While working at night, construction workers should always wear reflective gear. Have a safety incentive program and make it well known to workers. From a health and safety perspective, all hours are not the same. Night work poses special hazards: • Reduced visibility for motorists, increased difficulty driving safely through work zone. All sorts of hazards exist including reduced visibility, worker fatigue, lighting issues such as positioning and glare, and tired or impaired drivers. This Guide is aimed at safety and health practitioners, employers, managers, employees and safety representatives. Since construction workers may handle heavy machinery, they should pay particular attention to their level of alertness. Ask your hotel manager for advice on 'safe' versus 'unsafe' local areas. Be it a workplace disaster or a violent crime, when your employees' safety is compromised, you need to be prepared to keep them safe. Quality Control: Ready…Aim…Hit the Target! Let’s take a closer look. Employers have an obligation not only to employees but also to contractors and their employees. It is a way to avoid injuries, build comradery and create a better work product. 34 slides: Mine Illumination and Solid-State Lighting Mining … “the most difficult lighting environment in the world.” The term “lone worker” is becoming a more and more familiar one in the United States as employers and safety professionals grow increasingly aware of employees that regularly carry out workplace tasks alone within their organization. 3 Tips for Safely Working at Night on a Construction Site, Your One Stop Spot For All Contractors Insurance Needs | © Copyright 2020 ContractorsInsurance.org, Contractors Workers Compensation Insurance, Free Certificates Of Contractors Insurance, 5 Things your Workers Comp Benefits Don’t Cover. In addition, check to see where there are gaps in the lighting that might cause a problem later. During the day personal safety is not as big of an issue because of the sunlight and activity that is going on around you. The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to comply with safety and health standards promulgated by OSHA or by a state with an OSHA-approved state plan. Construction is a high hazard industry that comprises a wide range of activities involving construction, alteration, and/or repair. In your pre-shift walkthrough, take note of where lights are located at the job site, including the walkways and parking areas. Nighttime work can be dangerous, plain and simple. This must be what the article is referring to when it says that reflective surfaces are five times more visible. If your company hasn’t been providing you … In addition to proper training, creating a work zone with safe visibility levels can make the difference in preventing job site incidents. Using appropriate precautions at work can help minimize risk and exposure to … There are two main ways to ensure that motorists and workers experience the safest possible nighttime work zone. Along with the standard safety precautions that accompany normal paving activities, there is a higher risk of worker injury at night. By Walter Jones “Night work has become a fact of life in highway construction,” says LIUNA General President Terence M. O’Sullivan, noting a trend that is accelerating this season. • Drivers, pedestrians, workers are generally less alert, more tired. Safety precautions are a federal requirement in most workplaces. Work with venue administrators, local officials, and healthcare providers to identify an isolation area to separate anyone who has COVID-like symptoms or who has tested positive but does not have symptoms. Three Simple Safety Tips for Lone Workers. It’s a common construction misconception that working at night is dangerous. Finally, traffic control personnel need the most light for safety to the worker and for motorists to see and interpret their directions. Your duties include warning them of danger, providing safety equipment and neutralizing obvious safety hazards. Night Time Work Zone Safety-Tips to Save Your Life Nighttime work can be dangerous, plain and simple. Whenever possible, they should work at designated stations and walk on brightly-lit paths. Construction workers engage in many activities that may expose them to serious hazards, such as falling from rooftops, unguarded machinery, being struck by heavy construction equipment, electrocutions, silica dust, and asbestos. Always check that it is de-energized first by using a tester. Stay sober. One foot-candle is the illuminance cast on a 1 square foot surface by a single candle’s light. Immediately notify others of any (new or old) hazards that you perceive. Before night works are carried out, check the inventory of safety equipment to make sure they are sufficiently available, appropriate, and in good working condition. Communication on the job site is even more crucial at night than during the day. This allows contractors and agencies to take advantage of working with fewer delays for the traveling public and for construction crews to work more safely in lower volume traffic. How to Stay Safe at Night. Report all work injuries and illnesses immediately 2. Lighting is typically measured by what are called “foot-candles”. Researchers found that night work activity does significantly increase the likelihood of crashes on a facility, sometimes quite dramatically. In addition, consider taking these safety precautions throughout your home: Prepare for emergencies. How to Build a Construction Marketing Plan. Then, there’s active work area lighting, a higher level of light that allows for safe equipment operation and observation of the work. This is designated as level 1, and is 5 or more foot-candles. With the steady increase of traffic congestion around the country, more construction work is scheduled at night; although the combination of increased traffic and night work compounds safety considerations for highway construction workers. Try not to travel at night. When walking at night, always try to bring a friend or a dog … Although hazards exist, workers can stay safe by taking a series of precautions before, during and after their shift. Safety gear can greatly affect worker visibility. A workplace safety training will help them reduce or eliminate injuries and illnesses from occurring in the workplace. However, at late hours and with the nights getting darker earlier, it is important to take notice of what is going on around you. In 2017, eight people died and over 12,000 were injured badly enough to require medical treatment after fireworks-related incidents. Travel safety Suggestions include: Keep your travel plans, including accommodation details, to yourself. Every organisation that asks its employees to work night shifts is required to provide them with a pickup-and-drop facility – a driver, in a vehicle hired by the company, picks up the employees from the office and drops them home. Conduct safety orientation and regular training sessions for workers. Night work is often necessary to complete a given task on a construction site. • Alcohol, drug impaired, drowsy drivers. In order to understand appropriate lighting levels for night work, we first need to talk about how it is measured. Warning/information includes items such as fixed or mobile