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Here’s how to handle the most common health and saftey hazards on house building sites

Construction of any sort requires a lot of planning, patience, resources, time and management. In addition to being very difficult, construction jobs are really dangerous too. There are several health and safety hazards present on the site which can really cause serious injuries. Every year, tens of thousands of workers get injured while working on construction sites, all over the world. Construction jobs, due to all these hazards are difficult to carry out and can also, at times, prove to be one of the most dangerous jobs. Which is why health and safety courses are so important to keep workers out of dangers and hazards, which is something offered by SB Skills

While, many injuries happen on construction sites, each year, thousands of workers get injured during their house building projects. According to the statistics revealed by the Health and Safety Executive, during the year 2016-2017, around 1200 of injuries that took place on house building sites, were due to slips, trips or falls.

According to the National House Building Council (NHBC), most of these injuries or accidents could be averted by the effective and efficient management of the working areas and all the access routes. The estimates reveal that around 2.3 million working days are lost each year in the construction field due to workplace injuries, which comprise around 17% of the mix and illness caused by work-related activities, which comprise around a massive 83% in the mix.

Read the full article to learn more about the most common hazards on house building sites and how to handle them effectively!

NHBC highlights the most frequent reported items in the final quarter of 2017:

• Workers working on scaffold with no guardrails in place;
• No fall protection on open stairwells;
• Access routes blocked with site materials;
• No eye protection being worn when using a paslode nail gun;

NHBC health and safety advisers can provide coaching and advice to site managers, and when the right measures are in place, the safety of a site can be dramatically improved.

Stephen Ashworth, Health & Safety Services Manager, said, “Over recent years, we have seen big improvements with regards to safety on site and the number of injuries to construction workers has reduced.

Author: Isla MacFarlane

The complete article can be accessed by visiting the following link:

https://www.showhouse.co.uk/uncategorized/tackling-the-most-coming-hazards-on-housebuilding-sites/

This article provides some of the laws and regulations associated with working at heights

Working at height is an important consideration for employers. Several industries such as the oil and gas sector, the construction sector, roofing and cladding, telecommunication sector and the design sector include the use of working on heights. In fact, the industries that do not directly need working at heights may also at some point require the need to use a ladder even to change the bulb or even for putting up some decorations in the office. Working at heights is not restricted by the law but there are regulations to ensure the safety of the personnel.

Roofing and cladding often requires you to work at heights, so the laws and regulations including the health and safety for employees should be any company’s primary concern. The CSCS Roofing and Cladding NVQ course provided by SB Skills includes compulsory units of workplace safety rules and efficient work practices. CSCS Roofing and Cladding NVQ will improve an operative’s health and safety.

This article focuses on some of the laws and regulations that are relevant to working at heights. The “Work at Height Regulations 2005” is the main pieces of regulations that govern this particular type of work. The regulations are devised to prevent injuries and death. The legislation is not complex and has different sections that are important to different types of work.

This article will help you handle the safety of your employees working at heights, read on to learn more!

How to Work at Height Safely

There are three main steps to working safely at height. Once you’ve understood any regulations that are specific to your industry (if any), these steps will help you avoid falling injuries in the workplace. It may be the case that carrying out a working at height risk assessment beforehand is beneficial, as this will help you pull together all of the relevant considerations. Depending on your circumstances, it may be mandatory.

The three steps to reducing the likelihood of workplace injuries as a result of falls are as follows:

Risk Avoidance

The first, and easiest step in working safely at height is to avoid it where possible. In some cases, it will of course be impossible not to climb a ladder or ascend a platform, but there are many solutions out there to help some jobs be carried out from ground level. For example, if you’re trying to clean windows, or reach products down from a high rack, there may be tools available that mean climbing a ladder is unnecessary. Even using a forklift truck to reach pallets down may be safer than climbing racking to reach high stock. Always look for opportunities to make the task safer.

Risk Minimisation

If it is essential that you or one of your employees must work at height, then you should take all possible precautions to reduce the risk of falling. There are many, many ways this can be done, ranging from reducing the time spent working at height, to having guard rails and other barriers on platforms. Having specific guards in place for specific jobs is the best way of making sure that injuries do not occur. Ladders are a fairly common piece of equipment in the workplace, and can be made safer by being regularly checked for condition, and ensuring that staff that use them know how to do so properly.

