Does your construction team know what to do when there is an emergency on-site? What about when that emergency occurs in the middle of the night?
Plenty of commercial construction takes place in the wee hours to ensure that projects stay on schedule, to avoid the heat of the day, and to avoid unnecessary interruptions to surrounding residents and businesses. But, working construction at night can cause crews confusion regarding how to address emergencies when they arise.
To keep everyone at your site safe and the project on track, you need to ensure your workers understand exactly what to do in any type of emergency situation. Here are a few ways you can make
Emergency Action Plan
Businesses should take a proactive approach to keep their work zone safe at night. Construction sites should have plenty of safety tools to help your crews avoid emergencies, like bright illumination, reflective materials, appropriate signs, and more. However, accidents happen, and your workers need to know exactly what steps to take to mitigate harm. Therefore, you need to equip your crew with an emergency action plan (EAP), which should include the following information:
- Procedures for reporting specific types of emergencies, such as fires or injuries;
- Procedures for emergency evacuation of the site;
- Procedures for employees remaining on the site to manage critical operations;
- Procedures for performing medical or rescue duties.
Many construction sites have EAPs in place for their daytime crews, but the information those EAPs contain may not be relevant to the employees you have on-site at night. You should review your EAPs and make sure that the names, responsibilities, and contact information for overnight managers are correct.
Culture of Safety
Culture has a significant impact on individuals’ behavior, so you should strive to harness the culture of your construction sites to promote safety. In most workplaces, workers will model the behavior they see from their leaders, which means you and your fellow leaders need to adopt essential safety practices to ensure workers stay safe working night shifts. Those might include:
- Achieving solid sleep during non-work hours;
- Eating healthy foods and drinking water regularly;
- Maintaining a clean and orderly workspace;
- Verifying equipment functionality and maintenance before use;
- Communicating openly and clearly.
When you notice crew members adhering to safety rules, you should celebrate them. Over time, all of your employees will strive to copy you, and those workers who receive your praise and your construction sites will have strong cultures dedicated to safety.
Staff Training
Ideally, you will hire employees who already have a wealth of experience and who understand and respect your safety protocols. Engaging in strategic workforce planning can help you build the safety-focused crew you need to keep your sites safe — especially in the middle of the night when the need for smart, safe behavior is at its peak. Through proper workforce planning, you can reinforce your efforts to create a culture of safety.
Yet, even a carefully curated night crew benefits from the occasional reminder. In addition to onboarding training, you should require your staff to engage with regular safety updates to ensure they remember all essential safety protocols. These trainings can take the form of online videos, staff meetings, or in-person courses, but you should make sure every member of your crew is participating. You can and should test their emergency response knowledge with safety drills performed at least twice yearly, if not quarterly.
Your night crew is as valuable to the efficiency of your construction operation as your day crew, and you need to make sure they are properly protected. Create contingency plans and work with employees. With the proper safety tools, staff, and mindset, you can rest easy knowing your construction sites are safe day and night.