Work affecting audience

It’s not just workers who are at risk from construction jobs. Members of the public are killed and seriously injured every year. Among the dead and wounded are children. Accidents often occur when people walk near a building under construction, remodeling, or demolition, or when they walk near work on the street. Remember, when working in public areas, work must be planned and executed with the needs of children, people with prams, the elderly and people with disabilities in mind.

Keep the public out: The best way to protect members of the public is to keep them out of the area where you are working. This is usually achieved by building a 2m high perimeter fence or fence. If modifications are necessary or if some of the fencing needs to be temporarily taken down, be sure to put it back up before leaving the site for meal breaks and at the end of the day. Close site doors and any other doors and windows at night. If the work is being carried out in occupied premises, it is necessary to agree with the building occupants clear responsibilities for maintaining the fencing and keeping those not involved in the work away. If the site is near a school, or on or near a housing estate, it may be helpful to contact the principal or residents’ association, etc. to seek your help in discouraging children from trespassing. Many children view construction sites as adventure parks.

Even though they may be trespassing or entering the site, they still need to be protected from site hazards; many will be too young to appreciate the risks they are taking. Take the following steps to reduce the possibility of children being hurt if they enter the site. At the end of the working day: remove barriers or cover excavations, wells, etc.; isolate and immobilize vehicles and plants; if it is possible to lock them in an enclosure; store construction materials (such as pipes, manhole rings, bags of cement, etc.) so that they cannot tip over or tip over; remove excavation access ladders and scaffolding; and lock up hazardous substances. Security measures may also be necessary. These can often strengthen security measures.

material drop

Protect bystanders with toeboards, brick guards, and/or scaffold netting, but remember that most netting only retains lightweight material. Fans and/or covered walkways may also be needed where the risk is particularly high. Use plastic sheeting on scaffolding to contain dust, drips and splashes that may occur when cleaning building facades. Make sure the sheets do not destabilize the scaffold. Tie down loose materials and remove debris from scaffold platforms. Do not stack material on scaffolds unless necessary, and then not above the level of the toeboard unless brick guards or other means of retaining the material have been provided. Tie down scaffold boards if high winds are possible. When using caster wheels or electric hoists, select a safe location where members of the public are not at risk. Use debris chutes when removing debris in a container. Cover container to prevent flying debris and reduce dust.

Work on the road or sidewalk

When working on the sidewalk or driveway, there could be a danger to pedestrians and traffic. Wheeled traffic can also present a hazard to people on the site. The Code of Practice, Safety at street work and roadworks41 related to the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991,42 provides advice on traffic signalling, protection of work areas and pedestrian diversions.

When planning driveway or sidewalk work, consider: traffic and pedestrian signals to warn people about the work and the detours they are expected to follow; temporary traffic controls and their maintenance; cones and barriers to mark the safety zone within which work can be carried out safely; Barriers and boards to protect the public. The barriers around street works serve two functions. First, they alert the public to the presence of such work and direct them to where they want to be through a protected area. Second, if members of the public do approach the site, the barriers must be strong and stable enough to prevent them from being injured if they fall; suitable transitional walking surfaces (including ramps if necessary) that are free of tripping hazards, paying particular attention to the needs of the elderly, people with prams, wheelchair users and visually impaired people temporary lighting , which may be needed at night if there is not enough public lighting; material storage, for example, do not leave paving slabs propped up on edge, or loosely stacked pipes in areas where they may be disturbed. Do not store materials in the path of pedestrians and watch out for trailing cables; the movement of vehicles and plants in and out of the work area; provide high visibility clothing for those working on or alongside the road; other hazards, for example, buried cables and support for the sides of excavations.

On some occasions, it will be necessary to close the sidewalk to protect the public, for example, during paving works, demolition, facade cleaning, hot asphalt removal, scaffolding assembly or disassembly. It may be necessary to isolate the area and provide a safe alternate route for pedestrians. Contact the Highways Authority for advice. Scaffolding – Ensure that scaffolding does not present a hazard to members of the public once it has been erected. Make sure there are no protruding components that could injure people passing by. If a covered walkway is provided, ensure it is properly marked. Be aware of the needs of people with disabilities, for example people with visual impairments may need low level notice boards to ensure they are following the protected route. Take steps to prevent people from accessing the scaffold when you are not on site by removing ladders at ground level. During renovation or repair work, consider additional places where the scaffolding can be accessed, for example from inside the building through an upper level window, and take steps to prevent this.

dusty and hot work

Enclose hot work, such as welding or using disc cutters, to contain dust and sparks. Fencing of bituminous boilers and similar that must be located in a public space. Site visitors, make sure site visitors tell the person in charge of the site and know where to go; notices may be required at the site entrance. A waiting room may be required. Visitors must not be allowed to roam the site alone. A reservation system may be needed at larger sites. When developments are being built or properties are being renovated, people not involved in the work and unfamiliar with construction site hazards may want to look around the site. Make sure they are accompanied at all times and provided with the necessary protective equipment, such as helmets or boots. Schedule operations so that parts of the site that are regularly visited by the public are not being worked on. Arrange and mark access routes throughout the site to keep visitors away from site hazards.