Author: Alex Bateman

https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/health-and-safety/2017/09/working-at-height-law-and-regulations

 

Beamish Museum’s new project expected to create around 100 construction jobs

Beamish Museum is an open air museum in England. It has been around for quite a while and now is planning to expand. The project is expected to cost around £18 million and will bring around 100 new jobs related to construction. The project is titled ‘Remaking Beamish’ and is the biggest project in the 48-year history of the museum. 30 new exhibits are planned to be added, which will include a 1950s town and farm, along with a Georgian cottage and a coach house.

The new project will create around 100 construction jobs which will also include construction apprenticeships which will provide a great opportunity to learn alongside skilled and experienced mentors. The work has already started and is expected to finish around 2021.

Project Beamish is quite big and around 30 people from different trades will be working simultaneously on four building sites at any one time. The 1950s town will also include a cinema which is being moved from Sunderland. It will also include a community center, homes, shops, café and other similar structures.

Read the complete article to learn more about the Beamish Museum’s new gigantic project!

The project is expected to create around 100 new jobs and training opportunities, including up to 50 apprenticeships.

Spain’s Field Farm, from Weardale, has been de-constructed and will be rebuilt at Beamish to tell the story of rural life in the 1950s.

The expansion of the 1820s Landscape will include a coaching inn where visitors can stay overnight.

There will also be a recreation of murdered Joe the Quilter’s cottage.

The extension is expected to attract an extra 100,000 tourists to the region.

The museum will remain open throughout the building programme.

Author: Kali Lindsay

Link to the original article:

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/around-100-construction-jobs-created-14124990

Here is why health and safety training is important

Safety at work is very important. More than 200 people die every year due to accidents at work and more than 1 million get injured. Furthermore, more than 2 million suffer from sicknesses caused by their work. One of the most dangerous industries is the forestry and the odds of getting killed there are 6 times more as compared to a construction site. Prevention of accidents and poor health must be a priority for everyone at work. The employees of any organization are vital and valuable for the future of that particular organization. If you are the manager of a forestry contracting business, you must make the safety of your employees a top priority and must prepare them for the challenges of the job by training them properly.

If you provide health and safety training to the employees, you ensure that the employees do not get sick or injured due to the work they do. The health and safety training also helps to develop a positive, healthy and safe culture where the safe operation of day to day activities becomes natural to them.

The results of health and safety training are not just short term but are rather long term. The employees that undergo the health and safety training will become accustomed to staying safe at work and will ensure that all the safety standards are complied.

Read the complete article to learn more about the importance of health and safety training!

What is training?

Training means helping people to learn how to do something, telling people what they should or (often as important) should not do, or simply giving them information. Training isn’t just about formal ‘classroom’ courses and obtaining ‘tickets’ (certificates) to work.

Within the forestry industry, there are growing concerns about the level of competence and high expectations of newly trained/qualified operators. What makes someone more employable and valued is their experience gained through on the job training & consolidation, and non formal training in the form of ‘continuous professional development’ (CPD).

Your members of staff become more motivated, remain loyal and committed. Management of CPD allows you, the forestry contractor, to attract, recruit & retain the best people. By demonstrating workforce competence your business is given direction and an enhanced image. This is not just about health and safety. Increasingly, clients are demanding evidence of ability to undertake contracts to a suitable quality, and businesses have been shown to benefit from being able to provide this information, by winning contracts over other companies.

Why manage CPD you might ask?

Well, amongst other things, it’s good for business. What counts for CPD, is any subject that you think is relevant to your personal development. A plethora of subjects count towards CPD including courses, seminars, conferences, workshops, full and part time study and other training, etc . However, CPD needs planning. The individual needs to look at his/her weaknesses for example in core skills – what you do well and in a lack of skills, what needs to be improved. The individual also needs to look at opportunities and threats including new trends, any obstacles and changing roles.

Of course, all individuals will also learn, increase their knowledge and skills simply by doing their job; in other words, gaining experience. This is also part of CPD. The fresh-faced new employee with his recently – gained certificates of competence will not usually be able to equal the productivity of a more experienced operator but with support and supervision from his colleagues he will pick things up every day. Be aware, though, that everyone brings something to the process: He might be slow but he might also have learnt a few techniques that make life easier – and safer. Equally, the more experienced, senior colleague may be quick but may also have picked up a few bad habits along the way. This type of give-and-take has been going on in the workplace for ever and is just as valuable now as it has ever been.

