Construction safety should be top-of-mind for your business. Construction workers are exposed to many serious hazards such as falls, equipment failure and exposure to hazardous materials (just to name a few). It’s important to protect your employees and business by developing a risk management plan.
What is risk management in the construction industry?
Risk management is a proactive approach to evaluating potential risks in your operations and developing solutions to help avoid those risks. A properly crafted risk management plan outlines specific steps you can take to avoid safety and business interruption risks.
Some potential construction safety risks are:
- Falls
- Hazardous materials, such as asbestos, silica and others
- Burns and electrical incidents
- Noise exposure
- Equipment failure
- Fire and property damage
Why is risk management important?
According to PropertyCasualty360, the largest number of fatal occupational injuries occurred in 2019, increasing 2% nationwide during the year, and the construction industry had the largest number of fatal work injuries. As risks continue to increase, it’s important to be proactive in protecting your workers, clients and your company.
There are many benefits to creating a Construction Risk Management and Fire Prevention Plan, including:
- Increased safety and wellbeing of workers
- Improved company reputation
- Avoid costs associated with workplace accidents
- Prevent damage to machinery, property and materials
Learn about our
Business Insurance
How should a risk management plan be constructed?
An effective risk management plan provides detailed steps to address the risks in your operations, while being easy to follow. Some steps to developing a Construction Risk Management and Fire Prevention Plan are:
Risk assessment
Identify potential risks and the impact they could have on your business. Evaluate each aspect of the construction risks in full detail to ensure nothing is overlooked.Strategy development
Develop strategies to address and manage the risks you’ve identified during risk assessment. OSHA provides many resources to help you get started. Implementation
Once you’ve developed a strategy, communicate the plan with your employees. Promoting a safety-focused culture, providing training and the proper tools for employees is key to the success of your risk management plan. Evaluation
Review your Construction Risk Management plan often and revise as needed. Ensure all potential risks are accounted for and current safety best-practices are met.Assign responsibility and authority
Clearly assign and spell out the responsibility for site fire prevention before the start of the project. All contractors and subcontractors should be aware of this responsibility and authority assignment and procedures should be established for handling imminent danger-type hazards.
Grange Insurance offers commercial insurance policyholders free access to risk control services to help perform risk assessments and develop solutions. We’ll also work with you to develop a workplace safety program, provide OSHA-compliant safety training, business continuity planning and more.
Providing a safe workplace for your employees is essential to your business’s success. Talk to a Grange independent agent to learn more about Grange commercial insurance and the risk control services available for your business.
This article is for informational and suggestion purposes only. If the policy coverage descriptions in this article conflict with the language in the policy, the language in the policy applies. For full details on Grange’s commercial insurance, coverages and discounts, including our Risk Control Services, contact your local independent agent.
Sources:
- Property Casualty 360
- Grange Risk Control Services