When starting a construction project, safety should be the number one consideration. There are many people that are needlessly injured on a construction site because someone on the same site disregarded the safety measures and precautions that needed to be taken.

1. Staying Safe on a Construction Site
When starting a construction project, safety should be the number one consideration. There are
many people that are needlessly injured on a construction site because someone on the same site
disregarded the safety measures and
precautions that needed to be taken.
Avoiding injury and possible death will
require everyone to follow some strict safety
guidelines. Laying these guidelines out ahead
of time will help everyone on the construction
site understand how they are going to be wise
while they are working and keep the site safe.
Everyone on the construction site will need to
understand the most common principles of electricity. Electricity will always seek a path to the
ground and if someone is between electricity and the ground he or she will become part of that
path.
Becoming part of the path for the electricity can seriously injure or kill an individual. This is why
it is so important that the construction site has a utility locating team that goes through the site
before they even begin digging or moving the earth at all.
Site Safety
If you are going to be working in the ground, all of the utility locating needs to be done before
you start moving any earth. Not only does the underground utility locating need to be done, but
all of the overhead power lines need to be clearly identified.
When you are identifying all of the overhead lines,
each crew member should understand where the
utility lines are. When you are working close to the
lines, the power company in the area needs to be
notified so you can ensure the safety of your crew.
Some people, when working in remote locations,
assume that the power lines that they are working
around are not active. Even when a construction site
is in a remote location, it is always safest to assume
that the power lines in the area are active and
energized.
Until it is confirmed by the energy company that a power line is not energized, you will want to
avoid contact with the line. To ensure that contact is not made with any energized line, a spotter
should always be used, even if the operator does not feel that it is necessary.

2. Individual and Equipment Safety
Gauging a special distance from equipment can be very difficult. It is important that there is a
spotter that will help the operator navigate around the lines to ensure that the machine does not
come into contact with the lines at any point of the construction project.
If contact with an electrical line is made,
the whole crew should understand what
they need to do to stay safe. No one should
touch another individual that has come into
contact with an electrical current, because
they will then come into contact with the
current as well.
Any equipment that comes into contact
with the electricity should not be touched.
Work with a safety professional to brief
your team so that everyone knows how to
avoid problems with the utility lines and what to do should there be contact.
Sometimes people think that if they are working in a limestone quarry for sale, that they cannot
be harmed while working on this construction site. A limestone quarry for sale is still a
construction site, however, and appropriate precautions should be taken in order to prevent injury
and death.
Photo Credit: Highways Agency, Cindy Cornett Seigle, Ed Costello