Tag Archives: Construction workers

Construction workers should know their worth

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To know what we are really worth as far as our profession is concerned is a matter of pure confusion. Why it is confusing is because we actually do not know what the worth of your services is and this is why without knowing much about our worth we get ready to offer our services for a lesser price. This should really not happen because at the end of the day after having worked in a company for a couple of years when you actually know your price and also the fact that you are getting paid much lesser than what you should have been it causes great deal of frustration within yourself. Some even start to get the feeling of being cheated and then they start looking for some other organization again without knowing their current worth. It is therefore crucial to know how much you should be paid for your services keeping into consideration the talent and skill you possess and the amount of experience you have under your belt.

When we talk about the construction sector the most neglected genre of workers in terms of being the right amount of salary are the construction laborers. A construction laborer at the start of his career is paid quite low. That should be alright with them as they are gaining some experience and learning new things but as they grow a bit older in the company their package is not increased in the appropriate scale which leaves them with a poor pay package. Now as a result of this many construction laborers quit their job in the middle of a project and join some other contractor who pays them more than what they were getting. It often leaves the former company in a pickle and their project comes to a standstill.

Construction companies have taken this seriously and are now paying the laborers at par to the industry standards. The worrying part is not all construction companies are following the same route. There are still few small time companies who are exploiting the workers right left and center and the workers who do not know much about the worth of their services stay in the same company. Well the laborers should know about their rights and also what they should be paid. There is a standard rate across the industry and the companies are expected to pay their employees on those standards. The workers on the other hand should also check government websites that speaks in volumes about the rate per hour that should be paid to the laborers. Projects are completed on time because the workers work hard to get it done on time and if they are paid less then they have all the liberty to leave the company any moment.

They will also get work easily as they need not be highly qualified. All that is required from them is the knowledge to construct a building and if they possess that knowledge any construction company is ready to take them by paying them the standard rate.

Bonuses can bring cheer on the faces of construction workers

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In every industry, the workers play a very crucial role in the growth of the business. With happy employees and workers, the business will see constant and continuous growth. But, with unhappy workers, there is always the trouble of companies and businesses suddenly being faced by a strike, labour shortage and many other associated problems. Hence, it is a must that you keep your workers always happy.

The current scenario:

Every single business or industry requires skilled employees. However, despite the high demand, there is a scarcity of availability of skilled labours. Businesses, therefore, often encounter huge losses. But, many company owners are thinking of hiring new set or labours; rather than keeping the existing ones. They consider the cheap wages that they will have to pay for the new and inexperienced labours. However, the fact is that the amount of money that it will cost the companies in training the new labours will be huge. Hence, keeping the skilled and experienced existing workers is always something that one must do.

Having happy workers:

As already mentioned, it is always a good idea to keep the existing and experienced workers with your construction business than hiring new ones; a business owner needs to come up with ideas that will help them in keeping the workers happy. This is because; it is only by providing satisfaction that one can manage to hold the existing staff. And one of the most effective ways of holding existing skilled workers is to give them enough bonuses.

  • Bonus increases performance:

 

Everybody likes a little added bonus. Bonuses bring cheer to the faces of the workers. As you give your construction workers bonus, they will feel encouraged to work even harder and better.

  • Bonus increases loyalty:

 

For a successful business, it is a must that the workers or employees are loyal to your business. Bonuses yield an emotional impact on the workers and become more loyal to your construction company. This results in better performance at work. Moreover, satisfied workers wouldn’t resign from the job, creating a scarcity of workers.

  • Creating a healthy environment:

 

Undoubtedly, construction work is a strenuous one and always requires skill and the extra input to complete a task. When you hand out the bonus to the workers, it is quite likely that the happy and satisfied workers will give their input in the work. During the time, when there is an urgency of workers, your happy construction workers may forfeit their leaves and contribute in completing the task.

Conclusion:

Since bonuses can bring so many benefits for the construction business just for a small amount of investment on the skilled staff and get great returns, it is quite imperative that this factor is paid much attention to. After the successful completion of a project or even yearly or half-yearly, adding bonus to the wages of the workers will only add to the benefits of the construction business. The bonus does not necessarily have to be monetary at all times, it can be other benefits as well that would suit the need of the workers.

Safety of construction workers

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Accidents have become so prone in construction zones that it seems to be almost impossible to contain it. But the fact of the matter is we can contain many accidents from happening by following few safety parameters. This means that there is a severe lack of awareness amongst the construction workers when it comes to their own safety. Moreover, the effort put by the construction companies to educate the workers about the importance of wearing safety gears is negligible making things worse for the workers. The laws of US are strict enough to curb this problem but the real issue lies with the implementation at the ground level.

