Four Tips for Being Productive and Safe on Construction Sites This Winter

Winter can make work conditions less safe and productive. Be prepared and make better progress during inclement weather. Here are four tips for improving safety on your jobsite during winter. 1. Design a winter work plan Working in cold temperatures and winter weather requires changes to processes and equipment. Identify what you will need and (approximately) when you need them ahead of any bad weather. Every jobsite will have slightly different needs, but here are some common ones: Tarps to cover building supplies and equipment to prevent them from getting wet and freezing A dry place to store tools Shelters so people can complete work outdoors A warm, dry place where workers can go to get warm Heaters and generators Salt and other ice-melting solutions You also have to develop safety and severe weather plans. What do the on-site personnel need to do to be safe during inclement weather? And what do they have to do if the weather suddenly becomes severe? 2. Educate your workforce At the start of winter, remind people about winter hazards and winter-related worksite changes. The greatest personnel safety hazards are frostbite, slip and falls, and collisions. Enforce a winter dress code and tell people to bring an extra outfit in case the one they’re wearing gets too wet to keep them warm. If you’re expecting a significant weather event in the near future, remind people of their responsibilities when working in those weather conditions. Remind them again on the day of the event. On days when temperature reaches near freezing, remind them they don’t need to wait for designated breaks to go to the on-site personnel warming station. 3. Watch weather conditions Bad weather or changes in weather is one of the greatest threats to project schedules. You must be especially aware of upcoming precipitation, freezing, and high winds. Daily examine the activities scheduled to be completed in that timeframe. Consider how well those activities can be accomplished then, because you may need to reschedule some of them. And you may need to get creative, because you can’t always push them to a later date. Throughout the day, regularly check the hourly forecast to respond to eminent weather changes. And inform on-site personnel of significant weather changes and schedule changes. 4. Properly maintain heavy equipment During winter, it’s even more important to keep equipment maintained, since cold temperatures and ice can have negative impacts on performance. Batteries can lose 35 percent at 32°F and as much as 60 percent at 0°F. Also, when overnight temperatures reach 0°F, you should use block heaters for machine startup. Diesel fuel begins to gel at -32°F, which damages machine performance and components, so you will require a fuel additive when working below that temperature. Wash your equipment more frequently. Snow buildup can hide damage to the machine body and ice can damage components. Once you’ve developed plans for working in winter—and communicate it to your team—you can expect to complete projects more quickly and safely. Find more articles in this week's edition of Contractors Hot Line: https://secure.viewer.zmags.com/publication/0d7e2363#/0d7e2363/1