CPD could also be used in forming a nationally recognized, auditable and credible structure to acknowledge individual operators training, certification and career progression, a register of Tree Work Operatives. This scheme would have a large advantage if it could be made to happen, but cost would be the main barrier to progress.

Link to the complete article:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/training-is-important.htm

These are some benefits of eLearning in the construction industry

Construction industry today is much more complex than it used to be in the past. In the recent past, especially, there has been an exponential increase in the complexity of the sector.  The reason behind this complexity is the adoption and implementation of the International Billing Code (IBC) throughout the most of the United States. Indeed, there are other factors behind the complexity too. Such factors include government regulations imposed by agencies, including Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Another very important factor that has given rise to complexities in the construction sector is the recent increase in severe weather events, such as hurricanes.

All the aforementioned factors have contributed to the increase in complexities in the construction sector. Projects of all sizes, including new constructions and renovations have undergone several complex changes now. Business owners and leaders are constantly training their employees and workforce to handle the increased complexity of handling different construction projects in today’s modern world.

The business owners are now faced with a challenge to increase and enhance the knowledge of their employees quickly and in an efficient manner to meet the expectations of their customers and that too at good, competitive costs to stay ahead in the game. So, eLearning has become vitally important these days. Leaders can train their employees using valuable electronic resources and grow faster in the modern world.

Read the complete article to learn the benefits of eLearning in the construction industry!

Convenience – construction industry employers like to take advantage of down time in their project schedules in order to provide training for their employees. When using standard brick and mortar training resources, employers need to schedule employees to go to a site to be trained. By using eLearning resources, construction firms can implement training on the fly to take advantage of downtime on sites as a result of job delays such as inclement weather conditions.

Save Money – the cost for sending employees off site for training is much higher when compared to eLearning. The costs of training off site include travel, fuel, parking as well as airfare, hotels and per diem when the travel to the training site involves overnight stays. eLearning limits the costs of training by eliminating these associated costs.

Self-Paced for Employees – all employees learn at a different pace. Some employees learn content faster than others. And some go to a deeper level of understanding than other employees do. The use of eLearning technology allows employees to learn at a pace that more closely matches their learning styles instead of having to adopt the same pace as a larger group class.

The complete article can be accessed by visiting the following link:

https://www.construct-ed.com/5-benefits-of-elearning-in-the-construction-industry/

You must always keep up to date with your skills!

It’s important to remember that although you may have been granted the job, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be fully equipped to handle the job for the rest of your career. In the workplace, tasks and expectations are always evolving, particularly when it comes to the experience of workers. One example being information technologies, as IT professionals are constantly responsible for staying up to date with the latest trends in technology.

With that being said, skills’ training is something that is much more than a responsibility; it is an obligation to ensure that you are the most well-rounded professional possible. In addition, the more skills training you have, the more useful you are to a company, which can open a variety of doors for you in the future.

If you’ve ever wondered what skills’ training is and how it can help you in your professional career, consider these incredible benefits.

What is Skills Training?

There are several different definitions for skills training, depending on the type of industry you intend on working in. For white collar positions, skills’ training is essentially a way to improve your skills in a specific subject over time. Whereas for blue collar positions, skills training is essential to get your foot in the door.

Blue collar opportunities, such as construction jobs, require individuals to go through skills training in an effort to gain all of the necessary certifications for a specific position. As an example, a pipefitter required to go through training so they know how to read blueprints and bevel pipe.

With that being said, skills’ training does not only have an application in construction and labor jobs, as it can help professionals ranging from team leads to project managers.

The General Benefits of Skills Training

Prior to deciding whether skills training is the right choice for you or not, you’ll need to consider the general benefits of signing up for courses in order to receive specific certifications. The following benefits can be applied to absolutely any skills training program:

1. Access to Better Opportunities

No matter how you look at it, potential employees with experience in a skills training course are going to have far more opportunities available to them when they start looking for work. This is applicable to relatively any industry, especially as businesses are becoming more interested in hiring the most qualified people possible.

The more experience you have in a specific area of work, the easier it’s going to be to work towards promotions and better employment opportunities. It’s also important to note that those with certifications are likely to be paid more than individuals who are learning how to complete tasks while on the job.

The more time and effort you put into developing yourself as a professional before applying for a job, the more benefits you’ll receive once you find a position.