Other than this, due to the kind of risk involved it turns out to be a dangerous zone for the people working in it. The workers got to be careful when they are working at heights and while on the land they needs to have an eye on the heavy equipment that wanders all around the place. Though the operator stays vigilant to avoid any eventuality but still accidents happen and therefore it is the responsibility of everybody on the site to see that people around them are safe.

The construction workers also need to follow few safety parameters which will relatively bring down the incidents of accidents to a larger extent.

Wearing of safety gears:-

Safety gears starts right from wearing a belt to putting on a jacket. It largely depends on the type of work you will be doing and the site you are put into. Wearing helmets is quite common but many do not put the strap. This will let the helmet fall every now and then so it is better that the workers should tighten the helmet by putting on the strap. When they are working on heights like cleaning the glass window of a high story building, they should wear the safety belts so that in case if they lose their balance they do not hit the ground.

Check your tools before you begin to work:-

Workers are required to use a lot of tools. Right from Scaffolds to a hammer, they got to do with everything and therefore they need to ensure that all the tools that they will be working with are in perfect order. In case if they see anything to be shaky or not in order, they should immediately reach out to the officer in charge and report it to him. Resume working only if they are offered satisfactory equipment. Most of the times, there seem to be some issue with the ladder and the workers simply underestimate the issue and get on it. They are simply putting themselves at risk.

Know where the first aid box is:-

Most of the construction workers are not even aware if there is a first aid box available in the jobsite. They get to know about it only after the accident. Well, every worker should know about the location of the first aid box and how to use it. It can save their life and also the lives of their co-workers.

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Be ready to pay heavy penalties if fail to protect the workers

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An employee joins a company expecting that the company will protect his interest and he will work in a safe and sound environment. But if the employer does not follow the safety norms and plays with the life of the employee, such employers are bound to pay heavy penalty for risking the lives of its employees and should also affect the license to conduct any further business. This law should be applicable to every industry and should not be industry specific.

Also, there should be a governing body which will regulate the laws and will work for the larger interests of the workers. The law of the land should also be stringent enough and the convicts must be dealt severely. Here in US, we have quite stringent laws when it comes to protecting the rights and interests of employees and if an employee meets an accident that happened due to employer’s negligence resulting to the injury or death of the employee, employer should be ready to face the brunt of the law.

Construction companies in US have to be particularly sure that they are providing all necessary safety accessories to the workers because if they fail to do so and if it results in an accident the company will have to pay the price for it. Construction sector is by all means is considered risky for its employees. Right from operators to engineers and welders to construction workers, none of them are safe as long as all the precautionary measures are followed by the construction company.

Penalties can lead to thousands of dollars:-

If there is an incident that occurs on the jobsite which results to grave injury or death can lead to severe penalty on the company. It will have to pay good sum of money that can be thousands of dollars to the victim of the accident. Therefore it becomes extremely crucial for the construction company to ensure that it provides safety accessories to one and all. No employee whether permanent or contractual will work without wearing proper safety accessories. The contractors need to ensure that the safety measures are followed and that no employee violates safety procedures. If an incident takes place, the company not only loses a valuable resource but also good sum of money.

License may get cancelled:-

A construction company also needs to keep a thorough check on the number of incidents that has happened on the site. There are chances that the company may lose its license if it fails to follow the safety norms and if the numbers of accidents are on the rise. The law of the land is quite strict when it comes to things like these and no one can play around with the lives of young men irrespective of the nature of job that they are in. One can understand the consequence of the license getting cancelled and the amount of loss the company will have to bear.

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Construction workers are more prone to risk during extreme cold conditions

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Incidents of accidents have become very common in a construction site and in spite of taking corrective measures by the higher department, these incidents are simply not willing to cease. At some time, it is the workers fault as they skip to follow the safety parameters and go to do work without the safety accessories, thus putting their life at extreme risk. At other times, it is sheer negligence that needs to be blamed for such accidents. The sad part is after experiencing so many unfortunate incidents, the construction workers and the higher management has still not found a way to tackle the menace. Ideally, one can’t adopt a mechanism that will alert them about a possible danger other than being cautious about it. It has been seen that most of the times, construction workers tend to work carefree and gets themselves hurt or killed.

During winters, the situation is worse. Workers have to work on icy roads where there are high risks of slipping while working and this may lead to major accidents. They may also not be able to foresee a possible danger and may go straight into it. Overall, winter is a big pain for both the construction companies as well as for the workers with no real solution around. There are few tips that one can follow to minimize the incidences of accidents happening in a construction site during winters.

Educate the workers about safety parameters:-

In order to save the valuable lives of workers, they should be educated about the safety parameters that are followed by the company. Not many workers may know how to use the devices when there is an emergency. You can’t expect them to know everything right from the very beginning. They need to be trained and should be explained about the various safety rules that one should follow. Concurrently, they should also be trained in how to save one’s life by giving mouth to mouth resuscitation, providing first aid to a fellow worker, emergency numbers to call etc. Once all the workers are trained in this, the number of casualties may decline.