gantry signs, or temporary rumble strips. Night work and extended hours which carry into the night period are particularly difficult and hazardous. Whether at a hospital, health system or small practice, it is important to take all preventive measures available. Let’s take a look at a couple of critical elements for improving visibility. Pavement Design – What’s My Structural Number? Safety precautions must be strictly adhered to because if they are not, some employees can put all other employees at risk. Darkness will be an issue at times, but job sites today are typically very well lit. Recruit a friend or family member — not only will it be more enjoyable, but it’ll also … Site Preparation – The Game Plan for Your Success, Survey: 60% of Respondents Using e-Construction Tools Reported On-Time Deliveries for Most Projects, e-Construction in Practice Survey: 45% in Transportation Construction Use e-Construction Tools To Speed Project Deliveries. Why Is Night Work Hazardous? It’s also important that others can see you. Additional topics to cover when training for nighttime projects include: • Know your surroundings on the project and watch out around you, • Put clear signage for motorists in the best visibility locations, • Space drums and cones more closely to avoid intrusions, • Conduct test drives to ensure that everything is clearly visible and operating correctly. This is level 3 lighting, and is 20 or more foot-candles. GENERAL SAFETY RULES. • Bright work lights may produce glare. Before you begin working at night, walk the job site during the day. 5. The decision and maneuver distance – how long it takes a driver to notice the worker and make any path or speed changes – is over 5 times greater with reflective clothing than with regular, dark-colored – or even orange-colored – clothes. One of the greatest challenges in nighttime work is poor visibility for workers and motorists. Always keep the communication lines open with your co-workers, employers, or employees in order to promote and maintain a safe environment. First, train all employees on nighttime work safety, keeping in mind that some workers (like traffic control personnel) may need additional training and possibly certification. Everything you do in the daytime can be done at night, with proper safety considerations and the correct level of lighting. Use seat belts when on Company business in any vehicles 4. for night work, overtime and weekend work – in effect, to treat all hours the same and pay for the work that is done, not when it is done. Firearms, weapons, or explosives are not permitted on Company Property. What is Lean Construction, and what are its Benefits? Ensuring Your Safety Walk with a friend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. Those who work nights have to be wary of on-the-job fatigue because of their irregular sleep schedule. There is a requirement in the Night Work and Shift Work Regulations for employers to Under the OSH Act, you have to provide employees with safe conditions to work. Pavement Construction and Inspection Go Together, Making Concrete Pavements Resistant to Damage, Pavements Never Die, They Just Get Service, Climate Change Impacts on Pavements and Resilience, E-Construction in Practice: A Peer Exchange with WSDOT and TxDOT. The final piece of the nighttime safety equation is participating in any available training. Here are seven ways to be prepared. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. Work place accidents translate into … Don't hitch hike. In this edition of the RoadReady newsletter, we will explore what activities can be done in nighttime roadway construction, along with some safety tips to help improve the overall process. associated with shift work, night work and extended working hours, and take action to control the risks. Reflective clothing isn’t the only available technique to increase visibility at night. Purchase sufficient new safety equipment for a new construction project or to add existing inventory. Display emergency numbers and your home address near all telephones. Through proper training and lighting, night time construction can happen as safely as construction in the daytime. First is proper safety training, and second is improving visibility throughout the work zone and especially at critical areas like traffic control workers’ stations and on any people or equipment. The equipment used to ensure safety in the work zone can be grouped in three categories: warning or information, closure/guidance, and protection. Here are the five most effective ways to develop and maintain a safe night time construction site: Create a safety plan before work begins. Savvy companies with night shifts work hard at reducing risk by taking the right steps, like providing the extensive training, educating employees on the hazards of working at night, and creating a safety plan that covers all the right topics. Night work can provide specific challenges that are not experienced during the day, particularly visibility. Lighting level designations according to NCHRP Report 476, start with general lighting, which allows workers to safely move around the entire job site. Compliance helps you … Use night lights. In order to ensure safety for both workers and drivers, some extra steps need to be taken. Investigate all accidents and safety … Second, have weekly safety meetings to cover any errors or incidents that may have occurred, the proper response in the future, and any anticipated changes to the work zone that may affect the safety of drivers and employees. Highway 125 Night Work Describes the precautions and concerns in Highway 125 construction in Nova Scotia, Canada. PLEASE NOTE: THIS PUBLICATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN HARD COPY FORMAT AND CAN BE ORDERED BY PHONING 1890 289389 OR DOWNLOAD FOR FREE BELOW. Employers are required to: consult employees and elected representatives on health and safety at work Avoid caffeine at night that will keep awake you when you need to be sleeping. 1. These and other relevant legal provisions are outlined in Section 6 of this guidance. Place night lights in the person's bedroom and the bathroom to help prevent tripping if he or she gets up at night. Closure/guidance includes items such as traffic cones, drums and barricades. Never try repairing energized equipment. Whether you are paving a road or working at a stationary site, you can increase … BRING A FRIEND. All sorts of hazards exist including reduced visibility, worker fatigue, lighting issues such as positioning and glare, and tired or impaired drivers. Alcohol and drugs are a contributing factor in around three per cent of workplace fatalities. You should also be aware of any potential issues specific to the project site, such as electrical or fall hazards. a safe and healthful workplace. Work) Regulations 2000 were transposed into the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 and deal specifically with night and shift work. Report all Unsafe Acts or Unsafe Conditions to your Supervisor 3. Safety (DPS) crash data to assess the ramifications of night work on crash experiences, and an assessment of differences in operational characteristics of traffic at nighttime and daytime work zones. 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