2. Fulfilling Job Requirements

Much like it’s important to take skills training in order to get more opportunities, skills training is typically required as a base requirement for many jobs you might be interested in. In today’s day and age employers are very unlikely to spend time reviewing resumes of people who don’t even meet the basic requirements for the job. This could result in your application being immediately thrown into the trash.

Fulfilling the basic requirements of a job is what you need to do in order to start your path towards obtaining a beneficial career.

3. Obtaining Important Certifications

Once you complete your skills training course, you’ll have the ability to take advantage of accreditations and certifications that prove you are a skilled worker. It’s easy for individuals to forge a resume and lie about their qualifications, until a potential employer asks to see evidence of their educational background.

No matter if you’re applying for a forklift job or a job in a plant, you will need a variety of certifications to show you are well prepared for the task at hand.

Obtaining certifications can also be rewarding for many people who spend a lot of time taking skills training courses. It is documented evidence of the successful work you have completed and proof of the benefits you can bring to the workforce.

4. Gaining In-Depth Knowledge About Workplace Tasks

Every skills training course will bring you through the ins and outs of particular job titles and industries. As a worker, it is important for you to have access to this knowledge, as it’s what you need to learn how to do certain tasks. As an example, pipefitter classes will teach you the correct (and professional) way to read blueprints and create intricate pipe layouts for many different types of properties.

The easiest way to understand skills training is to imagine that it is a college or university program. You typically enter the training with little to no knowledge about a particular career and “graduate” as a seasoned professional. Without this knowledge, you wouldn’t be able to fulfill daily workplace tasks on your own.

5. Learning How to Safely Operate Machinery

There are plenty of people in the world who believe that since they are able to drive a vehicle, they’re equipped to operate heavy machinery. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are plenty of different mechanisms, flagging signs, and road symbols you need to know before you can get behind the wheel of a forklift, excavator, or dump truck.

In the majority of labor intensive job opportunities, heavy machinery is a part of the job and understanding how to safely operate said machines is of the utmost importance. This is particularly true if you intend on working in a plant or a warehouse.

Even if you don’t intend on driving heavy machinery, you still need to have a thorough understanding of how to safely work around individuals who do. Once you get into the workforce, you’ll quickly understand how everyone plays a part in workplace safety.

6. Acquiring Textbook and Hands-On Skills

Skills’ training offers the perfect combination of hands-on experience and textbook knowledge, which makes it incredibly adaptable to people with all different learning capabilities. There will be times when you will need to memorize certain things, such as how to handle volatile materials safely. In addition, there are other times when you’ll be able to work with your hands, such as learning how to use an angle grinder.

All of the experience that you gain from your training is what will give you the experience you need in real-world applications. There are plenty of people who prefer skills training in comparison to traditional university and college courses, as they combine both academic and hands-on skills.

7. Creating a Knowledgeable Workforce

At the end of the day, it’s the responsibility of every company to make sure they are creating a knowledgeable workforce and each person under their employment contributes to industry standards. Imagine a labor force filled with people who didn’t know how to do the jobs they were assigned to do, it would be absolute chaos.

Although it may seem tough at times, dealing with a skills training course is what will help you to become a beneficial part of the labor workforce and you can positively contribute to society. The more you know, the better you’ll become, and the easier it will be to help others around you diversify their knowledge.

8. Assisting Co-Workers with Tasks

Just because you’ve taken the time to complete one skills training course doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to stop there. In fact, plenty of workers find that once they obtain one certification they may go for a second or third. Once you start work, you might find that many people around you may be certified to operate a forklift as well as operate a crane. This is because they took the time to acquire more than one certification, and you can as well.

The more accredited experience you have with industrial tasks, the easier it’s going to be for you to not only find a job, but also a long-term and stable position. There are plenty of people that are good at doing one thing, but imagine if everyone was able to do more than one task.

Companies are constantly looking for well-rounded employees with experience handling multiple things, as it prevents them from having to hire new staff and train novice groups of people.

This can also be a great opportunity for someone that enjoys doing more than one thing. The more certifications you have, the more tasks you can do on a regular basis, which can give you the perfect amount of variety you’ve been craving. One day you might be fitting pipe, but another day you might be helping millwrights or boilermakers, the options are endless.

9. Improving Workplace Satisfaction and Relationships

Even welders, the seemingly most isolated industrial job, have to work with other people such as helpers and fitters. With that being said, you can expect to spend a lot of time with the people around you, especially in a plant or on a construction site. Maintaining a positive work environment is simple, as long as everyone has a clear idea of what it is they’re supposed to do.

