Back in the good old days when building sites were an exclusively male preserve, you could turn up on site in a pair of shorts and trainers and hard hats were never worn
Going to the pub for half a dozen pints of strong lager at lunch time was normal behaviour
Health and Safety was virtually non existent and was seen as an annoyance. Disputes were settled in the ancient, time honoured but very effective method of a smack in the mouth. Accidents were just accepted as part of the job and the cure for an injury was to go to the pub for a few brandies until you were so drunk it didn’t hurt anymore
Thankfully those days are long gone. Large construction sites these days are very efficient professionally run places of work and there is a strict emphasis on health and safety. Many sites operate a zero tolerance approach to unsafe working practices. Everyone has to be trained in all the different activities they carry out. Women are seen in many roles quite often in senior ones.
All power tools and equipment are regularly checked and certificated. Alcohol is strictly forbidden and random Drug and Alcohol testing is a common thing. Smacking people in the mouth is no longer tolerated, instead disputes are settled via the contractual process
The role of the property developer
As a property developer you should be aiming to run your projects with the same level of professionalism and adherence to Health and Safety standards. You should know the site set up essentials . Remember anybody working unsafely is jeopardising not only their own but everyone else’s safety. Just because it’s a smaller job doesn’t mean standards should slip. Accidents can happen anytime and in a split second change someones life. Once it’s happened there is no going back. As the person in charge the legal responsibility to ensure the workplace is safe is on you. It is you who will be standing in court if anything goes wrong. If you are new to this don’t just assume people will work safely without someone enforcing it. People pick up bad habits on one job and take them to the next job, so don’t let them bring them to your job
Helping people set up a safe and compliant project is one of the many services we offer. Please contact us to see how we can help you