How Safe Are Modern Construction Sites?

Decades ago, construction sites were extraordinarily dangerous and construction workers took risks just by being on a jobsite. Thankfully, we’ve seen some major improvements to construction site technology and best practices for workplace safety.

But just how safe are modern construction sites for workers?

The Importance of Construction Safety

Let’s start by talking about the importance of construction area safety. Depending on the construction area, workers can be exposed to a number of dangerous conditions. They may be forced to work with dangerous materials, such as hot asphalt, or may need to put themselves in dangerous positions, such as climbing to great heights. Falling debris, lost balance, misused and mishandled materials, and more can lead to devastating injuries.

No matter how safe a worksite is, construction accidents can and do happen. Even in perfect circumstances, freak accidents and unusual activities (such as abnormal weather conditions or unseen trespassers) can lead to an accident.

With that in mind, we can establish that no construction site is ever truly, perfectly safe – so construction workers and supervisors must always be on guard.

New Tools, Technologies, and Trends

Thankfully, new tools, technologies, and trends have reshaped the modern construction site.

These are just a few examples:

• Digital information and processes. Historically, construction workers have relied on paper manuals and temporary instruction to learn proper safety procedures and follow operational directives. But thanks to the onset of digital technology, it’s easier than ever for supervisors and project leads to condense and distribute information, workflows, and processes. At any time, employees can get access to instructions and safety guidelines – so there’s no excuse for not following them exactly.
• Wearable devices. Wearable IoT devices have also transformed the construction industry. Now, thanks to precise tracking and data analytics, construction workers can get automatic notifications when they’re entering an actively dangerous area – or get warnings to wear certain types of protective equipment. In the future, these wearable devices will become even more sophisticated, taking precise measurements and issuing alerts for a wide variety of potential events.
• AI and automation. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation have also meaningfully improved the safety of the average construction site. Some manual tasks have been completed automated with the help of advanced software and robotics; when humans are removed from the equation entirely, there’s virtually no health or safety risk. Additionally, AI has been deployed to practice better data analytics, making recommendations and predictions so that construction sites can operate more smoothly.
• Drones. Even if you’re not afraid of heights, you might shudder at the thought of climbing up to the top of the skyscraper to complete construction on it. While we still need human workers to climb up high and take care of certain construction objectives, the addition of drones has minimized this need. Drones, with effective human piloting and advanced photography capabilities, are capable of scoping out even the highest places without putting any human beings in danger.
• Streamlined training. Better education and training can make any workplace safer. Now that we live in an era with constant internet access and convenient mobile devices, construction companies have access to much more advanced forms of education and training. In a matter of days, new employees can be brought up to speed, and supervisors can automatically track and monitor the progress of their subordinates.
• Data analytics. Finally, advanced data analytics technology makes it easier for leaders in the workplace to evaluate potential safety concerns and work proactively to address them. They can monitor foot traffic to and from areas, look into potential safety red flags, and more.

Construction sites also benefit from the fact that more businesses are taking workplace safety more seriously than ever before. We live in an era where health and safety are high priorities, such that the culture on construction sites has changed for the better.

The Caveats

There are a few caveats to this assertion, however.

• The job site. Different job sites have different levels of risk. Depending on the height of the job, the materials being used, and the nature of the work, employees are going to face varying levels of danger.
• Culture. It’s the norm for construction companies to take safety seriously, but there are also occasional deviations from this trend. If your workplace culture isn’t on point, safety may become a bigger concern.
• Unforeseen variables. No matter how careful you are, there are unforeseeable variables that can affect the safety and security of your jobsite.

Overall, it’s clear that construction sites are safer than they’ve ever been in the past. And despite the occasional accident, most construction workers don’t have to worry about getting hurt as long as they follow proper procedures. In the future, better technology has the potential to make construction sites even safer than we know them today.