How Construction Workers Can Protect Themselves From Worksite Health Risks
Construction workers face potential on-the-job safety hazards daily, including ongoing health risks like COVID-19 and other viruses or illnesses.
Given the primarily in-person, hands-on, and team-focused nature of construction work, crews must continually adapt their construction site safety practices to ensure that they stay safe and healthy, and that all current and planned construction work can happen uninterrupted.
Protecting Construction Crews From Health and Safety Risks
While construction companies must practice an increased level of diligence in protecting their crews—such as keeping all tools and equipment sanitized and enabling social distancing between construction workers when possible—it is also up to each worker to protect themselves and promote a safe worksite.
Our Healthier Workplaces: Guidance for Construction Environments, 2nd edition guidance document was created in collaboration with the AIHA construction committee using the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. Its goal is to provide construction workers and crews with a clear and actionable safety plan to protect teams from evolving health concerns.
The guide discusses various considerations and recommendations for construction work employees, employers, and job site visitors. The goal of this guide is to help construction workers know how to protect themselves, with specific guidance on:
How construction employees can protect themselves from health risks:
Social distancing protocols for construction workers
Proactive measures to monitor one’s own health and protect team members
What construction employees should do if they think they have been exposed to COVID-19 or a similar virus
Personal protective equipment considerations for on-site construction crew members
Recommendations for restructuring weekly toolbox talks and all-hands meetings to ensure team safety
How construction employers can protect their workers from health risks:
Information on the essential personal protective equipment that employers should provide to all construction workers
Suggestions for how to limit the number of jobsite crew and visitors, including how companies can use a daily visitor log for contact tracing
How to restructure work shifts to isolate and compartmentalize staff
Daily activities to monitor employees’ wellness
Best practices for sanitizing construction equipment and how to reduce the risk of spreading viruses when using shared tools or equipments
Download our Healthier Workplaces: Guidance for Construction Environments, 2nd edition guidelines to learn proven strategies that protect construction workers and their crews.
Additional Construction Safety Resources
To access more help and resources to understand and avoid the health risks of construction work, we recommend you explore the following resources and networks.
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