How do you coordinate with other trades to avoid construction accidents?

Be nice to people and talk with patience. We all have different accents and languages. Listen first to grasp the others potential understanding of your words and then go from there addressing EHS items. Improved understanding can only be of benefit and reduce Risk. Thanks.

A morning huddle with the all the subcontractors to review their daily safe work plans seems to work well. Any risk should be easily identified prior to work starting daily.

As simple as it sounds. Biggest to smallest. You could take that in terms with personnel that are above in rank. Over the every day foreman, tradesmen even laborer. Plan starts with 1 individual and trickles down to multiples. The project manager since he is the the prospect out of the higher rankings to be on site. Communication is key; I’ve always said that communication could solve world hunger. But even before that, to be honest, it comes down to order of operations. What is the simplest way is the safe and efficient way when dealing with most jobs that are very capable in being accident prone with its beneficial routines. This goes for all aspects of life, physical and numerical. Take the path of least resistance. What comes natural.

From my past experience it is vitally important that other trades' safety documentation be assessed and approved prior to commencement of their trades and in line with the main contractor's safety designs and standards. Communication and awareness champagnes is just as vitally important. Frequent managing and monitoring being priority, we all know there are always the one whom think they are immortal. Strict and firm action needs to be implemented to non compliance. Daily pre safety assessments should be carried out thoroughly and safety measures be adjusted accordingly and clear communication with all site staff and trades. Each person on site is equally responsible for safety awareness.

One of the things typically lacking from these AI generated articles is perspective and voice. The advice of “identify potential hazards” varies depending on who you are. It is extremely difficult for a trade contractor to “identify the potential hazards that may arise from the work of other trades.” You may not even have a complete understanding of the work the other trades are doing. This really falls to the general contractor to take the responsibility for coordination between trades. The trades cannot control things like site layout and site emergency procedures. They also don’t have any contractual obligations to one another, so the burden is really with the GC. Trades should assess their own potential hazards through the use of PTP’s.

Again, love the AI with zero actual experience… How many trades spend time throughout the day communicating with all the other trades on site? None. This falls to the general contractor and is best facilitated through a mandatory daily huddle, with one of the topics being work that may affect others. These daily huddles need to be quick and organized, with all trades in attendance and ready to participate in a concise manner. Conditions or work activity on the project may dictate the best time to conduct these huddles: before shift, two hours into shift, end of shift to plan the next day, etc.

Well, a daily 15-minute meeting in the morning to discuss points and goals and another 15 minutes in the afternoon to follow up along with sending sketches and briefs in simple forward communication with my expectation of what is needed.

We have a daily coordination meeting with all crafts to go over daily activities and next day activities to coordinate areas and safety hazards

Proper communication is essential for successful coordination with other trades on a construction site. Follow the correct communication channels and ensure that that the site manager and other trades that may be affected by your work are well informed before hand. Ensure clear and concise communication. During planning, execution and closeout of your work phase, ensure you abide by industry safety standards as well as agreed conventions and remember to inform all concerned parties of any deviations for any reason. Generally, keeping the project team informed helps resolve conflicts and significantly improves safety.

The best project communication was at a Kiewit project in Boston. Every morning all the Superintendents and foremen met an hour before work started and the project manager ran the meeting. Each foreman, one after the next explained the work plan for the day, detailing equipment, safety and support needs. It was an effective and surprisingly efficient way to coordinate the crews and equipment safely.

Pre job safety Engineering is crucially important. For example Roofing is especially handicapped in this area. The roofing contractor is a non-structural sub-trade partner in general. He is water proofing what structural trades have built and has no say in the design of the building but is really is handicapped in this area. The roofing contractor is a non-structural sub-trade partner in general. He is water proofing what structural trades have built and has no say in the design or erecting of the building, but is required to protect employees from falls by putting holes by installing anchors in the material that he installed to waterproof to utilize fall protection PPE. And holes equal leaks that the roofer has to send empl. back to fix. 

You should mandate the use of appropriate PPE such as hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, and steel-toed boots and provide and maintain PPE for all workers. Provide Fall Protection like guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems for working at heights while ensuring that scaffolding and ladders are in good condition and used safely. Practice Emergency Preparedness by having first aid kits, fire extinguishers, and emergency eyewash stations readily available and conducting regular emergency drills.

"Steel"-toed shoes is archaic, there are ceramic & composite toe/arch safety shoes as well. These are as safe or safer, and are lighter reducing fatigue, and warmer.

Most definitely, adherence to OSHA or state OSHA standards is important. International folks, what occupational safety programs are implemented in your country? Stateside folks, do you know if you are subject to the Federal OSHA program or a state managed OSHA plan? What OSHA standard(s) apply to your industry? OSHA provides the blueprint for safety management by way of its standards. There are a myriad of standards for industries. Use of correct tools and PPE is important but equally important is the required inspection of tools and equipment as required by OSHA standards. Safety pros/committees will not have issues with worker respect if incidents are investigated in a fair manner looking at factors in their totality.

Reason for each employee mandatory safety trainings and certifications such as OSHA, SST and other safety courses, that are meant to be periodically renewed and updated. This also legally bind each worker with responsibility to adhere to these rules in addition to sign and follow site, safety briefings, orientations, emergency procedures and other safety regulations enforced by the employer, site safety manager and the owner. Everyone is engaged and properly informed before they enter the work place & commence their work.

