A Concrete Contractor Safety Manual provides the written safety policies, programs, responsibilities, and procedures needed to address the hazards associated with concrete construction, placement, finishing, cutting, drilling, forming, reinforcing, and related operations.
Concrete contractors may perform foundations, slabs, walls, structural concrete, flatwork, concrete cutting and drilling, formwork, reinforcing steel installation, concrete pumping, precast operations, masonry work, demolition, and other activities. These operations can expose employees to silica dust, heavy equipment, moving machinery, falls, impalement hazards, chemical burns, electrical hazards, noise, material handling, excavation hazards, and other construction risks.
An effective Concrete Safety Manual should therefore include the company’s fundamental construction safety requirements along with the additional programs applicable to the concrete work, equipment, materials, and hazards its employees encounter.
Core Safety Programs for Concrete Contractors
A comprehensive Concrete Contractor Safety Manual may include core programs addressing:
- Accident and Incident Investigation.
- Emergency Action Plan.
- Fire Prevention.
- First Aid.
- Hand and Power Tool Safety.
- Hazard Communication.
- Housekeeping.
- Job Safety Analysis (JSA/JHA).
- Manual Lifting and Material Handling.
- Personal Protective Equipment.
- Slips, Trips and Falls.
- Walking-Working Surfaces.
- Electrical Safety.
- Ladder and Stairway Safety.
The manual should also establish responsibilities for management, supervisors, employees, competent and qualified persons, hazard identification, workplace inspections, safety training, hazard correction, incident reporting, recordkeeping, and periodic review of the company’s safety programs.