As a foreman or project leader there’s nothing more frustrating than dealing with employees who are lacking an indication of what they should do next or how they should complete a task. It’s important to remember that with industrial projects, everyone has a schedule and when deadlines aren’t met, it affects everyone.

With the help of the knowledge you gain from a skills training course you’ll easily be able to handle any task thrown your way which is not only impressive, but also helps to make everyone else’s job easier as well. No one will have to worry about holding your hand or guiding you through every project step-by-step.

The more efficient you are, the happier everyone will be and the better your workplace relationships will become.

10. Achieving Personal Growth

Above all else, the personal satisfaction you’ll experience from skills training is something to be taken into consideration. There’s nothing better than being able to feel like you’ve fulfilled your professional dreams by earning certifications and accreditations you once dreamed of. It’s an incredible boost to your ego and it gives you the comfort of knowing you are experienced enough to tackle any project that comes your way.

Skills’ training not only brings benefits to professional tasks, but to your personal life as well. Through the courses, you will have the ability to understand time management, effective communication skills, networking, and even negotiation skills. All of which can easily transcend into your everyday life. If you were to take a moment to think about all of the things you’ve learned from work that you use at home or out with friends, you’d be surprised.

11. Staying Ahead of the Competition

It’s important to remember that although while working together, you and the people around you are a team but when it comes to keeping your job or finding a new job, everyone else is competition. In the labor industry, the only way to beat out the competition is to prove to employers that you are the right person for the job and what better way to do so than to have skills training behind you. Not only that, but recent skills training as well.

It’s important to obtain your basic credentials, but as the years progress as may standards and training practices. It’s best for you to take the time to refresh yourself on your particular job position so you’re prepared for any industry changes. As well as making sure that you are equally as experienced and knowledgeable as younger and newer prospective employees applying for the same positions as you.

Skills’ training is a phenomenal opportunity, but it is also a prerequisite for many jobs. In order to create the most experienced and stable workforce possible, do your part by signing up for one of the many courses available in your area. Not only will your professional life thank you, but your personal life will as well.

A construction career is a physically challenging career but is a financially rewarding one

When you begin your career in the field of construction, you join a team of specialist people that work together to build a stronger foundation together.

The recruitment process of every construction job will assess your skills including technical as well as other life skills.

Whether you are interested in the entire construction cycle or prefer to design, articulate, and construct the things, there is definitely a career for you.

You are not only required to be proficient with the basic technical knowledge but the core skills like soft skills, life skills, are of the equal importance.

Good interactive skills are vital for anyone who is looking for a career in the construction industry. With your communication skills, you will be required to negotiate your solution throughout the complex communications on a daily basis.

Regardless of your role in the industry, in the beginning, you are just required to be equipped with the basic technical and the communication skills.

To get started, here are the basic skills that you to need to incorporate before stepping in.

Reading A Tape Measure

 Construction projects require precise measurements. Whether it is about cutting grades for excavating, stringing electrical wires, or mounting the box, every job requires measurements.

Regardless of the job you choose in construction, it will require the exact measurements. So before you choose to build career in construction, make sure you know how to read a tape measure.

Creative Thought Process

Creative thinking is of utmost importance when you are looking to build a career in the construction industry.

For example: If you face a hurdle in the construction task, you have to get back, think about it, and then get back to the task with the solution.

Mechanical Knowledge

While you are stepping into a construction career, it is very important that you are familiar with the building materials and have experience with the tools used in repairs and construction.

Excellent Depth Perception

Construction jobs require precision as well as accuracy in the tasks you perform. You must have the ability to read the blueprints and observe the details from a very close range.

You should also understand the operation of gauges and dials to make sure that everything is working properly.

Along with these basic skills, you also need a foundation degree in this niche or a professional qualification in this subject from a registered institution.

For more information on the skills required by the construction career http://sbskills.co.uk/

SB Skills Solutions Ltd are pleased to announce another successful partnership with Knowsley College and Job Centre Plus in the creation of a Logistics Skills Academy. The academy will help provide trained CPCS Dumper and Roller drivers to a leading Construction Company based in Manchester.  Commenting on the partnership, Operations Director Neil Beaumont, was pleased that SB Skill Solutions Ltd could make a difference in both helping currently unemployed learners with the opportunity to get back into work and also helping cement further the relationships we have with construction clients who have urgent recruitment opportunities.

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