When it comes to safety, it’s each individual responsibility who’s working on the site to maintain safety by raising safety issues to the site manager or wearing proper gear and guiding other as well. Thanks

La gestión efectiva comienza desde la creación de documentos y comunicados. Asegurarse de que la información sobre planes, cambios y problemas esté claramente documentada facilita la comunicación y la coordinación. Proporcionar al equipo acceso a documentos actualizados y comunicados pertinentes contribuye a una ejecución eficiente y segura del proyecto, estableciendo una base sólida para la colaboración y la toma de decisiones informada.

In theory it should work this way. But rarely in practice. The sub contractor turns in there safety documentation during the pre bid phase for review if everything looks good and the price is right a contract is written with an indemnity clause that the sub contractor pays for there and the GC defense.

As a site manager myself, I found it best to establish the rules right from day, one with all the foreman of Every trade on site, they in turn will pass the information along to their crew and everyone onsite will understand that you want a clean and safe site everyday. You need to portray that safety first attitude from day one and maintain that attitude and safety culture through out the project ….it will be successful.

We used BIM Technology along with experienced workers from past projects whom will help foresee potential conflicts ahead of time before the work is begun . This saves time and labor to find a problem on paper or computer before the work even starts. Issues can be discussed at the weekly meetings with all the trades collaborating and coordinating together. It’s a team effort

Being versatile with new technology in the construction industry is a real game changer. Our company uses Revu for most of our projects, which allows us to make sure our measurements and quantities are  precise hence reducing wastage. When working with some of our clients we  had the opportunity to work with software like BIM, Procore and Viewpoint 4 Projects which allowed us to gain experience on different platforms.

One of the most prominent technological advances is Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM is akin to a digital blueprint that offers a three-dimensional, collaborative view of a construction project. It allows architects, engineers, contractors, and stakeholders to work together seamlessly. BIM aids in visualizing designs, detecting clashes or errors before construction begins, and optimizing resource allocation. Also Drones have been used intensively on construction sites, providing aerial surveys and real-time data capture. They enable project managers to monitor progress, identify potential issues, and assess site conditions from the sky. This not only enhances safety but also improves decision-making and project planning.

Technology came to aggregate and improve work in construction. Today we have several resources to maintain noise-free communication, to check the project versus execution, generate a 3D project through point clouds, among others. This major advance, in my opinion, are tools that, well-crafted, bring more effective physical and financial control for everyone involved.

La experiencia es la escuela mas grande y mas importante en cuanto a nuestra vida profecional.... Con los años, he ido aprendiendo, a fuerza de golpes, que uno debe ser humilde, aceptar y aprender de la experiencia de los demas. Siempre, en mis grupos de trabajo, durante las charlas de seguridad/cordinación que tenemos, le señalo que yo no les puede enseñar a pegar un ladrillo a una persona que lleva 30 años haciendolo, porque en mi vida si he pegado 5 ladrillos han sido muchos.... por lo cual hay que ser humilde y aprender de esos "viejitos" con experiencia...

Encourage every trade to realize that safety is every person’s responsibility. Not just the site manager. Every trade has safety hazards, unique to that specific trade. Sharing past incidents, with other trades, helps to cross train, and you may realize it could happen within your trade in a different manner but with similar results. It all comes back to communication

This article is spot on. Safety and education along with concepts of effective communication all go hand in hand. Training plans are a tool for tracking required/scheduled trainings. One method of learning is OJT. On the job training allows for implementing training and demonstration of knowledge gained. Accidents or incidents can be used in case studies for all employees to review and discuss. We live in a technological age where technology may start to move faster than we can keep up. It is important to follow technological advances especially in safety. The use of drones safely and in safety operations for example also starts to cross Federal lines/disciplines. Do you know your City, State, Federal rules for drone use?

A very simplistic approach is required i.e. each trade should be aware of the hazards created by their activities and how it can impact other trades and communicate the same with them. This will facilitate evasive action individually or collectively by the others as per the flow of activities to avoid unwanted incidents or exposures at the workplace. The key to ensure a safe workplace with multiple trades is to ensure that the hazards are identified and communicated to all who would be working/impacted in that area.

As one of my colleague have mentioned, SIMOPS is one of most effective means of risk management control. SIMOPS itself is also defined as Risk. Having effective permit system plays an important tool in preventing, prioritising and determining areas of concern. While Site Manager has the full control, each site discipline Leads or Supervisors has the highest responsibility in ensuring all controls are in place specially in large complex activities. It is easy to say safety is everyone's responsibility, it takes ownership and collective effort of all personnel and management to ensure everyone's well being is checked.

All works nees to planned including method statement. Risk assessment. Training for the activities. Join communication workshops to all involved including adjacent work areas. Permits should be in place for works and also to control access and exclusion areas.

Considering my 12 years experience in engineering and commissioning of factories, all the times I faced a gap in safety and HSE issues. We have lots of standards and regulations for design step and we follow them but, designers are far from construction and commissioning works so just following the rules. Lots of hazards can be eliminated just in basic designs with no costs. Just designers should getting more familiar with construction activities and procedures also commissioning and passes some safety and HSE courses specially layout designers.

The sequence of work shall play an important part as well. Before or during involvement of the project cycle, this will contribute to the following factors: 1) Effeciency @ eliminate rework n error. 2) Productivity @ increase results. 3) Make easier for group coordination. 4) Time saving. Aside from above mentioned, this will build up confidence on the entire team including moral.