Prevention is better than cure:-

There are workers who unknowingly risk their life to complete a given task. They skip to follow the basic rules of safety and in this process hurt themselves. We all know the saying “Prevention is better than cure”. However, we hardly walk on what we know. This is something that should be stopped. When a worker is given a dangerous task, he should be equipped with all the safety amenities so that in case he falls off the machine, he has something to save his life.

Very cautious while working in the snow:-

While you are working in the snow, there are high chances that you can get deceived by seeing everything white around you. You may fail to see a danger and if you are in a hurry, you may invite trouble. Therefore, you should always work in ease on the snow and take utmost care of your as well as your colleague’s safety.

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Workers working in construction sites are prone to various air-borne diseases

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We say that the human race is developing but it seems that we are making things that will cause more harm to us than ever. We make things for our ease but in this process, we forget that there are certain repercussions that we have to face and without wanting to know those repercussions we do things that affect us the most. Our environment is so polluted that every other day we get to see people dying of lung disorder, heart failure, and asthma attacks and so on. If we talk about people working in construction companies, we will find that they belong to the worst affected lots and are infected with various air-borne ailments. They have to go through a lot of dust that is so prevalent in a construction zone. Fresh air is so seldom for them and they are simply left with no other option than to inhale the polluted air.

It is not only the dust that they inhale but also the smoke that comes out of heavy equipment. Most heavy equipment run on diesel and after a certain period of time they emit smoke and intoxicants in large quantity that becomes unhealthy for the people around. There is primarily one reason why machines emit black smoke. It is particularly due to lack of proper maintenance of the machine. The equipment work for months without much lubrication and the engine oil also is not changed at regular intervals. This leads to problem in the engine and if the health of the engine is not good, it is bound to emit intoxicants in the form of black smoke.

What construction companies/employers must do to safeguard the health of their workers has become a matter of discussion and many companies are incorporating the following measures to ensure that the lives of their workers is not taken for granted.

Proper maintenance of machines:-

Intoxicants in the air are one of the major reasons for the falling health of construction workers and machines emit intoxicants due to improper maintenance. To get this fixed, the only way is to ensure that the machines are maintained at regular intervals. It is quite obvious that the operator may forget to send the machine for maintenance. Hence, a calendar must be prepared where you jot down the date when you will take the machine for a wash and get it serviced.

Procure heavy equipment that are environment friendly:-

Many construction companies are in the process of acquiring green machines that will not emit or will emit less toxic in the air as compared to the ones being used currently. Though the equipment will be expensive but will last for more years and will also not pose a risk to the health of construction workers.

Set up camps to check the health of workers:-

Construction companies should take the initiative where they set up camps at least twice in a year and conduct a complete health check-up of its employees. They should not just restrain it to the laborers but also include staff and guys from other departments.

Winters may cause immense health hazards to construction workers

Places where it snows are not conducive for construction industry to flourish. But it does not mean that the construction industry will not flourish at all at such places. If it snows throughout the year then it is a grave concern for this industry to set its foot in. However, if it is only during the winters that it snows and for the rest of the year, it becomes conducive for the industry to thrive then that will really help. We all know how immensely difficult it is to take care of heavy equipment and also to work on a project during the cold weather but less care has been given to the fact that it also takes a toll on the construction workers who find it all the more difficult to work in a rough weather and with very limited help from machines.

During winters, heavy equipment tend to stop working which means that the construction workers will have to put their efforts and try to get the work done. At times, it may not be possible for them to finish a job without the use of equipment. In such case, it becomes a loss to the company. In situations like these, companies tend to risk the life of the workers by pressuring them to work overtime in difficult work conditions. The workers have to work on snow or ice and have high risk of slipping while working. They may cause severe damage to themselves. It is therefore very important for the construction companies as well as the workers to follow the correct safety parameters while working in snow. By following these parameters, they will only save their as well as their colleagues lives.

Check if the brakes and other vital parts of the equipment are in order:-

Before you start with your day, it is very important to check if the brakes, horn and other important parts of the equipment are in order. Once the operator is sure that everything is in place, he should carry on with the work. In case if he finds any issues, it is advisable that he get that sorted first and then starts off with the day’s work. Any negligence on his part can cost the company as well as the worker dearly.

Ensure that all the workers wear their safety accessories:-

In many of the occasions, workers skip wearing their safety accessories assuming that they will be safe and wearing those stuffs will be time consuming. Calamity does not knock the door before arriving. It just strikes you and workers should understand this important part. More importantly, the supervisor on the construction site should take the responsibility that all the workers are equipped with complete safety accessories and that there is an emergency team active at the site. Just in case, if there is an emergency situation, the team will be able to deal with it.

Report anything that you find to be dangerous:-

Construction workers should report anything that they find to be dangerous. This will help to save the life of many other workers who may not know about the danger on the site.