Discover the Basic Needs of Construction Site Employees

By Kravelv

Contrary to the past, the current generation has access to luxurious homes. The reason behind this is that the construction industry has gone through a technological boom over time. Thus, erecting visually appealing houses has not only become a relatively easy task for builders but they also typically fall within the financial grasp of the general public.

However, despite being equipped with the latest gear, contractors still heavily rely on construction site workers. So the project managers need to ensure all the necessary facilities to the site workers. That way, the workforce will be motivated to give its best shot.

If you are wondering what accounts for the basic needs of construction site employees, the following list will give a much-needed clarity:   

Accommodation Facilities

Construction sites are hands down, one of the dirtiest places out there. It is because the workers are always engaged in tasks like hammering, drilling, and so on. Moreover, construction also involves the usage of dangerous substances. Considering all these reasons, the availability of washing facilities is a must. If not, the workers will somehow wind up consuming contaminated meals or snacks. So much so, they might even pass the germs to their family members after returning home.   

Going by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards, every construction site should stick to the below-mentioned hygienic measures:

  • Workers should have a sufficient number of sinks with the undisturbed supply of hot and cold water. The sinks must not be too small because they may prove to be a hindrance to properly washing face, hands, and forearms.   
  • Cleaning materials such as soap or hand-wash should be easily accessible.
  • Make sure washing facilities not get bedded alongside living accommodations.
  • It is the responsibility of the man-in-charge to keep these facilities clean 24/7.    

Workers might also search for temporary housing near me to find themselves a suitable place to breathe peacefully after a long hectic day.

Protective Gear

When it comes to injuries, the construction industry easily overrides the rest of the risk-driven professions. According to a well-documented study, sometimes, 9 percent of the total project budget is allocated to provide medical assistance to the workers. It is why workers must get equipped with protective gear. Here are some of the most critical safety tools that help the workforce to get away with major and minor incidents:

  • Helmet: Typically, multiple tasks get performed at a construction site. One could quickly get busy in his work without noticing what is happing around him. For example, workers may not track a tile or stone falling from considerable height until it strikes their head. A high-quality helmet will work as a potent entity to avoid these types of nasty occurrences.
  • Earplugs: You can readily come across construction workers keeping up with the hearing loss. Because many fiery noises are going around at job sites, earplugs sharply reduce the chances of developing a hearing deficiency. 
  • Goggles: Activities like bulldozing and welding are incredibly prone to cause damage to the eyes. Goggles act as a significant barrier between eyes and harmful objects and subsequently save eyes from any impairment.
  • Boots: Like workers’ heads, their feet are also defenseless against debris and other weighty substances. Wearing boots that contain steel toes can be very useful to keep fractures at bay.

Restrooms

Often, construction employees are not provided bathrooms within the respective construction site. As a result, they have to walk to an inconvenient spot to get on with their venture. It slows down productivity and sometimes contributes as a significant factor for pushing the project beyond the deadline.

Arranging smelly and suffocating bathrooms are good for nothing. The toilets should stay on top of the sanitization and ventilation. The quantity of bathrooms varies depending on the size of the workforce and the frequency of cleaning. But, as a rule of thumb, one toilet can cater to the needs of 7 workers. To be more illustrative, if 70 construction workers get engrossed at a specific job site, they must have ten bathrooms at their disposal to a minimum.   

An adequate supply of water, toilet paper, and a decent drainage system are among other essential considerations.

Lockers and Dressing Room

As mentioned earlier, construction employees have to operate in a polluted environment. Hence, their clothes get continuously exposed to harmful stuff like cement, dust, paint, glue, etc. Changing rooms allow workers to dry their clothes thoroughly after washing so that health-hazards remains at a safe distance. Apart from that, changing rooms also come handy when workers need to slip into the working kit every time they take it.

Lockers are necessary to secure items that workers bring at the construction sites. They also save employees’ regular clothes from getting contaminated.    

Conclusion

On the surface, ensuring such facilities to construction workers might seem like an expensive move. But a savvy-contractor would know that this will pay off big time in the long run because workers’ dedication towards the project will balloon up quite dramatically.