will keep you and your coworkers safe.

Employer/Management QuickTip

If you’re looking for a quicker way to put together a Site Specific Safety Plan and are one of our current clients, log into your account and check out our Site Specific Safety Plan and JHA forms.If you are not a current client, do a Google search for Site Specific Safety Plan and JHA templates.

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Thanks for Reading and Please – Stay Healthy and Work Safe.