Health and Safety on the Job
Demolition and construction are dangerous jobs and requires qualified contractors to undergo specialist training before being able to work on a construction site. Here at Feltham Groundworks, we take care of our employees and strive ensure their safety on every job they undertake.
Before we begin any building demolition job, we must undertake several assessments and internal meetings to make sure that everyone on the job is sufficiently prepared and aware of any risks and dangers they may be exposed to in order to keep them as safe as possible. This is especially important on jobs where there are potential unforeseen risks, like with asbestos removal.
RAMs – Risk Assessment, Method statement
We undergo a risk assessment before starting any job. This is an assessment of the work environment and job we are planning on starting and deciding if various aspects of it are too risky to do, or safe enough for us to undertake. A typical risk assessment follows the steps below:
- Identifying the environment
- classifying work activities
- Identifying hazards specific to that location
- Quantifying the risk
- Deciding if the risk is tolerable (worth the risk)
- Preparing risk controls as necessary
- Reviewing the adequacy of these controls
Each of the steps outlined above has several subcategories and tasks within them that we must complete to fully understand the risks we would be taking on for each specific job. These subtasks can include things like getting all the right permits to work, site safety inspections, safety management procedures and arrangements, and procedures for serious and imminent danger.
Once we’ve completed our risk assessment, we are ready to confer with our team of demolition experts and brief them on the job.
Toolbox Talk
At Feltham Groundworks, we call these team briefings ‘Toolbox Talks’, where we hold a large meeting with the entire team, run through the job we are starting and ask team members to sign off on the job if they’re happy to go forward. This is also a great opportunity for members of the team to raise any concerns of questions they have regarding the job.
We prioritise these Toolbox Talks because they are a vital part of working as a team at Feltham Groundworks, and they help keep us all on the same page. It is important that all our employees have a space where they can voice questions and concerns about any projects, especially concerning their own health and safety. We try our best to make sure that all our employees are safe, happy, and healthy when they tackle new demolition projects.
Further Safety Measures
Once we’re identified and prepared for any risks on our demolition jobs and have conferred with our team of expert demolition workers, we still have a couple of health and safety measures to put in place before we can begin demolishing.
Firstly, the area we are working on must be fenced off. This keeps the public out of any hazardous areas and encloses our site so we can work free of distraction and any potential accidents caused on the outside of the construction site.
Depending on the location of the job, we may also have to take care of traffic management and diverting. This is important because it ensures that traffic can still flow safely around the demolition site without any hazards or risks to drivers, pedestrians, and our demolition workers.
We also have to take noise pollution into account and be conscious of our working hours.
Once we have put all the above measures into place and have fully briefed our team, we are able to go on to our demolition job. We take health and safety incredibly seriously at Feltham Groundworks, and place the safety of our workers on the forefront of any job we do.
